Lusterlit: Flight
Video
Out now
Louder Than War’s Ioan Humphreys gets to see the video for Flight, by New York duo Lusterlit, from their debut EP.
Lusterlit are New Yorkers Susan Hwang and Charlie Nieland, and they are part of the Bushwick Book Club, run out of Brooklyn. The BBC is a rotating group of songwriters and performers of all kinds, and was founded by Hwang in 2009. I reviewed their debut EP, List Of Equipment, for Louder Than War a few months back here.
Lusterlit write and perform music that is inspired by chosen works of literature, and Flight (inspired by The Fortress Of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem) is the first track from the EP to get the video treatment.
The infectious and upbeat rhythm is perfectly synced with the often off-beat and abstract visuals Lusterlit have used to accompany their track. Black-and-white bi-plane stunt work is mixed with grainy 8mm footage of ’70s New York. Mixed in with this is rare footage of Elvis, who is also name-checked in the song, along with Charles Mingus and Josephine Baker. These montage images are all intertwined with gorgeous present-day footage of the band playing and singing atop a building in New York. With these visuals, you get a real sense of the band’s make-up and camaraderie, as well as the lo-fi bohemian feel that this band just exudes.
The track itself is funky and groovy as fuck. The music manages to weave its hypnotic way into your psyche and you are left humming it long after it has finished. Hwang’s lead vocals on this track really shine through and they meld perfectly with the vocal and musical additions of Nieland and the rest of the band.
Lusterlit had a video release show on Friday 20 October at 7pm at Communitea (11-18 46th Rd, New York, New York 11101) where they shared the bill with Frank Olson Twins, Neil Kelly and Jheremie Jacque. All the performers premiered new music videos, as well as performing music. Life-affirming stuff.
Lusterlit have more videos and new music to come, as well as a tour of the West Coast in November.
List Of Equipment by Lusterlit is available on Bandcamp here
Lusterlit can be found on their Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram and they tweet as @lusterlitnyc
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Words by Ioan Humphreys. More writing by Ioan can be found at his author’s archive. You can also find him on Twitter at @ioan_humphreys.
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