Album Review: Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima

There’s something sacred about Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O, and musician/producer Danger Mouse’s collaborative venture in Lux Prima. Whether she’s crooning about love and loss in ‘Ministry’ or encouraging girls to chase their dreams in standout single ‘Woman’, Karen O and her indie-rock vocals smoothly align with Danger Mouse’s atmospheric soundscapes.

This album is space opera gone existential, juxtaposing driving beats with swelling strings, as it guides listeners on a journey through the stars. Karen O’s higher range steals the spotlight, allowing her to flit above the base melody in ‘Turn The Light’, or scream in the throes of empowerment in ‘Woman’.

Songs like ‘Reveries’ – which begins with Danger Mouse’s ethereal acoustic guitar chords – introduce a quieter tone, lulling the listener into a dreamlike state. Elsewhere, highlights include ten-minute odyssey ‘Lux Prima’; animalistic lament ‘Leopard’s Tongue’; and the remarkable ‘Drown’, which features some stunning lyrical poetry from O (“When the darkness looked away/ And the stars don’t frown on me/ When the fire’s burning blue through you/ We’re alive inside a flame”).

From devotion to destruction, Lux Prima chronicles a love story in hugely imaginative style. It simply refuses to be bound by gravity. If you, too, want to touch the heavens, just close your eyes and drift along for the ride.