Lucid Express singer/synth player Kim Ho has escaped the clogged streets, blinding lights and noise of central Hong Kong to the region’s northern mountains. Heartbreak and disillusionment are on her heels.

In these mountains, in sight of both the Chinese border and the international city hub of Central Hong Kong, Ho finds herself seeking to make sense of exactly who she, and her bandmates, truly are. The pride they’d felt as teenagers has long since faded. The multicultural progressive city that they grew up in has shifted staunchly conservative and politically oppressive since 2014, when an outbreak of anti-state protests were countered with beatings, politically-targeted arrests, and death threats from government officials. Says Ho, “we’ve just been steadily losing hope for a decade now”.

Their response has been to create their own universe revolving around their studio practice space nestled in an unassuming industrial district on the edge of the city. “We joke that we created a ‘scene’ of five people” says guitarist Andy Tsang.

Their upcoming album, Instant Comfort is the sound of a young band who have now traveled the world, seen what it has to offer, held it for a moment, before watching it slip through their fingers. While the group’s earliest recordings arrived buoyant on a wave of hopeful romanticism, this latest outing is more complex; mapping their journey from uncertainty to a renewed sense of self-reliance. As such, Lucid Express stand more assured than ever before. Ho’s vocals and synth lines confidently sit on top of expansive interweaving guitar textures from Tsang and Sky Kung, while brothers Samuel and Wai Chan provide a driving foundation on bass and drums respectively.