Lutalo is Jack Johnson if he was a freak who lived in your walls. (Affectionate.)
An indie rock musician from Vermont, Lutalo manages to capture something deeply unsettling about the current zeitgeist without doing anything overtly atypical. I’ll be focusing on his song “Call It In” from Once Now, Then Again because I am obsessed with it. Lutalo’s deep, detached-sounding vocals underscore stripped down, mostly acoustic instrumentals; the bass line is melodic and resonant, coming across as almost sarcastically playful in light of his listless lyrics.
Between the slightly childlike touches and a liminal, existential vibe, this song gives I-Spy book. The lyrics paint a portrait of a lonely boy in his room, alienated from the world, seeking comfort in small distractions that he ultimately knows are empty:
“A moment came where I got lost
Caught me playing simple games of toss
All alone in the void
Taking pictures of my favorite toys.”
A sense of hopelessness pervades the song in light of people's uwillingness to change a destructive culture:
“The angels came and then they went
So convinced that we were hell bent
To burn it all, and say it’s too late
Maybe I should get some real estate”
There is a sense of guilt in this song for “calling it in;” you can tell that the speaker includes himself in his criticisms, mocking himself (and our culture as a whole) for the ways we distract ourselves and live detached from our true values and from one another:
“A man watched me through my little black screen
Holding voices that he’ll never see”
“Once Now, Then Again” is a no-skips album for me, but I’m glad I got to delve into “Call It In” as a song that hooked me from first listen and now, after deeper analysis… has enchanted me body and soul. Lutalo, come out of my walls, I want to make you tea!!
Fun fact: Adrianne Lenker is Lutalo’s cousin!
