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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Synthy |
| 2. All The Sun That Shines |
| 3. Amazing And Wonderful |
| 4. Birds Of Paradise (Dub Version) |
| 5. Key Sparrow |
| 6. Tiger Eyes (Laid Back) |
| 7. Marshmellow Yellow |
| 8. Summertime |
Product Description
Review
Peaking Lights, a husband-and-wife duo from America’s west coast, take the right approach to incorporating myriad influences into a streamlined soundworld: use only what you need, not what you can just because it’s there. So echoes of dub, twitches of house, the lo-fi sigh of chillwave and the rough-edged charm of bedroom-born indie swirl about a psychedelic centre that roots everything in solid foundations. From here tangents sprout; but never do the pair lose sight of a key motif, something to lock onto and embrace the attention. Tiger Eyes (Laid Back) recalls the half-asleep beats of Screamadelica, placing a percussive backbone behind airy vocals from Indra Dunis. As its suffix suggests, Birds of Paradise Dub Version presents similar reverberations, low-end rumbles stretched into enveloping waves of rippling warmth. Throughout, delicate and sparse guitar work navigates the track towards The xx as reimagined by King Midas Sound: surely a sound worth experiencing by the many.
But mainstream-friendly isn’t really a description that can be affixed to this eight-tracker, its makers’ first to be released outside of the US. While 936 takes cues from acts who’ve breached commercial territories, there’s a singular craft to the stitching together of constituents here – crossover is relatively unlikely as Peaking Lights adhere to no particular scene. Fans of Warpaint will enjoy the fuggy atmosphere that hangs heavy over Dunis’ vocals; rhythmical repetition will strike a nod-along chord with Krautrockers of the world; the sunshine-kissed shimmer of opening instrumental Synthy is comparable to the rainbow electronica of Boxcutter; and All the Sun That Shines is a different-accented cousin of the continental tropicalia of El Guincho, slower but certainly with sand in its socks as it shimmies along its way.
936 is a delight, a ray of welcomed sunshine as the wintry outside fades into shades of grey. One feels the band’s next album, expected in early 2012, may take them into sharper focus for those who might not commit the necessary time to this less-immediate material. One hopes that they can turn this wonderful stuff into a (relatively) commercially viable concern without compromising its delicious looseness, or its simple but addictive grooves.
--Mike Diver
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
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Customer Reviews
The record has a sort of jacuzzi drug party feel about it. The opening track 'Synthy' is a relaxing hypnotic swirl, easing you in and passing you a beaker of special punch. Second track 'All The Sun That Shines' turns on the bubbles with its dubby percussion and loping bassline, also introducing a naive, druggy vocal style which floats above the warm water of synth at various points throughout the record. The vocal comes in male and female forms, both reverby and simple and completely apt for the music.
As the album progresses the listener only sinks deeper into a mesmerised childish state of joy. A particular euphoric highlight is 'Tiger Eyes (Laid Back)', which has probably the strongest groove on 936, and a great chiming sound as well. Closer 'Summertime' gives your ears and brain a final swirl by layering a syncopated churning below the surface. This intensifies the whole blend of Peaking Lights' sound and provides a great mood to end on.
Thoroughly recommended for anyone who likes dub, psych, kraut, synth, music, drugs, music and drugs, jacuzzis, or lying in bed until the afternoon. Apparently they are working on a follow up which is a night time counterpart to this record. I expect great things.
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