Lights Out Asia Eyes Like Brontide CATMD161

Once a band has developed a sound that is undeniably theirs it can be difficult to push beyond those confines and expand the sound into new territory. Lights Out Asia set out to do just that and have succeeded in writing a record that was as much a sign of the times as it was an expansion of their aural bubble that has been their watermark. They have been called ethereal, post-shoegaze and sleep-rock, but on their third full length "Eyes Like Brontide" the band slides into a darker more ominous and less lucid dream than on previous efforts. The release is a stylistic shift from the sweet lullabies of their debut "Garmonia" (Sun Sea Sky) and the electronic drum driven post-shoegaze of 2007's "Tanks and Recognizers" (n5MD). The song dynamics on the album deserve special attention. For the first time in Lights Out Asia's history they have gone for broke with some of the most epic drum machine driven post-rock this side of the Pacific along with solemn disconnected passages of dream nourished sonics. The occasional floating vocal and dusty winding guitar they are known for are still present, but "Eyes Like Brontide" brings a whole new dimension to the Lights Out Asia ethos. Most importantly, the band has expanded upon its sound without throwing away the original blueprint or alienating it's fanbase. "Eyes Like Brontide" is recommended for fans of Hammock, Bitcrush, Robin Guthrie and Manual. [Learn more about Lights Out Asia...]

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While debut record “Garmonia” remains something of a benchmark in the post-rock/electronic crossover world, Lights Out Asia haven’t exactly rested on their laurels since shifting onto California’s n5MD stable. Tanks and Recognizers arrived midway through 2007, their first for that label, and shifted a large volume of copies in the process, indicating that this Wisconsin-based trio’s stock is as high as ever – if not higher.

“Eyes Like Brontide” is the swift follow-up for n5 and it is immediately clear that Lights Out have upped the ante. Those clean and concise beats of yore are now more imposing and crystalline. The swathes of dreamy guitar, such a feature of previous outings, are now drenched in oceans of reverb, delay and distortion. While, each of the 8 compositions come packed with hook upon hook, meaning you'll develop an almost unquenchable thirst for more.

Sharing much in common with the likes of Manual, Port-Royal and label-mate Bitcrush, Lights Out Asia are able to differentiate themselves from these artists with the use of their secret weapon. Namely, Chris Schafer’s soaring vocal range. Playing a more profound role than ever, though not anywhere near enough, Schafer offers fleeting glimpses of just how powerful his voice can be on the dreamy, industrial strength trip-rock of “Psiu! Puxa!” and on the affecting “If I Die, I Wish You a Horrible Death”. He plays a different part on “Raiders over the Ghosts of Chernobyl”, a spinning amalgam of epic synth, spoken word fragments and glacial guitar, whereby his voice acts as another instrument rather than a focal point, its harmonic quality instead adds effervescent texture.

Prior to this release rumours were abound that “Eyes Like Brontide” would find Lights Out stretching the boundaries of their sound moving into darker territories while remaining true to their past. The fact that closing track “Six Points of Fire” is the most epic song they’ve ever written says all you need to know about this record. Its final few minutes are utterly stunning, twisting and turning like a Hollywood blockbuster, and worth the price of this record alone. A cathartic indication that the albatross of "Garmonia" has been lifted for good. textura

Lights Out Asia's third full-length Eyes Like Brontide finds the trio (guitarist and vocalist Chris Schafer, electronics artisan Mike Ystad, guitarist Mike Rush) perfecting its trippy amalgam of symphonic space-rock and shoegaze-inflected dream pop. The fifty-two-minute collection scatters three dramatic, long-form pieces amongst five concise settings, with piano and breathy vocals prominently used to warm and humanize the multi-layered swirl typically blossoming around it (during the melancholy “Psiu! Puxa!,” a plaintive piano melody is almost swallowed by the trio's immense vortex). Though the trio powers its epic tunes with drum machines and electronic beats, the material exudes a full “live” sound, and the resultant instrumental splendor is towering without being cacophonous.

Eyes Like Brontide documents a media-saturated world where radio transmissions exacerbate the collective unease felt by its citizens, but it's also a world that's not entirely bereft of hope. Following a gloomy opening of dystopic synths and mumbling voices, the mood in “Radars Over The Ghosts Of Chernobyl” brightens when chiming guitar sparkle and wordless harmonies appear, an effect intensified by the addition of Schafer's imploring voice and a multi-layered attack that's equal parts symphonic and shoegaze in character. A heady blend of radio transmissions, keyboards, guitars, and wispy vocals, “The Wrong Message Could End You” likewise encapsulates the Lights Out Asia sound in a single, twelve-minute gesture. Framed by vinyl crackle, “If I Die, I Wish You a Horrible Death” adds a vocals-and-guitars ballad interlude before the closing epic “Six Points of Fire” lifts off. Throwing all caution to the wind, the trio unleashes the full force of its sound five minutes into the piece when the guitars swell uproariously and then escalate three minutes later into a titanic wail that trumps everything heard before. It's an awesome finish that leaves one eager to hear such intensity delivered onstage. sputnikmusic

When Chris Schafer cries ”Where Is Your God Now? He Isn’t Here…” on “Psiu! Puxa!,” the atmosphere of Lights Out Asia’s third album Eyes Like Brontide is fully realized. The sheer beauty, anger, doubt, and ultimate isolation delivered in that twenty second climax embodies the spirit of the entire record in such a way that it practically defines Eyes Like Brontide. Drenched in white-knuckled trepidation, it emotionally delivers both as a culmination of the tension and as a product of the hypnotizing melodies, chilling the listener’s spine and announcing the force behind Eyes Like Brontide with a deafening resonance.

Gay as that sounds, it’s absolutely true.

Very much in the spirit of Mogwai (but with more beats and less monotony), Lights Out Asia doesn’t so much present their record as they do immerse their audience in it. From the wary opening tiptoes of “A Day Towards Other Days,” Lights Out Asia mesmerizes to the point of total submersion, as they envelop the listener in a cold, desolate atmosphere that, despite its obviously foreboding nature, is completely arresting. Eyes Like Brontide puts itself firmly in the throes of the Cold War (the obvious examples of that being song titles like “The Wrong Message Could End You” and “Radars Over the Ghosts of Chernobyl”) and somehow makes the concept completely engaging. By subtly playing to the paranoia and fear of the age, Lights Out Asia creates tension, which is where Eyes Like Brontide thrives. On “MIR,” Lights Out Asia engrosses by inserting mumbling space transmissions over intertwining guitar lines and an echoing drum groove. As the song drifts away, it never delivers a soaring apex, instead hauntingly dying out with a deceptive cadence that leaves the ear begging for conclusion, yet one never comes. It doesn’t seem right, but the unresolved hangover of the piece serves as a perfect example of Eyes Like Brontide’s strength. It uses expectation of something wonderful or terrible or both to make its character absolutely gripping.

Lights Out Asia’s reserved take on the genre aligns itself more with the slowly blossoming styles of relaxed post rock a la port-royal rather than bone crushing, overtly epic post rock, and the adherence to the former makes Eyes Like Brontide as emotionally powerful as records in the style of the latter. In line with the uneasy vibe, Lights Out Asia rarely exert themselves past mezzo forte, making the spare moments where they crank the volume even the tiniest bit all the more chilling. “Six Points of Fire” closes the album with clipping drum pounding and inevitably climactic guitar smashing, but even as the loudest song on the album, “Six Points of Fire” doesn’t bust too many guts, which isn’t a bad thing. The album’s reserved/tense nature isn’t conducive to a symphonic crest or anything like that. The closest moments to epic Lights Out Asia have usually center around Chris Schafer’s extremely capable but criminally underutilized voice. The aforementioned “Psiu! Puxa!” serves as the greatest example of this, but basically any appearance Schafer makes is a strong one. For example, at a short two minutes, “If I Die, I Wish You a Horrible Death” could have been filler, but Schafer’s performance makes the track as solid as any one of Eyes Like Brontide’s eight. With that attention to detail, Lights Out Asia never lets quality drop on Eyes Like Brontide, and they ensure every track of the record can stand on its own merit.

It’s that kind of consistency that proves Eyes Like Brontide’s greatest asset. X-Factors like the buckets of samples and Schafer’s voice drive the album to fantastic status, but Lights Out Asia never allows the integrity of their album to suffer. Every track is immaculately crafted, and every new theme introduced is as entrancing as the one preceding it. Early in the album, the eerie string introduction to “Radars Over the Ghosts of Chernobyl” is moving in its own right, but its power is sustained through nine minutes with a synthetic chorus, swirling guitar phrases, and eventually a powerful vocal theme. No moment in the one tempo, nine minute track is dull, and that’s saying something. In many ways, the song parallels the record; On Eyes Like Brontide, Lights Out Asia hit a high and sustain it for a spellbinding fifty minutes, never once growing tedious in its isolation and despair. That alone makes Eyes Like Brontide worth listening to. It’s everything else that makes it worth listening to again and again.

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