Mutual Benefit - Thunder Follows The Light (2018) [Hi-Res]

Thunder Follows The Light contemplates the ongoing destruction of the outer world and how it shapes the storms of our inner ones. There are meditations on the environment, collective struggle, death, rebirth, reasons to believe it’s worth the fight.

For nearly a decade, Jordan Lee has crafted pop experiments blending orchestral instrumentation and ambient electronic sounds. Thunder Follows the Light is a testament to the power of music as a space for collective processing and emotional response. Like his other releases, it is a highly collaborative document. Its sprawling chamber folk features many returning collaborators—violinist Jake Falby, guitarist Mike Clifford, percussionist Dillon Zahner—as well as first-time players—vocalist Johanne Swanson (of Yohuna), drummer Felix Walworth (of Told Slant), saxophonist Gabriel Birnbaum (of Wilder Maker).

Lee’s aggressive pursuit of art-making for himself is empathetic and outward-facing, looking both to the past and the future with warmth and hopefulness. “Peace is more than just a season coming ‘round again,” he sings on two different songs—and the emphasis seems intentional: suggesting that harmony of the mind and the heart do not just transpire but must be worked for, growing from deep-rooted foundations. In the world that birthed Thunder Follows the Light, it feels like medicine.