Album Review: Peaking Lights Lucife

Wisconsin duo Peaking Lights have slowly crafted a niche for their sunny drone meanderings that seems incongruous to their choice of sound making. These sub-bass, undulating mantras are often left to the enthusiasts, yet the success of last year's 936 and the imminent accomplishment of Lucifer further exemplifies that husband-and-wife duo Aaron Coves and Indra Dunis are harvesting some alchemic magic to provide such mainstream appeal.

Maybe it's that everything on Lucifer – whether it is bold, verbose, propulsive or hypnotic – is measured in pop music sensibility. Nothing is left to chance – contrary to popular belief, there is little experimentalism here. These tracks – indeed, the band's entire MO – seems to be about penetrability, warmth, and acceptance. It's a beautiful notion, one that is evident from the get-go – even with the echoing glockenspiel entwined with stately piano on opening instrumental Moonrise, it is clear that Lucifer is meant to be a wholly immersive experience. The ethereal Dunis' vocals shimmer across this landscape like a warm light, whether it is in the exultant celebration of her and Coves' newborn son Mikko (Beautiful Son), the swaying dub trance of eternal love on Live Long, or the everlasting drive and embrace of music in Dream Beat. The reggae leanings of Cosmic Tides interweave seamlessly with the warped psychedelia and disco inherent in Dream Beat, with nary a beat or beamed smile dropped. Even Mikko offers some gurglings on Lo Hi, making Lucifer a truly familial endeavour.

Overall, Coves and Dunis have created in Lucifer a dreamy landscape of graceful nuance and melody, comfortable in its own skin, and one which will hopefully be visited again soon.