Known for their deafening live shows and propensity to bypass the stage and set up in the middle of an audience, Rhode Island noise groove duo Lightning Bolt make a strange brand of hardcore punk rock with little concern for anthemic slogans of anarchy. Instead, the band's music is more concerned with actually living out those mandates in the immediate present.
While most punk bands attempt to make a lot out of a limited range of abilities, these two art school grads make it clear up front that they have chops comparable to the best of trained musicians. The only thing the group really puts across, however, is a big mess of racket.
Earthly Delights, the band's first album in four years, may be its most varied yet, showing how far, the group can stretch that relatively confined canvas. But that eclecticism comes with a price of admission: a slightly lower tempo rate.
Although the distilled discord leaves out a certain degree of the ADD-friendly pummel of 2003's Wonderful Rainbow, it just may appease those flaring attention spans for a full-length record.
There are also plenty of songs that stick to the band's tried-and-true approach. Opener "Sound Guardians" is one such song, proving to be a manifesto of sorts for the band and living up to its title. Following a slower-paced intro of echo and wah-wah seared bass, the song is propelled into a raucous groove with enough time signature changes and stop-start drums to keep old fans on their toes while still reveling in that good old Lightning Bolt fun. Later on in the disc is where we see the band really branch out.
"Flooded Chamber" and "Rain on Lake I'm Swimming In" see the band trekking new territory, almost Afro-Caribbean in the midst of their confused ambience. Chippendale's manipulated vocals complement the tracks well, sounding so non-human you may think it was a Kevin Shields wall of sound with Kazoos instead of guitars.
"Funny Farm" likewise, puts the formula through a two-hand tapping Americana lens.
Maybe the expanded stylistic range of Earthly Delights is a result of Lightning Bolt's increasing exposure in the four years since its last release. In that time, Chippendale's drumming has been featured on records by artists such as avant diva Bjork and reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry.
Whether these experiences showed the two how versatile their talents can be, or if they just got bored and decided to mess around with new things, the success of these endeavors prove how tightly this duo can lock into each other.
Grade: B+
Download: "Sound Guardians"
