Timothy Lupia’s songwriting project Lupia has developed through a series of releases shaped by personal experiences, emotional shifts, and the process of finding peace within unfamiliar circumstances. On the four-song /ˈsʌn-ʃaɪn/ (Sunshine) EP, that introspective foundation takes on a heavier character, with Lupia exploring a more expansive and psychedelic side of his sound across its richly textured arrangements.
Opening track “I Have not Been Found” delights in a gorgeous array of warming, psychedelic guitar jangles and soaring, reverbed vocal delivery, which spans from initially wordless harmonizing to a more emotive lyricism. The mixture of spaciously hypnotic tones and heady guitar textures reminds of a more rock-oriented Panda Bear. Additions of glimmering synths in the second half add further to the riveting soundscape. Ensuing track “Space” is aptly titled, initially echoing a bellowing array of spacey synths. The dynamic mix then traverses into elegant piano before launching into climactic, distorted guitars; it’s a thorough display of Lupia’s excellent tonal and structural range.
Next up, “Cosmic Friend” continues that otherworldly vibe, here in the shimmering guitar jangles and multi-layered harmonies, opening with “I travel around a star / I still don’t know who you are.” Effervescent synths meld cohesively with soft guitar strums, expanding thereafter into a second half of expressive ardor and brisker vibrancy. EP finale “Rose Quartz” excels as well, its opening refrain of “I have rose quartz in my belly” supported at first by quaint guitar jangling, and then into a wonderfully hectic burst of energy at the two-minute turn, before falling back into a lusher reprieve. /ˈsʌn-ʃaɪn/ (Sunshine) is a fantastic EP from Lupia.
In addition to this excellent EP, Lupia has two more recent EPs worth checking out: Windowpane and Staircase.
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“I Have not Been Found” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
