Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow (Album Review)

 

Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow

(2003)

My copy: 2019 reissue by Thrill Jockey.

Coming two years after cult classic Ride The Skies, the two-Brian outfit Lightning Bolt reinstated themselves as chaos gods with the heightened ambition of Wonderful Rainbow. While Chippendale’s drumming is as absurd and driving as ever, the real star is Gibson’s rabid bass playing, which steals the show due to the low-end centric production of Wonderful Rainbow. 

After a brief warm up, “Assassins” begins the musical bombardment with dense walls of bass and kick-drum. Gibson’s unique setup allows him to play both low frequency bass notes in addition to high frequency melodies that only poke their way in slightly at first. There are vocals but they range from lo-fi schizo ravings to innocently childish chanting. “Dracula Mountain” is an early highlight, again showcasing their affinity for warping playful, schoolground melodies into distorted sludge expulsions. I imagine that this is the music that plays in the mind of children suffering from attention deficit disorder as they dash their toys over the nearest surfaces, comparing timbres between wooden tables and countertops - only Chippendale and Gibson grew up with the talent to make such a raucous sound work perfectly with their left-field writing ideas. Bass and drums gallop further on “Dracula Mountain,” only breaking for the bass to whine, eventually toppling over into the most addicting melody and subsequent freakout of the album. 

“2 Towers” at first further demonstrates Gibson’s tapping prowess before changing gears to focus on shifting rhythms under steady bass repetition - cementing the track as one of their most tempered displays. Gibson solos in each of his instrument’s registers during “On Fire” where vocals, leaking feedback, carry the song into two-note arpeggiations. “Crown Of Storms” is one of the most creative exercises of the album with Gibson interrupting himself mid-tapping solo to slam on sludge bass in unison with the drums. Gibson’s swiss army bass is the highlight of their most dynamic and appealing compositions, and Chippendale ensures not an ounce of pressure is dropped in his percussive blasts. These two have a firm understanding of balance, and this is exceptionally true in “Longstockings,” which is their coolest and most pensive track yet, trading distortion (at first) for a clean bass trot that swings cleverly with the drums. 

The title track is a simple interlude with goofy vocals mimicking more subdued bass tapping but “30,000 Monkies” channels the implied insanity of its title and instantly pitches a fit of brooding bass shredding. Closing on their best subversion yet, “Duel In The Deep” is as heavy as it is patient and tensile; In this finale, a raging torrent of bass courses through the passages carved out by Chippendale’s maniacal drumming, only for the track to shrivel up and quietly die with feedback. 

Wonderful Rainbow is an extremely creative effort that elevates the production of the early days just enough, so that the expanded song structures can truly thrive. It’s true that it isn’t as sleek or sturdy as their later recordings, with snare hits falling lower in the mix and cymbals feeling washy and subdued - but Wonderful Rainbow succeeds at painting their broadest, and most evocative strokes both in full-spectrum color and monochromatic fury.