Lewis & Clarke - Triumvirate (2014)

Triumvirate is the highly anticipated third full length from Lewis & Clarke. It's an album of seasoned confidence and meditative song-craft with a vision of clarity and conviction; a seventy-five minute journey through lush and brooding passages nestled in a canopy of strings, melancholic melodies and warm, world-weary beauty. Complex, fragile arrangements mix with unexpected but natural elements to create a tapestry of intricate yet strong compositions. Lyrically rich and musically gorgeous, Triumvirate is well worth the wait. Lewis & Clarke is the musical alias of Pennsylvania-based artist Lou Rogai, the voice and vision resonating through the long form art-pop / avant-folk compositions that have become a signature sound. For close to a decade, Lewis & Clarke has steadily and quietly built a devout following by releasing several acclaimed recordings while skirting mainstream currents. Rogai's slow-burning process is as much of a mission statement as an authentic stance in a corporate age. He makes music as an antidote, an unaffected experience. The moniker itself references the fellowship and correspondence between C. S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke rather than the 19th century explorers. In the same way, Lewis & Clarke songs tend to shift depth of field and mood as unexpected layers of sound and lyrics unfold. Rogai has a strong history of collaboration; he's credited as producer / arranger / multi-instrumentalist on Leave Ruin, the debut LP by Strand of Oaks, as well as having contributed to the Two Suns album by Bat For Lashes. Most recently, Rogai scored The Wreck, the short which premiered at Cannes 2014 directed by Kevin Haus. Haus also directed A Map of A Maze, a 13 minute short film depicting the inspirations and meditations of Triumvirate. Triumvirate takes its title from the political term for the classic power struggle between three entities as well as a cliff face of the same name in Delaware Water Gap. "If you equate the act of climbing a mountain as solving a puzzle, the album name is also a metaphor for solving a moving puzzle and moving forward". Listening to demos of the record, though, one gets the sense that the true triumvirate Rogai is exploring is one within himself; the outward-facing philosopher, the introspective songwriter, and the old soul whose oneness with the natural world can't help but permeate his work. // "Lewis & Clarke returns with a huge masterpiece; Triumvirate, a double LP of extreme beauty, emotion, musicality, and storytelling." FOLKADELPHIA // "Gorgeous, slow building.....He constructs songs the way a gifted author tells stories, revealing details slowly, guiding the narrative along confidently." - WONDERING SOUND