"They're still doing what they've always done, but... the new sheen makes everything seem magic again."- Pitchfork
"[Lightning Bolt] melds the Locust's penchant for "loud, fast 'n' buzzy," the Jesus Lizard's filthy grooves, and the sound of your torso being ripped asunder as you're sucked through an interdimensional wormhole." - Decibel
"Auditory annihilation never sounded so good." - Exclaim
Legendary duo Lightning Bolt will be releasing their seventh full length album, Sonic Citadel, on 11 October 2019. On Sonic Citadel, the band often called the loudest rock outfit around have done the daring, stripping away some of their distorted mask to reveal the naked pop forms beneath the noise like never before. In addition to the new album, Lightning Bolt will be reissuing their entire Load Records catalogue via Thrill Jockey throughout 2019 and 2020, starting with Wonderful Rainbow, out 23 August. Lightning Bolt will be touring this fall and winter - full list of dates to be announced.
Over their career Lightning Bolt's incomparable sound has been built on the ebb and flow between the power of raw, unbridled simplicity and a boundless, childlike sense of wonder. Sonic Citadel marks the duo's most varied and diverse work since their seminal album Wonderful Rainbow, exploring a large breadth of emotions between and within each song. Bassist Brian Gibson and drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale again recorded with Seth Manchester at the esteemed Machines With Magnets to capture the abandon of their music with clarity and Gibson's incredible dynamic range clearly to make the record as visceral an experience as their live performances. The pummeling "Blow To The Head" and swirling "Van Halen 2049" bookend the album with two of the most ferocious songs in the band's catalogue, with the former built as a Black Pus (Brian Chippendale's solo outlet) track on steroids. In stark contrast, songs like "Don Henley In The Park," and "All Insane" take on almost conventional pop shapes despite being entirely spontaneous pieces crafted in the studio. "Hüsker Dön't" too defies expectations as one of the poppiest songs in their discography with a chugging but clear chord progression and some of Chippendale's least distorted vocals. These wildly varying approaches are a testament to the duo's immeasurable capacity to explore new sonic territory organically, and largely through improvisation.
In the four years between album releases, each member's increasingly prolific creative endeavors limited their time to create together. Brian Gibson was the sole artist, musician and co-designer of the acclaimed video game Thumper, which has since proliferated across a multitude of platforms, and won countless awards including the 2019 Apple Design Award. Brian Chippendale, who has always created the band's visual art, released the graphic novel Puke Force, was included in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time," and recently collaborated with fashion designers Eckhaus Latta.
Lightning Bolt - Sonic Citadel tracklist:
1. Blow To The Head
2. USA Is A Psycho
3. Air Conditioning
4. Hüsker Dön't
5. Big Banger
6. Halloween 3
7. Don Henley In The Park
8. Tom Thump
9. Bouncy House
10. All Insane
11. Van Halen 2049
Pre-order Lightning Bolt's Sonic Citadel:
https://thrilljockey.com/products/sonic-citadel
