Lightning Bolt - Oblivion Hunter (Deluxe Reissue)

Released: 19/08/22 

The glorious sound created by Rhode Island duo Lightning Bolt is so unremittingly primeval that it's hard to believe they reside in the same geological epoch. Part of the pantheon of truly great noise acts, such as Ruins, Merzbow and Boredoms (come to think of it, there's an awful lot of Japanese bands in this elite club), what made them so arresting when they first burst onto the DIY noise scene in the late 90s/early 2000s was not just their incendiary live shows, which dissolved the boundary between performer and audience, but also their music's astounding polyrhythmic complexity. It is truly a testament to their ability to keep pushing the boundaries of experimentation that 20 or so years later they are just as important as ever.

What great news then that Thrill Jockey have decided to reissue the band's splendid 2012 EPOblivion Hunter(although, why it's called an EP is anyone's guess, as its seven glorious tracks clock in at a healthy LP-length 38 minutes). What's more, this is the first time that all the art, as conceived by drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale in 2012, is seeing the light of day “ and it also comes as Rainbow Splatter-coloured vinyl (with a digital download card to boot). Heavy, heavy beans.