LULUC - Sweet Thief

Twenty-six minutes and twenty-six seconds: that's all it takes for Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett to seduce the listener with a bouquet of harmonies and primal rock'n'roll impulses. The sixth album by the duo Luluc, “Sweet Thief”, creates yet another delightful time warp. This time, the Melbourne-born musicians drew inspiration from the atmosphere of a Christmas holiday spent at the home of their friend J. Mascis — frontman of Dinosaur Jr and a longtime collaborator of Zoë and Steve — and from their decision to move back to Australia from America after the election of Donald Trump.

The interplay between the duo's dreamy folk harmonies and Mascis's impeccable rhythmic touches builds a tension that first caresses the surface before sinking into the depths of the soul. A case in point is the languid country of “Wanna Get Free”: a caressing yet utterly unassuming melody that flows like a river with no outlet, intercepted by a sax and a rhythm section that throw the track's final seconds into chaos.
The return home marks an emotional rebirth for the two musicians. Handling everything on their own terms reinvigorated Luluc's most intensely poetic streak: on “No One Else's Pen”, fluid, limpid melodies reminiscent of Paul Simon peek through, not without a certain unpredictability, but it's in the swaying rhythmic and harmonic textures of “Rewarding Melody” that the duo captures the true essence of the songwriter's craft. Here, horns and strings frame a melody that carries the scent of dream-pop and 60s surf-pop: pure magic.

Truth be told, the eighty-two seconds of the opening track, “Honeyeater”, would be enough on their own to reveal what Luluc's new record is made of. And when the refined country sounds in the vein of Cowboy Junkies merge with the noir pop-jazz of Blue Nile on “Dopamine Slot Machine”, it becomes increasingly clear that “Sweet Thief” is not just a great album, but a definitive statement of authenticity and originality.
The faint psych-folk echoes and reverbs of “Which Way Now”, the confessional tone of the voice wrapped in flute on “A Better Truth”, the evocative lullaby of “Lullaby”, and the elegant two-voice singing of “River At Your Feet” are further pieces of an immaculate, inspired record. Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett still find room, though, for a sweeping, poignant noir-tinged ballad, “Homesick In L.A.”: a moment where the psych-folk magic of Incredible String Band meets the acid folk of Velvet Underground, for one last, nostalgic plea from someone who still holds out hope for the future.

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03/09/2026