Wisconsin-via-East Bay duo
Peaking Lights have been honing their sound since they formed almost randomly in 2008, booking and playing a string of shows in order to get gas money for a road trip to Texas. From those somewhat arbitrary beginnings,
Indra Dunis (former drummer/vocalist for Cali no wavers
Numbers) and Aaron Coyes (longtime collaborator with
Rahdunes and builder of modular synthesizers) have become front-runners in a scene of artists working in texture-rich takes on the pop form. Along with artists like
Sun Araw,
Ducktails, and
Grouper,
Peaking Lights represent some of the best in noise-damaged pop of the 2010s. Their second proper full-length,
936, is by far their most fully realized work, seeing the gooey sounds of earlier releases congeal into a shimmery, meditative whole. Repetitive drum machine pulses and dub-style basslines are the backbone for most of the tracks, but recorded in such a warped, underwater fashion that the fidelity becomes an even stronger factor of hypnotic rhythm than the instruments themselves. The other elements wander around in this gelatinous landscape. Coyes' spindly guitar lines, stereo-panned undercurrents of distorted noise, laser-beam synth drones, and Echoplex delay feedback all drift in and out of focus so organically they almost seem subconscious. The vocals are understated and washy, but rather than a typical "ethereal" tag, their short, purposeful nature sounds more mantra-like, never interrupting the churning rhythms as much as being assimilated into them.