One song. One album. Six remixes. Repetitive? Maybe. Good? Possibly. Boring? A little. Would I recommend buying? Probably not. The Weapons EP by Ryan Lott, AKA Son Lux, released by the Frisco based avant garde hip-hop outfit Anticon? isn’t necessarily a bad album. It’s just not impressive. Word around the internet is that Son Lux regularly participates in multi-disciplinary performance parties on the other coast. The album’s one track in multiple forms seems like it would play well in that sort of a venue. There, it could make a statement or set a theme. This makes the album appropriate for that sort of a situation, or in a laptop jockey’s arsenal, just not on my Ipod.

The album begins with a version of the album’s title song, "Weapons", that is reminiscent of the sounds of the Evpatoria Report’s acoustically influenced electronica. The second track remixes the first with a minimalist synthesizer and adds twittering electronic beats accompanied by a vocoded and looped chorus that repeats throughout the song. Setting the tone for the album, this track uses its hooks to build to an emotional crescendo and then brings it back down several times. Out of the other five tracks, only two of them deviate from this formula. Track five speaks to Anticon’s progressive hip hop, or avant-hop as they call it, roots. The song plays like it’s being mixed on a set of turn tables, with someone dropping rhymes as the first departure from the album’s predicable format. The final track is a lot more dancy, and is almost reminiscent of the Faint’s harsh and gritty electro.

I’m not saying don’t buy the album, nor am I saying that Son Lux is lacking ability. He’s obviously not. Each track taken on its own is really good. I would love to see him involved in a live performance. If he came to Tampa, I would probably go see him. His music would play well if it was played in a coffee shop or lounge with the music player set on random. Otherwise, I would prefer to take pass. Sorry, Son Lux. If you want me to buy your album, you’ve got to work for it. Remixing one song six different ways does not an album make.