Word: sonics
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...Bolt’s transition from grasping at their elusive live sound to crafting a full-fledged studio album. The differences from 2005’s “Hypermagic Mountain” are small but significant, taking the band beyond mere reproduction of a live show. The wider sonic range afforded by proper mic placement and high-end recording equipment gives bassist Brian Gibson’s densely layered effects a bit of breathing room, revealing a textural intricacy that is lost in live performance. On “The Sublime Freak”, Gibson’s feedback...
It’s hard to believe that Gibson’s signature sonic texture comes from a single instrument, but more surprising than the density of Gibson’s tone is the wide range of atmospheres he and Chippendale manage to evoke with their limited palette. The intro to “Flooded Chamber” is crafted from loops of pitch-shifted feedback, coalescing into a mournful seagull cry above Chippendale’s skittering ADD drums. “Rain on Lake I’m Swimming In” is a wash of echoed, harmonized...
...marks Lightning Bolt’s emergence as a fully competent studio act. It is a career landmark, if not their pinnacle, suggesting multiple potential directions for the band: imitate their current successes ad infinitum, explore radically different territory, or walk the delicate line of career innovators such as Sonic Youth and Radiohead. Lightning Bolt has defined their territory and explored its every facet, and “Earthly Delights” is the perfection of their current form...
...like the spectacle of nearly a hundred singers and musicians gathered on a famous stage to present a work that deserves to be renowned. Sung in English and trimmed by about an hour (losing a few favorite numbers in the process), this Kristina may not have the sweep and sonic magnificence of the album, but it's still likely to be the definitive reading of the new version...
...their previous style, but it detracts from the band’s originally interesting simplicity. The added effects attempt, and fail, to hide fairly shoddy song writing. “Time to Die” is not as tuneful as “Visiter” and their new sonic elements, though adventurous, fail to be as intriguing as the catchy melodies of their former work. “Fables” comes closest with an almost infectious chorus: “I don’t want to go in the fire / I just want to stay...