From the moment you hear the bristling boom-bap chorus on album-opener
"Totally Mutual Feeling," it's apparent that Lushlife's third full-length finds the
Philadelphia rapper-producer at his most introspective. Themes of isolation and
mortality permeate Ritualize, a cinematic hour-long odyssey co-produced by
enigmatic production trio, CSLSX (pronounced "Casual Sex") and featuring
contributions from Ariel Pink, Killer Mike, Freeway, Marissa Nadler, RJD2, and
more. With CSLSX at the boards, an entire universe opens up for Lush, where
the pulsating Juno synths of '80s LA night music sit side-by-side with
gorgeously propulsive indie-leaning jams, and low-fi soul burners too. The
resulting LP is a post-blog-era joint that seems to exhale the whole of the 20th
century in a single, fascinating breath.
