It's fitting that Tom Vek's third album is filled with songs about teetering between crisis and opportunity: after the release of Leisure Seizure, he was evicted from his East London studio to make room for more housing -- the same studio that he'd spent many of the years between his debut We Have Sound and Leisure Seizure building from scratch. Undeterred, he continued working on his music entirely on his own, channeling his frustration into an album that tries to graft order onto chaos, whether through reason, as on the taut opening track "How Am I Meant to Know," or potentially misplaced faith, as on the finale "Let's Pray." Vek conveys the anxiety and anger coursing through these tracks with hectic beats and synths that seem to buzz with impatience, resulting in tracks that are equally unsettling and appealing, like the Asian-tinged "Broke." The mix of philosophical lyrics and punchy sounds in Vek's music has always been unique, and while losing his studio might have been unfortunate in the short term, it gives Luck a newfound sense of purpose. Vek sounds more driven than ever before on "Sherman (Animals in the Jungle)," a bold call to action echoed by "Pushing Your Luck," where he sums things up in amusingly blunt fashion: "You better think how not to suck." Unfortunately, he squanders a chunk of Luck's momentum on the album's second half. "Trying to Do Better," the kind of empowering song Vek excelled at on Leisure Seizure, stumbles on choruses that are meant to soar, while "The Girl You Wouldn't Leave for Any Other Girl" is a little too simple and repetitive in its mix of loping acoustic guitars and braying vocals. He gets back on track with "The Tongue Avoids the Teeth," an equally bleak and catchy workout, and the fraught "A Mistake," which underscores Vek's emo influences when he yelps "You're only human!" Perhaps it's appropriate that an album named Luck features some of his finest moments as well as some of his most uneven ones. Even though Vek doesn't find or offer any easy answers on Luck, its highlights capture the most challenging and engaging parts of his work.
© Heather Phares /TiVo