Following the two previous instalments of their excellent Tomorrows trilogy, experimental band Son Lux have confirmed that the upcoming finale Tomorrows III is coming out on April 16. They have also shared a single titled “A Different Kind of Love.”
From the song’s beginning, with its ominous guitar strums and a thunderous beat that slowly encroaches, it is clear that the band are staying firmly ensconced in the darkness. On “A Different Kind Of Love”, Son Lux have created another huge soundscape that maintains the apocalyptic nature explored in the Tomorrows project. “I need a different kind of love / Hurts to be loved like this,” lead singer Ryan Lott admits, and, from this, the apocalypse within this particular song seems less about our world and more personal, continuing themes of breaking free from toxicity. As Ryan describes “bruising both my knees / Whispering please,” his voice is modulated into a demonic rasping, and in the echoing “please” you can hear that there is a yearning for change.
The production swells into an incredible combination of strings, woodwind instruments and sharp synth riffs that sound like a choir descending into hellfire – in a beautiful way. The elements, in their contrasting textures, all work together and help add urgency to this journey. There is determination to escape from a dark fate of potentially losing oneself as Ryan sings: “I can’t tear down what I’ve built / Not seeking a reprieve.” As the song ends, circling back to the guitar strums with flourishes of piano and bass guitar, it is clear that things have not been resolved for this song’s protagonist. It ends rather on the type of bleak realisation (“I’ve been blind and I’ve been wrong / Hurt you all along”) that never arrives soon enough.
Tomorrows III will be released by City Slang, digitally on April 16 while a physical edition containing all three instalments is set for release July 30.
