Song of the Day: Lamb - Illumina

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is "Illumina," by Lamb, a stand-alone single released September 15th of this year.

Lamb - Ilumina (MP3)

Since their synthesis in 1995, Lamb's sound has wandered through various neighborhoods of Manchester electronic musicality, always ducking around a mainstream audience. The evolution of their sound from their home base jazzy trip-hop stayed grounded in lyricism and aggressive drum and bass beats moved around, but never strayed from their core, even in the face of dark British club music going through so many amalgamations. Lamb appears from the same miasma they've tended to emerge from for the last five years; tentative retirement, solo and other projects from Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes respectively, and an eventual round of live dates. This is a big year for the band, with a 21st anniversary, European tour, and later this month a live album from one of the European dates.

"Illumina" is a slick synth beast that sees Barlow's production modernizing. The hook sounds a few synth effects off from being new Purity Ring. Rhodes' lyrics detail a conversation between two individuals in a reverberating, breathy creation of light. The song was billed only as a single, and no album announcements preceded its release, so it's safe to say the song is a one-off, and hopefully, one we'll be hearing a lot of in the coming months. Other movements and announcements from the band can be tracked through the bands Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. Below, check out the video for "What Makes Us Human," from the 2014 album Backspace Unwind.