The most up-front factor defining the 10 tracks of Sweet Thief’s 26 minutes is Zoë Randell’s voice. Figuratively, she does not – vocally, that is – break a sweat or get agitated. On “Wanna Get Free,” she sings “put down your weapon.” Yet there is no sense of experiencing imminent danger. The lyrics of “A Better Truth.” which musically evokes Leonard Cohen's "Susanne”, tell of “troubled men… anger, shame, building to cycles of misery and strife.” Again, there’s that distance, a cool, the sense that Randell is a detached though acutely aware observer.
Luluc are the duo of Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett – on "Lullaby" the merging of their voices brings to mind the trademark amalgamation of Simon & Garfunkel. Although they are Australian, most of the past decade has been spent on America’s East Coast. Sweet Thief, though, was conceived during a year-long period back in Australia. Once returned to the US, they recorded this, their sixth album. When there is percussion, it is provided by Dinosaur Jr mainstay J Mascis.
Like its predecessor album, 2023’s also-26-minute Diamonds, Sweet Thief leans gently into country. It is less chilly than Diamonds. At its most-full sounding, on closing cut “Homesick in L.A.”, there are – as there were three years ago – intimations that Mazzy Star were fellow travellers in this particular musical realm, one where a dispassionate veneer masks a turbulent core. There is also an affinity with the sonic landscapes of mid-period Low.
While the shimmering Sweet Thief is beautifully crafted, it is hard to see it as an album which will broaden or expand Luluc’s current audience. Nonetheless, those seeking to embrace Luluc’s enviably pacific reaction to turmoil should head here.
