Lights are a Brooklyn musical troupe that take the hazy psychedelia of the West Coast and warp it to fit an East Coast urban mentality. The band's second album, Ritesis a mystical, magical carpet ride across paisley colored landscapes and sunshiny vibes. It's like listening to a Fleetwood Mac record with a trippy folk record on top of it played backwards and then having Olivia Newton John sing on top of that. As bizarre and as disorienting as that might sound it's actually quite good, trust me.
Influenced by just about everything under, over, and around the sun, Rites, is a record that is obviously rooted in the past be it the 60's or the 1600's. From Hendrix-like guitar solos to fantasy-like imagery, it's mystical properties carry it on wave after wave of peculiar melodies and song structures. With that strangeness inherent throughout it's really no surprise that it is a slightly disjointed and noisy little record that weaves it's spells using this nebulous secret formula. Thankfully, the spells Lights cast work as you can't help but be transfixed on what Lights are playing and how they're doing it. Whether it is their loud guitars, delicate harmonies, or beat driven songs, Rites puts on a mesmerizing display of psychedelic pop that's seductively sweet.
From the cascading distortion and epic nature of, "Hold On," to the tripped out post-pre-disco dance party of, "Fire Night," Ritesis a swirly, gauzy trip to the stars and back. Whether it's deafening and raucous or fragile and folky, Lights weave a tapestry of fascinating tunes on Rites by using illusion and magic to seduce your ears. And seduce they do as Rites is a unbreakable spell of harmonious beauty.
No comments:
Post a Comment