Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My neck still hurts, February 8, 2005
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.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Go see them play!, December 29, 2004
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.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amps On 11? Try 300!, April 30, 2004
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.
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