Customer Reviews

Wonderful Rainbow

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Oh Jeebus, this is one intense album. For those unfamiliar with Lightning Bolt, the loud, hard-pounding Wonderful Rainbow should serve as a suitable introduction to this manic drum-and-bass duo. There may only be two instruments being played, and a few wordless vocals scattered throughout, but Wonderful Rainbow is anything but minimal. This is one busy album, filled with dense, complex, and occasionally playful pieces of noise rock that will have you banging your head in no time at all.

If you ever thought a bass couldn't be used as a lead instrument, this album will provide you with a resounding rebuttal, as Brian Gibson finds more uses for the instrument than you might think possible. His work here ranges from big fuzzed-out riffs to screeching bouts of feedback and everything in between, while Brian Chippendale contributes some drumbeats that you'd have to send away to NASA to calculate. Go ahead, try to sit still while listening to the crazed intro to 30000 Monkeys. I dare you.

There are a few rather mellow moments to be found here, but they basically just serve as counterpoints to the monstrous sonic onslaught that's typically on display. As someone else has already noted, Lightning Bolt makes a great antidote to the Belle and Sebastians of the world. This album is a must for serious noise enthusiasts everywhere.

I like Lightning Bolt's records, heck I'm giving this one 5 stars, but I did not really GET it before I saw them live. They do not want to be "cool," they do not want to be "challenging" or "avant garde," they don't want to be stars, Lightning Bolt just wants to rock you as hard as possible. This is maximum adrenalin, ENDURANCE music. People keep saying they are LOUD not just because they have the highest decibels. A Paul McCartney concert will always be louder decibel-wise. But this is just so HARD and HEAVY and INTENSE, yet without sounding remotely like any other hard, heavy band, that the best way to describe it is just that it's LOUD.

Lightning Bolt played with Sonic Youth and Lightning Bolt played last because no one in their right mind would want to have to play after Lightning Bolt! Everyone would go home. This is why they close every show they ever play! I think Weasel Walter called them "post-music," and when they are finished playing a show you can't even think about bothering to listen to anything else. What would be the point?

Also, they are unbelievably nice and approachable guys. Definitely NOT scenesters snobs or something. One of the few bands that deserves all of the praise they get, and one that you'll be reading about in music (and art) history books in 15 years or so. Mark my words.

Many search for some good old chaotic noise. The problem is, a lot of it tries so hard to be "extreme" that it just doesn't work. But then there's Lightning Bolt, a bassist and drummer with a dream to just destroy every eardrum in its path. No gimmicky "eat babies, rape dead bodies" lyrics here. No downtuned guitars trying hard to sound dark. Just a bass, a drumkit, and distorted shouted vocals creating one of the most compelling, loud, and intense rackets in years. If only those listening to bands like Slipknot for some kind of noise aesthetic would come to Lightning Bolt. Seriously, this just blows everything away as the goal of Wonderful Rainbow is quite clear: no gimmicks, just rock. "Assassins" and "Dracula Mountain" are masterpieces, and the drumming of Brian Chippendale is just brilliant in an all-over-the-place kind of way. This isn't metal. This isn't punk. This isn't free-jazz indie rock. This is just the sweet, sweet sound of a band that understand rock and the dreams and desires of many a fan of pure noise.

A mere 2 months ago, I was completely unexposed to this amazing band. Complex, intense, experimental, noise/punk/free jazz/metal fusion. A guy with a bass that has one banjo string, and a guy who plays drums with a microphone taped inside of his mouth. This will change your perception of rock and roll, either for the better or for the worse. It has done nothing but good for me.

I almost feel like I should write a negative review of this, like maybe it would be more appropriate or something. After all, the negative reviews are (expectedly) less deferential, more honest, and generally more like the kind of criticisms you'd expect the band would want to hear (bunch of no talent musicians, nothing but noise, blah blah blah, you know the drill). Also, they're not wrong. This is loud, visceral, retarded, noise rock, and listening to this album is like listening to the best parts of Shellac, Painkiller, JSBX, Jesus Lizard, Ministry, Cro-Mags and Minor Threat all at once.

i dont mean to be dramatic or anything, but this band has the potential to change the way you look at music and bands forever. i know it has done that for me, back when i first heard ride the skies.

undoubtedly the loudest band in the US (world?), this is unlike anything ive ever heard before. lightning bolt are a drum and bass duo. they make a lot of noise for 2 people. its very challenging. its really beautiful though, so check it out if your looking for something different.

Oh man, this is some exhilariating stuff. Lightning Bolt, a drum and bass duo from Rhode Island, pushes the limit of a two piece set up in the way the White Stripes ever dreamed of (though their supposed to have a different sound, I know). This band just simply kicks @$$, offering a musical rush that sometimes makes you feel like you've taken one of those energy drink things. Only this is alot more healthy than simply just putting a bunch of drugs in your body.

Anyway, the two piece set up really only confirms the brilliance of how good these guys really are. I don't think I've ever seen such variations and creativity coming from a two piece since, well, ever. Brian Gibson, through creativity and the help of effects pedals, create more uses for the instruments than you . This guy plays the bass like it's the _______ lead guitar in many songs, alternating through crazy Van Halen type tapping sounds (not quite as fast though), huge, fuzzy, and melodic bass line melodies, wall shaking feedback (further thickened by the use of a bass), some interesting melodies, all welded sometimes together to further make up for the lack of a guitar. And Brian Chippendale's drums are rhythm, and damn good at that. Accented, sometimes jazzy even, it's hard to even listen to this guy without air drumming along. It's really hard. Lightning Bolt have this great jam sound that makes you want to rock out to the best of you. And it seems musical in the sense that it sounds very musical.

The best thing though is that it rides the fine line and balances the melody with the pure thick noise and feedback making way to some briliant melodies. It's noisy, that's an understatement, but it still sounds like real music and not just some gimmicky band that tries to be noisy for the sake of annoying all people with a usable brain in a 50 feet radius. I would even say it's catchy even, although there's more than just hooks. It's got pure melody besides it. It's what makes this album great, because it provides full satisfication for pure noise, but doesn't. If you enjoyed the way The Blood Brothers were able to add a dance and pop edge to their music, you would probably appreciate the way Lightning Bolt have the perfectly fine line balancing catharic noise (and ignore people who think we are just saying this to look hip or such nonsense. I actually think it's very listenable) and great music underneath.

I can't give Wonderful Rainbow a full five stars. There's a bit of spotiness towards the end, with the song Longstockings not up to snuff with the rest, and the title track is mostly just boring filler. Also, the last two tracks (30,000 Monkies and Duel in the Deep) aren't as good as, say, Dracula Mountain, On Fire, or 2 Towers. Still, however, this album is brilliant as a whole, despite some minor holes. Check this one out.

8.5/10

When it comes to "abstract" or "experimental" music I instantly become skeptical. I wasn't always like this; at one point in my life I would gladly eat up anything even remotely abstract or experimental and eagerly beg for more. Then, it seemed like we had a boom of bands and artists that could be classified under these two categories, and what once seemed very original, engaging and new turned into the commonplace staple.

Don't get me wrong, I am far from an uptight musical snob who can only enjoy the structured and "proper" melody; its just that I like to be discriminative towards bands that produce a lot of noise. There are so many noise-style bands out today that one has to have some kind of filter to weed out the ones that can actually play and the ones that cannot. I can honestly say that Lightning Bolt (LB) are a band that falls into the former. being comprised of one bass player and one drummer, LB certainly know how to fill out their sound. With only two members (and no guitar player), one would think that LB's sound would be extremely empty and sparse. Thankfully that is not the case; both the drummer and the bass player KNOW how to use their instruments, and each track is full to the brim with sounds, noise, the occasional melody and some odd, rambling vocals (which the drummer "sings" through a homemade microphone that is attached to his Mexican Wrestling style mask).

"Wonderful Rainbow" is a musical collage of sound; at least that is how the arts-fartsy types categorize it. Others may call is noise, and still some will label it garbage. While all of these definitions bear some truth, none of them are truly correct. "Wonderful Rainbow" is so much more than a collage, more than noise, and most certainly more than garbage (though there is some to be found on here). What you will find on "Wonderful Rainbow" is a lot. The bass player knows how to play lead, and he uses so many effects and guitar tricks that you would swear there were more stringed instruments. Seriously, the bass player is pretty awesome, and he knows his stuff, even embarking on melodies once in a while. The drummer is equally as amazing, incorporating jazz drumming, rock, indie, funk and random abstract playing together to form one BIG sound. He also does minimal vocals (though they don't amount to much). The level of musicianship between these two is truly amazing.

"Wonderful Rainbow" is also noteworthy in that it contrasts itself with its sound. On one end of the spectrum you have songs like "2 Towers". Very melodic and hypnotic; the bass player plays a lot of repetitive triplets while the drums follow suit. "2 Towers" is probably the only melody-related song on this album. On the other hand you have everything else, which sounds like a voyage into the abstract noise-laden world of experimental. Sadly, this is where "Wonderful Rainbow" can get pretty muddled under its own pretensions and lofty experimental madness. While I am a fan of experimental music, some of the tracks on "Wonderful Rainbow" get a little old fast.

This is how I see it: anyone can noodle on a bass guitar while their buddy bangs on a drum set. Seriously, I used to be in a band that did that exact thing. Its not hard to feign experimental music, especially since there is no quota or borderlines to follow. Therein lies the problem, especially since noise/experimental bands come a dime a dozen these days. This may not be an issue for some, but for me its all about integrity. No matter what style or belief you embody, there is always integrity. Its inescapable. While LB are doing their thing without a care as to what anyone thinks of it (as they should), I question some of the "songs" on this album. Some of it sounds like garbage, while some of it sounds really really good. Its the 70's era Miles Davis debate all over again.

I personally believe that there should be some kind of ground to work with when it comes to noise/experimental music; something that acts as a core so that the experimental/noise portions "fit". While it may be true that this music isn't supposed to fit in any category or definition, I feel that a whole albums worth of noise just doesn't cut it. Like I said, many will probably disagree...

All it all, "Wonderful Rainbow" is an extremely enjoyable experience, Lightning Bolt are some of the best and talented. Just be wary of the noise/experimental-ness of this record, as there is a LOT of it and little melody to speak of.

To the apprentice "Wonderful Rainbow" will seem like a musical epiphany in an endless sea of Clear-Channel waste and Pop music ideology, but to the adept this music is just another notch on the experimental belt; albeit one of the better noise bands.

If you ever get the chance to see these guys live, I strongly suggest you do so. Unlike every other band on the planet, LB set up their instruments "in" the audience. They do not play on a stage, elevated like some snobby "artists"; no they are pretty much a part of the crowd, even though they are the performers.

Stolen from thier DVD, but true none the less. A two-piece band hailing from Rhode Island, Lightning Bolt has got to be one of best experimental/noise rock bands ever. Brian Gibson/Chippendale dominate the floor (literally) wherever they may be, whether at a club packed with over a 1000 people, or in some guys apartment playing for a group of 20. Brian Gibson carves a monolithic bass riff out of his 3,800 watts and smacks it full on against Brian Chippendale's drumming, which is one of the fastest/greatest I have ever seen. Amazingly well recorded by David Auchenbach, Lightning Bolt is able to retain most of thier sound from thier live concerts. Definatly a must buy for those who are looking for a Bordems/Slayers/Ruins follow up band.

To paraphrase Edward Norton in Fight Club (who no doubt would have been a fan of the band)... after Lightning Bolt, everything else in your life has got the volume turned down. The duo achieve this by combining an uncompromising musical vision, technical virtuosity, and, you guessed it, sheer VOLUME.

Noise. Experimental. Free Jazz. Grindcore. No one word can fully encapsulate Lightning Bolt's sound, so I won't attempt to try. All I can say is that if you're in search of some new music that is even remotely similar to what you hear on the radio, look elsewhere. However, brave souls with open minds will catch a glimse of the future of music with this one.