Peaking Lights - Lucifer In Dub

Wisconsin duo Peaking Lights have, it seems, been hard at work ever since the breakthrough success of 2011’s ‘936’: and this despite the couple having brought their son in to the world - and subsequently on tour - during that time. Renowned for their idiosyncratic psych-dub sound, perhaps the pair felt the original ‘Lucifer’ was perhaps a bit too minimal for their tastes, as they’ve decided to flesh it out with this ‘…In Dub’ version. Everything is a lot more pronounced here, and it sounds just as you might expect, harking back towards the sound of their debut.

It doesn’t, however, lose any of the original’s impact: the duo have carefully repositioned and added elements to songs with such precision that while it could have become a cacophonous mess, it ends up sounding more polished. In the selection process for this version, ‘Dream Beat’, ‘Morning Star’ and ‘Moonrise’ are all left out. This makes sense, as those three were fundamental to their more nocturnal sound on ‘Lucifer’. This is a heavier interpretation that requires full attention; it’s not soothing background music.

While some of the songs retain their previous form, others, like ‘Lo Dub High Dub’ get a complete makeover, with samples of ringing doorbells, a harsher-sounding vocal sample of the couple’s son Mikko, and spiralling high frequency noises. It transforms throughout, adding washes of psychedelic guitar and galloping percussion that run alongside each other as well as echoed panpipes.

As with Peaking Lights’ previous output, ‘Lucifer In Dub’ transports you to another place as you become completely encompassed by the artistry of the production and the hypnotising echoes of Indra Dunis’ voice slipping in and out of the record. For some, this may be an unnecessary re-interpretation of an already good album. While it’s not a completely revelatory reinvention of ‘Lucifer’, it certainly gives it a different angle that makes you admire Peaking Lights’ work ethic.