Lightning Bolt
“Earthly Delights”
4/5 Stars
By Jeffrey Roman
Features Editor
Fans of Providence, R.I.’s Lightning Bolt had to wait four years for a new album, but it has been worth it.
The noise rockers’ newest album, “Earthly Delights,” features their signature style with spastic drums, distorted vocals and bass guitar covered in a slew of effects.
Dubbed the “metal” Lightning Bolt album, Brian Chippendale (vocals and percussion) and Brian Gibson (bass) work with heavier riffs, incorporating more chords than finger tapping which Gibson is known for on previous albums.
Highlights of the album include “Colossus,” a song that builds and pummels the listener, and “Funny Farm,” which is as heavy as it is amusing with its “twangy,” country-style progression.
Lightning Bolt is known for endurance, with most songs they perform ranging well into the six-minute time length. Testament to this is the closing song on the album, “Transmissionary,” which exceeds 12 minutes long, allowing Chippendale to pound his drum set without remorse for the length of the track.
All in all, Lightning Bolt’s newest album continues the band’s interesting journey through noise rock, blurring standards and developing a style that is now legendary.
Key Tracks: “Colossus,” “Funny Farm.”
Annie
“Don’t Stop”
3/5 Stars
By Chris Payne
WTSR Music Director
Norwegian pop singer Annie’s 2004 debut, “Anniemal,” cemented her place in the electronic music scene and produced two absolutely contagious singles — “Heartbeats” and “Chewing Gum.” Four years later, Annie finally returns with her sophomore record, which sounds like a good bet to piggyback the indie dance success of groups like MGMT, Phoenix and The Ting Tings.
“Don’t Stop” tries to cultivate its flow from start to finish, opening with the tribal “Hey Annie.” But Annie’s second album sounds more like a singles collection than anything else. Annie has always been a devotee to ’80s era Madonna, though the pulsating and swooping synths of “Songs Remind Me Of You” pushes that obsession to new height, marking her greatest dance anthem to date.
As the parade of singles nears album’s end, the quality predictably trails off, though closer “Heaven and Hell” is a refreshing answer to the flatness of “When The Night” and “The Breakfast Song.”
Key Tracks: “Songs Remind Me of You,” “I Don’t Like Your Band.”
