Lightning Bolt with Made Manifest and Unabomber

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Known for their frenzied, hysteria-inducing live shows, the absolutely immortal Providence noise-rock duo Lightning Bolt return to SPACE.

Lightning Bolt

Known for their frenzied, hysteria-inducing live shows, the absolutely immortal Providence noise-rock duo Lightning Bolt return to SPACE for the first time since 2017. Lightning Bolt play with abandon that is unmatched and remarkably undiluted since theduo’s formation 25 years ago. They are often called one of the loudest rock outfits inexistence, both on record and on (or famously, off) the stage. Brian Gibson creates soundsthat are unexpected and remarkably varied with his virtuosic bass playing and his inventiveapproach to the instrument, centered around melody rather than rhythm. The dizzying furyof Brian Chippendale’s drums twist from primal patterns into disorienting break beats ashis distorted, looped, and echoing vocals weave more melody into the mayhem. Amidstthe fray there has always been shreds of a pop songs discernible in the eye of everyLightning Bolt song. For their seventh full length, Sonic Citadel, Gibson and Chippendalehave done the daring, stripping away some of the distortion mask to reveal the naked popforms as never before. Their relentless energy, inventiveness and, unrestrained joy stilldrive their songs, pulling you in and compelling you to bounce and yes, even sing along.Over their career Lightning Bolt’s incomparable sound has been built on the ebb and flowbetween the power of raw, unbridled simplicity and a boundless, childlike sense of wonder.Sonic Citadel marks the duo’s most varied and diverse work since their seminal albumWonderful Rainbow, exploring a large breadth of emotions between and within each song.Gibson and Chippendale again recorded with Seth Manchester at the esteemed MachinesWith Magnets to capture the abandon of their music with clarity and Gibson’s incredibledynamic range clearly to make the record as visceral an experience as their liveperformances. The pummeling “Blow To The Head” and swirling “Van Halen 2049”bookend the album with two of the most ferocious songs in the band’s catalogue, with theformer built as a Black Pus (Brian Chippendale’s solo outlet) track on steroids. In starkcontrast, songs like “Don Henley In The Park,” and “All Insane” take on almost conventionalpop shapes despite being entirely spontaneous pieces crafted in the studio. “HüskerDön’t” too defies expectations as one of the poppiest songs in their discography with achugging but clear chord progression and some of Chippendale’s least distorted vocals.These wildly varying approaches are a testament to the duo’s immeasurable capacity toexplore new sonic territory organically, and largely through improvisation. For the bulk of Lightning Bolt’s work together, they have slowly molded improvised jamswhich sometimes take years to develop on the road. The song “Halloween 3” may soundfamiliar to fans who have seen the band live in the last 15 years, and is named after apopular video of the duo performing an early version of the song. Sonic Citadel, however,also prominently features songs which began as solo recordings, be it a Black Pus 4-trackrecording or a series of looped bass figures from Gibson. In the four years between albumreleases, each member’s increasingly prolific creative endeavors limited their time tocreate together. Brian Gibson was the sole artist, musician and co-designer of theacclaimed video game Thumper, which has since proliferated across a multitude ofplatforms, and won countless awards including the 2019 Apple Design Award. BrianChippendale, who has always created the band’s visual art, released the graphic novelPuke Force, was included in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time,” andrecently collaborated with fashion designers Eckhaus Latta. Coupled with their consistenttouring, as well as Chippendale recently becoming a father, the duo took the challenge oftheir time constraints head on as a compositional tool. By keeping some songs more directand focusing on their central ideas, the duo managed to increase the overall intensity oftheir music while leaving space to for the songs to breath and stretch out live. The impact that Lightning Bolt has had on underground music since its inception isimmense, and remains pervasive beyond any genre tag that has been attached to them.Sonic Citadel is the work of band unafraid to challenge themselves, unbound byexpectations, joyfully defiant, and possessed of the same inventive curiosity which setthem apart on day one and is unmatched still 25 years later.

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Lightning Bolt with Made Manifest and Unabomber

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Lightning Bolt with Made Manifest and Unabomber

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