Lightning Bolt 'Earthly Delights' (Load) Released 19/10/09

The two Brians that make up Lightning Bolt may have been simultaneously constructing then deconstructing slabs of abstract noise for the best part of a decade-and-a-half now, but on ‘Earthly Delights’, their fifth full-length studio album, their panache for creating mesmerising sonic ambivalence shows no sign of drying up just yet.

Although hardly prolific – ‘Earthly Delights’ predecessor ‘Hypermagic Mountain’ came out some four years previous – Lightning Bolt are a genuinely innovative force amongst rock’s derivative recyclists and staid formulaic drifters. While the duo’s recorded output can rarely match the sheer intensity of their unrehearsed, no holds barred live set, this is the closest they’ve come to replicating the unabated experience of witnessing a Lightning Bolt performance in the flesh.

In fact, it’s hard not to marvel at the tenacity of their musicianship, and indeed gasp in amazement at the fact such a loudly orchestrated statement of intent as this was conjured up and delivered by just two people. Although primarily focused around drums and bass (and the occasional distorted vocal), The White Stripes for the ATP generation this is not. Instead there’s a dynamic sense of achievement as Brian Gibson pummels his bass into submission during the seven-and-a-half minutes doomfest that is ‘Colossus’, while Brian Chippendale’s fingers and larynx were surely in need of medication after being frantically beaten and roared through the opening salvo of ‘Sound Guardians’.

What makes each of ‘Earthly Delights’ nine pieces even more remarkable is that rather than play cut and paste with what were essentially continuous jams as Lightning Bolt appear to have sometimes done in the past, every moment is exquisitely crafted in its own individual right, almost like a registry office consummation of noise and melody forthwith. ‘Flooded Chamber’ could be Battles if they’d grown up on Roadrunner rather than Warp imports, while the closing behemoth that is ‘Transmissionary’ simply defies belief, such is its ever-changing dynamic from rhythmic shuffle to heavily segued interludes of bass-driven noise at random sequels.

Overall, ‘Earthly Delights’ may just be Lightning Bolt’s most affirmed collection thus far, and as a precursor to December’s long-awaited sojourn on British soil, can only whet the appetite further for what will surely be an explosive round of live shows.