While (Ryan Lott) is the primary artist, the 2013 album Lanterns features an extensive list of guest vocalists and instrumentalists across various tracks. Notable Features
Lily & Madeleine: Provide vocals on the standout tracks "Lost It to Trying" and "Plan the Escape". Shara Worden
(My Brightest Diamond): Featured on vocals for the opening track "Alternate World". Peter Silberman (The Antlers): Contributes vocals to the track "No Crimes". Chris Thile (Punch Brothers): Plays mandolin on "Alternate World". Darren King (Mutemath): Provides additional drums on "No Crimes". Full List of Collaborators
The album is known for its "impressive cooperative of artists", which also includes:
Vocals: Ieva Berberian, Cameron Schenk, Aaron Strumpel, Cat Martino, David Stith, and Kate Davis.
Instrumentals: Nadia Sirota (viola), Rob Moose (violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Clarice Jensen (cello), and Alex Sopp (flute/piccolo).
Samples: The closing track, "Lanterns Lit," features rehearsal recordings of the BBC Radio Choir. Son Lux - Lanterns -2013- -FLAC-
Later reimagined versions of these songs also featured high-profile collaborators, most notably Lorde, who appeared on a new rendition of "Easy" released in 2014. Hot New Music: Son Lux “We Are Rising” - Album Review
That is an interesting piece — specifically because of how the metadata is written.
Let’s break it down:
-FLAC- (lossless audio)But the unusual part is the double hyphen before 2013 and before FLAC, plus the trailing hyphen:
Lanterns -2013- -FLAC-
Typically, you'd see:
Son Lux - Lanterns (2013) [FLAC]
or
Son Lux - Lanterns - 2013 - FLAC
The way it's written (-2013- -FLAC-) makes 2013 and FLAC look like delimited keywords, almost like tags in a database or a very specific folder-naming convention from a private music tracker or scene release mimicry (though scene releases wouldn’t use that exact format). While (Ryan Lott) is the primary artist, the
Possible reasons for this exact string:
-Year- to surround the year. The repetition of hyphens before FLAC might be a formatting error or intentional for parser compatibility.-FLAC- at the end to indicate quality for search results.%album% -%year%- -%codec%-.-Year- -Format- as a visual separator.Regardless, Lanterns (2013) is a great album — especially tracks like "Lost It To Trying" and "Plan the Escape". Son Lux blends electronic, orchestral, and experimental rock. The FLAC copy would preserve the dynamic range and textures well.
Are you trying to parse a folder/filename with that pattern, or just curious about why it's named unusually?
The Context: Lanterns is the third studio album by Son Lux and is widely considered the project's breakout record. It marks a shift from the sample-heavy, fragmented production of earlier works to a more orchestral, bombastic, and cohesive sound. The album features collaborations with members of The National, yMusic, and DM Stith.
Unlike standard MP3s, not all default media players (like older versions of Windows Media Player) natively support FLAC. To listen to this release properly, use one of the following recommended players:
Desktop (Windows/Mac/Linux):
Mobile (iOS/Android):
Why FLAC matters for this specific album lies in the production techniques of Ryan Lott. He is notorious for using "found sounds" and crushing them with analog warmth.
Take the opening track, "Lost It to Trying." In a compressed MP3, the opening percussion sounds like a wet cardboard box being hit. In FLAC, you realize that sound is actually a heavily processed sample of a chair scraping a concrete floor, layered with a sub-kick that extends down to 30Hz. The FLAC encoding preserves the transient attack of that hit. You hear the initial thwack of the mallet, the rumble of the room, and the digital decay precisely.
Similarly, "Easy" (featuring Lorde’s future collaborator, but here a stunning solo piece) relies on silence. The track breathes. In lossy formats, the noise floor (the ambient hiss of the recording equipment) gets cut by the encoder to save bandwidth. But in a 2013 FLAC rip, you hear the room tone. You hear the pedal noise on the piano. This "imperfect" data creates the intimacy that Lott was aiming for.
A closing statement that refuses resolution. Brass and strings clash in microtonal intervals. Lott repeats “I will pay the ransom” until the words lose meaning. The final chord decays into white noise and, eventually, a locked groove of silence.
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