LN
Bellevue, Ohio6 reviews across 4 releases
LN is an Ohio band built around Gary Murray, whose early work grew out of the noise/punk group Vacuum Star in the early 1990s. Based in Bellevue, the project originally used the name Love Neptune before shortening it to LN for Velvet Blue Music. The 1996 Cool September Skies established a slow, hazy form of pop built from reverbed guitars and slide melodies hovering over subdued rhythm sections, with ambient keys filling the spaces. Its songs suggested nighttime driving or rain against a window, though some reviewers found the mood familiar and the lyrics too weightless. Plum Brook made the restraint darker, using glimmering electronics and Kira Jones' soprano on "L'Avenir." By Novel, the sound had widened into acoustic country twang and long ambient passages while keeping Murray's melancholy voice and patient pacing.
In 2006, Gary Murray began releasing music under his own name, although LN continued in the form of Gary Murray & LN. The group had never been a regular live act; Murray said he avoided interviews and that LN played few shows. Downstream Angels appeared in 2008 under the combined name, and a collection followed in 2009. After a four-year break, Murray returned with Minor Lives in 2013, performed with Dalton Brand and Nathan Abel. LN later issued Monkeys & Spoons in 2022, while Murray's solo name appeared on later releases.
4 releases reviewed
Cool September Skies
Imaginary Cars
Plum Brook
Novel