New Music: Lightning Dust - Infinite Light

I'm beginning to think that the bands that have spawned from the Black Mountain collective may be more impressive and prolific than the bands that Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner are responsible for. Black Mountain has connections with Pink Mountaintops, Blood Meridian, Jerk With A Bomb and finally Lightning Dust. I had picked up Lightning Dust's self-titled debut purely because both Amber Webber and Joshua Wells were members of BM, but wasn't impressed enough to keep coming back to it. When I heard their second album was coming out, I knew there was still a chance that they would release a great album and with Infinite Light they may have done just that.

It's still to early to call, but upon the first handful of listens this album is revealing itself to be another one of the years top albums. From the very beginning of the opening track, 'Antonia Jane', you know the centerpiece of this album is Amber's voice. It's got a haunting quality that few women that aren't named Beth Gibbons have. The music matches her voice perfectly on tracks like 'Never Seen', where just a drum machine and a dark synth line back her and the results are fantastic. The whole record certainly isn't dark and depressing, in fact songs like 'I Knew' and 'Times' are nice, tight little two minute rock songs. My favorite tune on the record might be 'Wondering What Everyone Knows', which in all honesty might not be all that special of a song with someone else singing it.

Time will tell where this album falls by the end of the year but at the very least it's made me consider going back to that debut album to see if maybe I just didn't give it enough of a chance. If you are a fan of Black Mountain or Pink Mountaintops I would definitely pick this up, it's got that same vibe you'll find on most stuff that Sam Beam touches. Lightning Dust just prove that maybe some others in the band are just as capable of putting out a truly great album.

-Matt