Lasso is a producer best known for his work with Lando Chill, helping him achieve the vision of his last two albums, including our favorite album of 2018, Black Ego. However, after recording that album, both artists bid adieu to Tuscon, with Lando moving to L.A. and Lasso moving back to Michigan, where he grew up. Since that time, he’s been working on his own solo album, which finally sees the light of day as he drops the appropriately titled The Sound of Lasso.

If you’ve spent the time with Lasso’s work with Lando Chill, you know that one of the main appeals of Lasso’s music is that it’s never just one thing, that he’s always looking to blur the lines between genres. For The Sound of Lasso, Lasso pushes things even further, building his compositions on piano, guitar, and drum machine, and then bringing in thirteen musicians to flesh out his vision, contributing on vocals, synth, cello, pedal steel, percussion, vibraphone, drum kit, electric piano, electric guitar, saxophone, bass, and violin. The resulting sound is one that is very lush, always in motion, and very passionate. Over the course of fifteen songs, Lasso moves between blues, gospel, R&B, soul, country, psych-rock, post-rock, free jazz, hip hop, and electronic music and spends a lot of time in these sweet spots in between the cracks where the music is not easily defined or put into a box. In fact, one influence that I do hear on this album is another Michigan based-act, His Name Is Alive, who similarly have spent most of their time living outside of easy classification but have consistently delivered challenging and emotionally charged musical compositions. And that’s what really makes Lasso’s work on this album so compelling. It’s intellectually challenging, but it’s also incredibly emotional. It’s hard not to connect with the passion pouring through each song, as Lasso guides you through these compositions that are structured really well, using instrumentation and arrangements expertly to get you inside your own heart and mind and let yourself surrender to the music and just let it take you away. It’s an album that works well on both headphones or stereo, but is especially rewarding to listen to by yourself, so that you can form a personal relationship with the album.

I’ve known that Lasso was talented for a few years now, but it’s nice to see him shine all on his own with The Sound of Lasso. It’s a confident, challenging, and heartfelt album from a unique talent.