REVIEW: Fantasy Empire by Lightning Bolt

     Some bands have a need to continually and dramatically change their sound over time. You can expect each Beck album is going to sound different from the last. David Bowie, the musical chameleon, is going to shift his sound to what's popular at the moment. Then there are the bands that release albums that more or less sound the same. Some of these bands these bands release albums that sound exactly the same, but others release albums that sound different enough that it keeps things interesting. Lighting Bolt is one of these bands that releases very similar albums year after year. They have released five albums, each of which are slightly different and slightly more fine tuned than the last. Lightning Bolt knows how to make scorching noise rock and their not changing anything dramatic on this next record. Through slightly catchier riffs, better recording equipment, and more songwriting knowledge, the band achieves another great record without trying anything to change their sound dramatically.

     If you've ever heard a Lightning Bolt album, there's nothing that will surprise you about this album. Brian Chippendale's pounding drums and distorted vocals still penetrate Brian Gibson's amazingly full sounding bass. The thing I find most impressive about Lightning Bolt as a band is how tightly orchestrate noise. Every moment on this album feels tightly orchestrated, even when they are playing incredibly chaotic music. Their ability to organize chaos is present on all of their music, but this album feels the most tight. This tightness leads to this album feeling like their most accessible album. "Accessible" in this case doesn't mean that they're suddenly making pop songs, it just means that the riffs are slightly poppier and their music is a little less noisy. At this point in their career, I was hoping that Lightning Bolt would have maybe progressed a bit more, but they are so great at doing what they do it's hard to be mad. I'm going to give this album 8/10 stars for being Lightning Bolt at their best, but not breaking any musical barriers.

BEST TRACKS: "The Metal East", "King Of My World", "Mythmaster" 

★★★★★★★★☆☆