Album Review: Lightning Bolt’s Fantasy Empire

There’s no mistaking the sound of Lightning Bolt once you’ve been acquainted. With that being said it speaks for the band’s superior stock that each new album still engages enough that they never sound like they’re retreading the same ground. Fantasy Empire is the latest full length from the RI duo, the first in six years. Brace yourselves, because it sounds like these two weren’t just twiddling their thumbs over the interim.

Like I said anyone who’s had even an inital introduction to Lightning Bolt’s music will probably recognize the tortured banjo string squawk giving way to the all-encompassing low-end bath that bassist Brian Gibson hits us with right out of the gate on this album’s first track. One observation that listeners may be quick to make is that even though the sound is LB, the riff itself is go-for-the-throat punk/metal. This is a trend that continues throughout a good portion of Fantasy Empire and does a good bit to set it apart from the rest of the duo’s discography. Don’t get me wrong, LB have always been heavy, but it’s hard for me to remember their riffs ever being this balls-out. While Lightning Bolt have always been far more on the border of avant-guarde than you typical heavy band, enough so that you can’t really call them “punk” or “metal”, you’ll still be hard pressed not to bang your head to this. While the second track, “Over the River and Through the Woods” starts off with the same aggression there seems to be some reverb peaking through on Brian’s bass in a surprisingly melodic moment more than halfway in. This is far from the extent of the sonic variety you get here, an array of effects, synth noise, and Brian Chippendale’s signature vocals also help bring these songs to life.

Tracks 4 and 5 take enough of a break from the aggression to change into a more colorful, classic LB arrangement, but both tracks are still dominated by a heavy fuzz. The track “Dream Genie” is a buffet of awesome bass tones and killer riffs, with the opening sounding so heavy that it almost sounds like the sound itself could give way and fall apart. The last track actually does kind of fall apart, but it does so in glorious, smoldering fashion that should be a delight to sludge fans. And personally the bright burst of noise in “Leave the Lantern Lit” made me wish it was more than twice as long.

As is the norm on this site I’ve spent alot of time talking about the bass, but no one can mention the merit of Lightning Bolt without praising both equally important halfs. Brian Chippendale’s powerhouse drums are potentially sounding better than ever and as always, it’s the force of the two members combined that make this album what it is. Fantasy Empire is full of great arrangements with an even more vibrant sonic pallette that still fits right in with what people expect form this beloved noise-rock duo. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not it was worth the wait, but either way, it sure is good to have them back.

8/10

You can buy Fantasy Empire here:

http://thrilljockey.com/thrill/Lightning-Bolt/Fantasy-Empire#.VRGCMt3DaGk

Album Review: Boris – Noise

 

With the greater than usual number of genre-spanning releases that this long-running Japanese trio imports, they’re working their way into being one of those rare acts who you love, but you simply can’t be bothered to listen to every new album they put out. Combine roving from doom to J-pop and an affinity for confusion that leads them to do things like giving the name “Heavy Rocks” to two completely different records and you may leave the people wanting an album like Noise that serves as a love letter to both longtime fans and barely-familiars. Noise doesn’t reach for any polar extreme of the band’s sound, but instead utilizes everything in their arsenal to create a focused and satisfying heavy rock album.

Opener “Melody” is the kind of high-energy, fist-pumping rock anthem that may be familiar to those who have kept up with Boris’ non J-pop output in recent years, and “Vanilla” keeps the train moving by hearkening back to their stoner-rock days for a spell. “Heavy Rain” switches gears and sports a wall of distortion and washed-out tremolo picking, all moving at doom pace to wonderfully contrast with Wata’s soft vocals. It’s a great track, and shows off the band’s shoe-gazier side that they’ve been known to occasionally indulge in. But if you think that’s the extent of this album’s moodiness prepare yourself for “Angel”. At an exhausting 18:41 it’s just as much a ballad moving at a glacial pace as it is a good demonstration of Boris’ more cinematic songwriting abilities that they’re finally beginning to show more of. One cannot argue that these songs aren’t thorough listens, even when “Quicksilver” kicks up the RPMs it’s for almost 10 minutes.

The peppy “Taiyo No Baka” would have fit in just fine with the band’s 2011 J-pop leaning releases if it were synthed up just a little more, and the properly titled “Siesta” closes the album. It leaves an odd aftertaste as the track is more of a melancholy post-metal instrumental than it is anything else. As is sometimes the case with Boris the album also serves as a auditory treasure trove for guitar nerds. Even being far more of a bass nerd myself my ears were still perked up by all the different tones flying around, and I could see the guitar guys going track by track and trying to decipher which Gibson, fuzz, and tube head were being used for each lead.

I could agree with the assessment that this is probably Boris’ finest albums to be released in several years, but while it may seem definitive now, it’s hard to tell if Noise will stand up to landmarks like Pink and Smile once we’ve had some years to look back. Either way, it should go without saying by now that whether you’re a fan or you’ve never heard Boris, Noise makes some.

Noise is available through Sargent House Records

http://boris.bandcamp.com/album/noise