The Top Songs of 2011 - #99: "Dowrn" - Lotus

Electronic jam bands aren't exactly highly visible entities in music, and chances are that'll probably never chance, lest we receive the second coming of Blues Traveler that decides to throw in synthesizers and the like.

That said, Philadelphia/Denver four-piece Lotus seems to be doing fairly well for themselves. Along with a strict touring regimen, the band has been featured on the cover of Pollstar Magazine and currently possesses over 75,000 Facebook fans. In 2011, the band released a self-titled disc on The String Cheese Incident's SCI Fidelity record label.

If one is looking for a telling example of Lotus' music, one need not look further than No. 99 on this countdown, "Dowrn." And no, that's not a spelling error, at least on my part.

"Dowrn" is harmless enough at its onset, featuring a snaking, almost spooky synth and sparse guitar work. But what seems simple at first soon blossoms into a slightly different animal. More electronic instrumentation enters into the fray, each sounds with more of a dubstep-esque sensibility than the last.



The song retains its jam-rock feel all throughout, with only slight deviations from the main theme occurring. Sampled hip hop vocals weave in and out on occasion, but the focus is mainly on the instrumentation.

What results is a strange amalgamation of rock and electronica, with the occasional hip hop mixed in. And despite the song's inherent unpredictability concerning its electronic aspects, one gets the feeling that Lotus could be going crazier -- and likely do during a live show.

Like what you hear? Check out Lotus' eponymous album, which features much of the same subdued rock/electronic sounds.