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// Album Review · 2002

Much More
Than Thoughts

The Challenging Discourse

Written by Luna
June 10, 2002

Many musicians have crossed my path in this life, and they all have many things in common: they are driven by a force unknown to them, a need to release the creativity they have no control over. Music to them could never be called a hobby, because it is a way of life…an urge to communicate on a higher plane that we have yet to understand the power of. This is a fair description of Jordan Lucas, the musical Merlin behind Touch Rx — The Challenging Discourse. Beyond that which I consider common in musicians, there is very little description that can be applied to Lucas and his catalogue of music, ranging four albums of impeccable production quality and released independently on his own label, TD Records. His secrets and subtleties are all inlaid in his music like the floor of Atlantis’s town square: possibly forever hidden to anyone who attempts to navigate the depths of it.

The Challenging Discourse is a series of fleeting impressions for me, one blurring into the next in a way that is neither cohesive or easily described. This review will from this point portray that, as I listen from beginning to end, from my headphones, to the pen, to your eyes, and hopefully to your ear.

Prelude The beginning screams…the wrenching horror of the internal corridors of the mind. The understanding here is that the prelude is the reason for the need to create…everything after this disturbing opening is a purge, a salve to the painful wounds.

Radio Friendly This is one of my favorite songs on the album. Lucas gives a time structure here; he has been doing music since an age where most of us were still trying to master the art of junior high school. To say “I feel so lucky…being 14…” and then 20…he skims over so much that has already been documented in these six years with his previous albums and projects. It is an eloquent summation. The song is dark, the feeling of furrowed brows and fistfuls of hair, pure frustration giving way to anger and understanding. The guitar is rich and permeating, the kind that gives you chills. This song is always over too fast for me, but the maze now turns to another emotion Lucas has in store…

Concealing Factor S A worshipful love song that contains the joys of having compatible lovers, however fleeting their interest. Musically, the joy of the song belies the sadness of the situation described lyrically…you understand that memories can paint a more joyous portrait than a heart scorned. I hear undertones of survival instincts, with the guitar and bass doing double takes…

Unusual Circumstances One of the most beautiful songs on the album. Absolutely heartfelt. This is Lucas at his finest: acoustic guitar, voice, perception. He describes a premonition of his fate, how the fate remains unchanged in the end, no matter who or what enters the between. It is an invitation to join in this imagination, and to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Crystal Mystique This is a remake of the original that appeared on Lucas’s first album, Bliss — Flux. After listening to all his albums, I think it was wise to pull this one up to the present; it is an early indication of what was to come, and it meshes well with his current efforts. Comparing the original to the recent version, it is clear how far Lucas has come vocally…he has the versatility for grinding screams and serene wildflowers…and the same ability to write the sweetest lyrics that counteract with the power with which they are portrayed.

Jesus’ Halo An opening conversation between Lucas and his bassist from Touch, Corey Gradwel, is drenched in chemicals, arts, and hilarity. This song starts out in a bottle, which soon explodes into another realm of powerful chords and lyrics. Pure grace…and at the end, it seems to skip back down the road past you…it has a Doppler effect, with the quiet beginning, powerful body and quiet ending.

Beautiful If a guitar could ever sound like a music box, the opening guitar here does. I think this song sounds like an answer to Jesus’ Halo; they have very similar elements, as though the first was written in the midst of the subject matter, and this was written afterward…the mindset having changed.

Strange Things You get the permeating feeling that Lucas has a fairytale in his head throughout this album, and this song illustrates that. Some of us have trouble differentiating between reality and fairytales in our heads, and then there are those ghostly alien abductions that make us wonder what reality is anyway. This song tells us that it’s all the same, just select where you are happiest and live there. Very Robert Smith inspired guitar work here.

Talekiness If guitar and bass combinations are playgrounds, this song is the swingset and merry-go-round. Technically brilliant and fun to listen to…

Shades The gem of the whole album. This is the song that every musician hopes comes out of them one day. I hear elements of the Cars. Drive here, they make me feel the same way, encapsulated in the guitar’s effects, like the beauty is almost too much. An outpouring of a long held love and worship…whatever this is about should feel very blessed to have been immortalized in this way; songs this good come once in a lifetime.

Export Television Slavery “It’s so fucked up…It’s so fucked up.” These lines start one of the most creatively innovative sound structures on the album. I may be wrong, but do I hear a hip hop sample à la Lunya on this rock album? This one really grabs you in the beginning, and it is highly unpredictable in its arrangement…just follow, it’s going places you have never been, Lucas style.

My Birthday Song I really love the vocal arrangement on this. It is well done pop fare, with attention to detail. Happy and peaceful, just good moods all around.

Ms. Hollywood If you are this far into the album, you already know that Lucas has a huge soft spot for women. This seems to me to be a love song for all the ladies in his life, his sister in particular, who resides in Hollywood. The bass here is Gradwel’s finest work on the album; the slides are just gorgeous. Such a gorgeous tribute to those who are responsible for his joy and pain…there’s a phone ringing at the end, who could it be?

The Pink Elephant Theory I like the beats in this one. It is short and sweet, but the permeation of the cymbals and snare vibrate it well, and it leads perfectly into the next section of the maze…

Complaisance This is a good driving song, in that it rides along at an even keel. It has similar aspects to Radio Friendly, darkness and lament. I think that this would be one of the more popular songs on the album. It has many masterful breaks that never give pause to the overall effect, until the song completely changes into another great bass section. Pay attention to the industrial sounds behind the bass section, before it rips back into the encore. The electric guitar at the end is so subtle, like an angry bird in the distance.

Indifference Makes No Difference The duet. Can’t wait to hear this live.

The Moon Blast The beginning reminds me of UNKLE…the project by James Lavelle and DJ Shadow. The monologue Lucas gives in the beginning is the closest you are going to get to an explanation of anything…but note how much calmer he sounds than in the beginning…it tells us that Aeschylus was correct when he talked of pain falling drop by drop onto the heart until wisdom gracefully enters the realm. This is another favorite of mine. Lucas actually accomplishes a Prince-like wail at the end that is stunning. His voice is at its absolute best here in my opinion: calm, unaffected, wise, and versatile. An appropriate end to the maze.

Hidden Track Is there a certain time of day that you always look at the clock? If you can guess what time this happens for Jordan Lucas, you will discover a hidden track at precisely that time on the album — clever, clever. His voice hits bass on this track that meshes perfectly with the electronic bass sound that persists throughout the song. A clear indication of perfect pitch. I wish Lucas sang low like this more often…

Overall, I would have reservations about putting out a double album at this stage in my career if I were Lucas. But he pulls it off as well — you hardly notice that the CD changer is switching. This is one of those albums that is best listened to in its entirety. The production on this album would lead you to believe that massive amounts of studio hours were logged in the process, but the reality is that Lucas’s living room serves as the studio, and he produced this entire album himself. The sound is intellectually structured and filled with secrets. Lucas sees the world in a way that is singular to him, and he is unselfish enough to allow us to fix and see it that way too.