Oblivion Hunter
Since drummer Brian Chippendale of the noise-and-rhythm duo Lightning Bolt usually \"sings\" with a mic in his mouth, rendering any possible lyrics indecipherable, Lightning Bolt is really all about the music. Chippendale\'s musical partner, Brian Gibson, doesn\'t so much play the bass as he mutates and manipulates it, using sheer force to coax out a kind of bruised aural beauty. *Oblivion Hunter* features studio tapes \"lost\" since 2008 and shows the band exploring and pumping up for 2009\'s *Earthly Delights*. Among the rough mixes of brawny sparring matches and sprawling jams (one track is 13 minutes long), tracks like the roiling \"King Candy\" or the surprisingly melodic \"Fly F\*\*\*\*\* Fly\" stand out. \"Soft Spoken Spectre\" is a gorgeous break in the cacophony, with Gibson\'s bass turning out a spare and sparkling 72 seconds of fanciful, Eastern-inflected beauty. The tumultuous \"World Wobbly Ride\" might test even a true fan\'s patience, with the duo indulging in a very loose jam that at times feels a bit like they forgot the tape was still rolling. Playful and mostly satisfying, *Oblivion Hunter* will undoubtedly delight some and mystify others.
Formed in 1994, Lightning Bolt redefined what it meant to be DIY. An utterly singular band in every way, unbridled creativity and energy propelled them well past most categorical boundaries, least of which is the boundary between band and audience. Theirs is an immersive experience – a sound so huge it can swallow us all with ease. Oblivion Hunter is a monster. Not a compilation, not concept album and more than the sum of its parts, the record is a peek into the band's inner world on their home turf (the Hilarious Attic in Providence), collecting deep explorations into distortion, bass manipulation and its intersection with rhythm. The result is a cathartic listening experience that finds blast-beats colliding with distorted vocals and all shapes and sizes of guitar noises, even some metallic riffage on the album closer and aptly named "World Wobbly Wide." Throughout, the sound is amped-up and free with an ear on the railroad tracks to the big sounds of industry and clamor. Bass sounds jump out of the speaker cones that conjure up ears in alien propulsion systems, nights in faraway wind tunnels. It is truly the sonic oblivion and YOU are now the Oblivion Hunter.
Lightning Bolt's latest gathers unreleased material recorded in 2008; though positioned as an EP, it's actually an album-length collection that serves as a solid summary of what they do well.
Discover Oblivion Hunter by Lightning Bolt released in 2012. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
It’s always difficult to translate a ferocious live show into a comparable sounding studio recording. Just look at some of the best live bands over the past four decades and notice how they always sound better live, even if it’s in some rundown, back alley dive bar. There’s something inherently primal, spiritual even, about seeing