Dream-psych duo Peaking Lights’ third full-length album, Lucifer, is their most accessible yet. Out June 19th on Mexican Summer in the US and on Weird World June 18th in the U.K, it follows last year’s release of the incredible summer lovin’ 936. This latest album contains a similar meditative atmosphere, with grooving rhythms and rich textures, but it’s gentler than their 2011 record. Lucifer is comparatively more like a late-night lullaby and less like a sedated psychedelic dream. Perhaps this has something to do with the recent birth of the couple’s now one-year-old son, Mikko, who makes a guest appearance on one of the album’s tracks. The record seems to be a tribute to both their son and their marriage—sort of like an aural scrapbook they can all look back on together in future years.
It opens like a bedtime story at nightfall, beginning with the track “Moonrise” and concluding at the break of dawn with “Morning Star.” The first track features a calming jingling of chimes, while the last contains bright keyboards and singing synths, together cradling the hours between night and day.
The album continues with standout song “Beautiful Son,” which is presumably a celebration and ode to their new baby, as well as his pure new entrance into life. Momma Indra Dunis sweetly sings the reverb imbued lines “full of love for life/ kicks his feet through starry skies,” and “love in your eyes/ belly laugh/ fills my heart” on the most joyous track off of the album. On “LO HI,” the couple exhibits their parental affection and pride, featuring the crying, giggling, and gurgling of baby Mikko as Dunis soothingly ‘oohs and ahs’ over him. Similarly, for the more rhythmic tracks “Live Love” and “Dreambeat,” Dunis and husband Aaron Coyes celebrate their relationship, repeating lines like “my heart beats for you” and “beats in the rhythm of my heart,” which appropriately create a hypnotic pulse throughout.
Although there are few ‘standout tracks,’ Lucifer works as a vibrating, textural whole. The duo takes us through the nocturnal hours until daybreak with a mesmerizing album abound in cosmic synth lines, reggae-inspired rhythms, warbling electric guitars and dreamy keyboards. Pull out your pillows and get ready for some summer stargazing; this album isn’t just for babies.
Listen to “Beautiful Son” for yourself, below!
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbodKF-boZM 425×344]
