Female-fronted operatic art pop band Sophe Lux crept onto the scene in 2004 in Portland. The band's founder and lead singer/songwriter Gwynneth Haynes' debut album "Plastic Apple" featured John Mowen of The Decemberists on drums, and Mike Clarke of Stephen Malkmus on keys. Since then, the band's tumbling melodies, trippy lyrics, eclectic instrumental arrangements, and all-out pageantry have dazzled. (SPIN) "Waking the Mystics", Sophe Lux's second full-length, was mixed by Adam Selzer (the Decemberists, M. Ward) and drops via Zarathustra Records. The band's critically acclaimed EP "Hungry Ghost" 2009, was recorded and co-produced by Sean Flora, (The Shins).
"Sophe Lux blend elements of the Dresden Dolls, Queen, a French opera, Ella Fitzgerald, and, yes, Dante to achieve some awesomely bizarre, dark and sweet soundscapes. The collective employs tinkling bells, harpsichords, and carnivalesque accordions as Haynes theatrically croons lyrics inspired by the works of Nietzsche and William Blake. "Fill Me Up with Grace" and "Time of Light" take the jazzy center stage of Waking the Mystics, while "Target Market" and " Marie Antoinette Robot 2073 (A Rock Opera)" hold down the dreamlike sideshow tent." SPIN
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Sophe Lux at myspace.comGwynneth Haynes, the lead vocalist and main songwriter for Sophe Lux, believes in god … or at least a god. Waking the Mystics, the debut album for the newly formed band, beckons towards a "savior" and the divine. But just as the title suggests, Haynes and the rest of Sophe Lux believe in "waking up the mystic" that is inside of each of us. Maybe it is the album's message for spiritual reawakening and discovery that explains its bizarre soundscapes and morose meanderings.
Haynes, the talented sister of maverick filmmaker Todd Haynes (Safe, Far from Heaven, Velvet Goldmine), released her first record Plastic Apple as a solo artist in 2002. Afterwards, she decided it was time to form a full, proper band. Now Sophe Lux has transformed from a one-woman show to an eclectic collection of talented artists and musicians. But the camp and kitsch of their near operatic sound is coupled with wildly intelligent lyrics filled with existential angst. Haynes is aware of her music as an art form and medium for experimentation, play, politics, and creativity. The record is released on Zarathustra Records – a name borrowed from the nihilistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. (From Junkmedia.org Feature)
"Sophe Lux has dazzled." -SPIN
"I have been listening to Sophe Lux for a week or so and am just loving it!" -BOING BOING
"My mind has been officially blown. Sophe Lux is the most distinct band I have ever reviewed." -College News Magazine
"This is so enjoyable a record. Its
greatest accomplishment: the way it gathers from carnivals, cabarets, and the band's own live show a hundred darkling pleasures and carries them gently into the light; the way it cradles them, singes them, loses a little, gains a little more. It isn't a matter of how much of a dream is preserved, but of how well, and of how sumptuously the rest is recalled."
-STYLUS MAGAZINE
"Portland's purveyors of pastoral pop Sophe Lux take the theatrical approach of the Fiery Furnaces and max it out. The band—led by singer/songwriter Gwynneth Haynes—aims to channel a lot of ideas through Waking the Mystics, its second album.Haynes is an enchanting vocalist, cascading into a trilling falsetto from a plaintive lounge-jazz croon without a moment's hesitation. The regular off-kilter instruments line up and gleefully partake in the action—accordions, harpsichords, glockenspiel, and so on. Waking the Mystics is a strange, hypnotic visitation to a land inhabited by astute literary figures, psychotic philosophers and mindless freaks."
-THE SILENT UPROAR
"Walking The Mystics: A cool, glam, genre-busting album."
-VERY SHORT LIST
"Sophe Lux sounds like Kate Bush fronting The Decemberists"
-Jon Schaefer, WNYC NPR HOST
"Fandango guitars, martial snare drums, hurdy-gurdy carnival rhythms and
Operatic choruses converge in mysterious melodies swirling around thoughtful lyrics. It's a kaleidoscopic ride through sonic landscapes seldom explored in recent years."
-SHEPPHERD EXPRESS
"Seriously well crafted pop songs, dark, provocative lyrics, sung by a killer
voice and gloriously catchy pop hooks. This is the art-rock I grew up with back with a vengeance."
- DUGGUP
"It was love at first listen. Now, I'll admit, that I'm a sucker for any group
that can incorporate baroque music sensibilities with thought provoking lyrics,
but songs like "Target Market" drive me wild with their glam-Bach arrangements."
- DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY
"From the cabaret to the theatre to the lit class to the recital hall – and then
down the rabbit hole – the record touches on a number of styles, and pulls them all off with panache, thanks in large part to Haynes' inspired songwriting and versatile vocal dramatics."
-RED ALERT (Featured Interview)
"Glamorous, ethereal, mysterious, and playful."
- CD UNIVERSE
"This band has been dazzling the music scene with waltz beats, organ riffs, and angelic sounding choruses about things like robots and hypnosis. With addictive pop hooks and talent galore their new album "Waking The Mystics" is one you'll want to play over and over again."
- PORTLAND MERCURY
"Cups overflow in operatic pop group Sophe Lux's debut album 'Waking the
Mystics.' What, you don't know what operatic pop is? Well, think the heart of
Queen with the mindset of a Renaissance Faire. But then add in some unusually catchy melodies, a delightfully smooth production and a punchy, quirky sense of story -- are you with me yet? No? Well, this Portland, Oregon band has an original vibe and if you like a bit of kink with your melodic indie pop, you'll like 'Waking the Mystics.' Think a female-fronted The Darkness circa 1968. Or the Tiger Lillies with a contemporary indie rhythmic thrust. Or. well, Sophe Lux."
-ABOUT ALTERNATIVE MUSIC
"Like some deranged cross-breeding of Lene Lovich's operatic vocal style, the
Dresden Dolls' fondness for Kurt Weill, and the Decemberists' love of both
unfashionable prog rock and a good old-fashioned sea shanty, Sophe Lux is a
showcase for the highly theatrical singer and songwriter Gwynneth Haynes, who comes by her artsy tendencies naturally: her older brother is the highly
respected filmmaker Todd Haynes."
-ALL MUSIC
"Operatic, ambitious and more than a little glam, Sophe Lux crafts sophisticated, theatrical pop. While the band clearly channels influences like Kate Bush and David Bowie, it continues to push artistic boundaries, both
sonically and visually. Unafraid of outrageous costumes and mini-operettas,
Sophe Lux is the rarest of musical birds – which is to say it's unique and
unforgettable, particularly in a city that tends to favor knit caps and a lo-fi
aesthetic over frills and trills."
- PORTLAND TRIBUNE
"Haynes' vocals are nothing short of amazing as she easily pushes from one
style to another with ease to put the exclamation point on her works. Art and
music, expression and thought, all belong together. Thankfully, the
rock-cabaret of Sophe Lux keeps it alive, even if outside of mainstream
appreciation. For those of us who can extract the communications from these
songs, enjoy the different shell of sound, and appreciatively differentiate from the vast oceans of styles found on recordings like Waking the Mystics, we have a universe of music to never tire of."
-MUSIC TAP
"This ensemble is helping to carve out a new genre in American music that has no limits to the influences that can be drawn from. The fact that they come to their performances in costumes of the various characters that populate their songs only adds another beautiful and bizarre layer to the band."
-Brian Rademakers, Northeast Times
With well-crafted songs and an expressive leading lady, Waking the Mystics is
poised to be a cult classic."
-INDIANA UNIVERSITY DAILY
"Sophe Lux is what you would get if you brought a group of European street
players from a hundred years ago, gave them a crash course in modern music history, and shoved modern instruments into their hands."
-IOWA STATE DAILY
"Like the progenitors of the form, Queen, and the torchbearers of today, The
Decemberists, this Portland, Ore., group isn't afraid to add pageantry and
spectacle to its music. Its second CD, "Waking the Mystics," combines music that never goes for easy hooks with equally deep lyricism, "Waking the Mystics" is the kind of effort you wish more artists were daring and adventurous enough to attempt."
-NUVO.NET
To help pay for the next Sophe Lux recording
The Sophe Lux song "Electra 33" was used in the new Vampire Diaries commercial airing on the CW network. Thank you to all of our new Vampire Diaries fans for all the great CD sales and for all of your kind words about the song. We know many of you think the song is weird. But weird can be good for you sometimes. Gratitude.
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