Lightning Bolt - s/t
(Load)
What we have here is a looser, less exacting Lightning Bolt. The Bolt we all
know & love from Ride the Skies attacks without mercy, hitting like a Mack
truck, a sledge hammer, a... well, you know. On this disc (a reissue of their
first LP, with added bonus tracks and the like bringing the running time of this
disc to a robust 78:57), the fervor and fever is still there, but if you’re
looking for precision, you’ve come to the wrong place. "Into the Valley" (the
first track you’ll come upon) is a rollicking mess of drum and bass, sliding
around a tempo without actually settling on one, sporadically locking into a set
groove. "Murk Hike" substitutes the chaos for a bit more rhythmic togetherness,
hitting a stride that best resembles a heavy-set elephant stampeding down a city
street. "Fleeing the Valley of Whirling Knives" is a close approximation of
what will be, but without Dave Auchenbach’s masterful hand tweaking the levels,
it doesn’t sound quite as crisp. The madness that is "Mistake" and "Caught Deep
in the Zone" is more of what you’ll be getting with this album—that is, the
messthetics of Black Dice sated by a love of 4/4 straightforwardness. (And that’s
a good thing, by the way.)
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