Spun: Lotus Child

By Adriana Sveen

Like a sloppy first kiss, Lotus Child’s sophomore album flirts with greatness at times, but ultimately falls into limbo somewhere between “outstanding” and “okay.” Gossip Diet is a competent combination of unchained, confident instrumentals and endearing vocals, but is tainted by over-complicated lyrics on a few tracks.

Upbeat tracks like “Lids” and “Archaeologists” show a goldmine of instrumental potential complimented by toe-tapping rhythms. Unfortunately, a few lesser tracks tend to be bogged down by obscure references only understood by the band or freakishly-obsessed groupies.

Fresh out of Vancouver, Lotus Child credit their musical inspiration to bands like Muse, Spoon and Arcade Fire, but the end result is a hybrid of generic indie-pop that doesn’t really stand out. Backed by the renowned Warehouse Studio and producer Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, New Pornographers, 54-40), Gossip Diet, with its yin and yang hodge-podge of transcendent and merely-listenable tracks is able to achieve true musical balance: mediocrity.