LE LOUP | FAMILY

HARDLY ART

Maryland band Le Loup is back with its sophomore album Family, two years after its 2007 debut, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly. Since then, Le Loup has expanded from one to five members, all of who wrote the songs and added vocals. Listening to the album, instant associations to Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, and Sufjan Stevens come to mind. But Le Loup earns a place among these bands and shows its own character, even if its influences are unmistakable. The songs on Family blend psychedelic washes of harmonies and tribal percussions that are both thoughtful and appealing. – Written by DBosket