Album Review: St. Lucia – “When The Night”

By: Charlotte MacPherson –

Having taken the pop electronic front by storm over the past little while, Jean-Philip Grobler, better known under the alias St. Lucia, delivers a beautifully and carefully constructed collection of tropically ambient ballads with When The Night, which was released on October 8^th via Neon Gold/Columbia.

Originally hailing from Johannesburg but since setting up shop in New York City, Grobler has always been musically inclined, singing in and touring with choirs from an early age. Since abandoning his classical training and adopting a fresh, upbeat electronic vibe, his sound incorporates elements from all over, pairing ’80s power-synths and nu-disco grooviness with wistful lyrics and instrumental samples like saxophone and piano. Think laser light show on the beach at midnight – but even that fun-filled description does not do St. Lucia’s high-energy yet somehow mellow sound justice.

Understandably, it’s easy for a collection of songs with the same feel and influences to get lost and blur into one another, but Grobler crafts each song with particular care. The Elevate EP, which was released this summer, provided a taste of what was to come: an interesting contrast of feel-good instrumentals with nostalgic and sometimes downright sad lyrics. Grobler often refers to longing for something he’s since lost, and the sentiment is fully realized in When The Night, each song laced with a particular poignancy or catharsis that must have comes straight from the heart.

Opening with “The Night Comes Again”, which is eventually met by closing track and the album’s namesake “When The Night”, the album is instantly introduced with an eerie, atmospheric feel and is then contrasted with spot-on power chords, drums, and stand out, evocative vocals that seep through your skin – comparable to the likes of M83 but something completely it’s own. Each song on the album plays with these elements, heightening one and downplaying another to avoid repetition. “Wait For Love” is a comforting sing-along accompanied with light, happy synths while “Elevate”, arguably St. Lucia’s biggest hit to date, is a full-blown jazz and drums dance party, complete with a classic, ever-essential saxophone riff. “September” is a more serious track which is mainly supported by its interesting and hard-hitting instrumentals, while “Too Close” ping-pongs dreamy, heartfelt lyrics with spot-on, clean chords and drums  – the perfect ’80s power ballad in the modern-day.

The sentiment of the album is conveyed subtly in each track, with lines such as “I will never take back / The words that I said then / I will always come back to you” (“All Eyes On You”). Both nostalgic for the past and hopeful for the future, the romance presented in When the Night is honest and accessible. All in all, the album is on point, like a soundtrack to a weekend away at the band’s tropical namesake.

Following the aforementioned and wonderfully received Elevate EP, as well as St. Lucia’s debut self-titled EP and a slew of singles and remixes, When The Night is only delivering more of what is already working, and lots of it. You can catch St. Lucia on tour this fall, including a stop at the Mod Club in Toronto on October 14th.

Essential tracks: “Elevate”, “Wait for Love”, and “Closer than This”.