Hypermagic Mountain
Hypermagic Mountain is the fourth studio album by American noise rock band Lightning Bolt, released October 18, 2005.
Hypermagic Mountain | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 18, 2005 | |||
Recorded | May 29 – June 21, 2005[1] | |||
Studio | Providence, Rhode Island | |||
Genre | Noise rock | |||
Length | 56:44 | |||
Label | Load (LOAD #78) | |||
Producer | Dave Auchenbach | |||
Lightning Bolt chronology | ||||
|
Background
The band and their sound engineer, Dave Auchenbach, recorded the album in a house in Providence, Rhode Island directly onto a 2 track DAT master tape.[2] The album is a clear continuation of the sound they established on their previous albums, featuring a very dense sound composed almost entirely of distorted, often-processed bass guitar; loud, fast drums; and indiscernible vocals buried in the album's mix. The album's artwork was drawn by Brian Chippendale; the album's title was not decided until after the artwork was finished.[3]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 88/100[4] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Alternative Press | 5/5[6] |
Blender | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B[8] |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 9/10[10] |
Pitchfork | 7.3/10[11] |
PopMatters | 8/10[12] |
Stylus Magazine | A−[13] |
Uncut | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Hypermagic Mountain was met with near-universal acclaim, with an average of 88 out of 100 based on 23 reviews on Metacritic.[4] The same site rates the album at number 145 on the all-time highest rated albums,[15] and as the fifth best album of 2005.[16] Stylus Magazine's Roque Strew hailed the album as "another stride toward the perfection of [Lightning Bolt's] prog-noise esthetic",[13] while Prefix Magazine's Aaron Richter called it Lightning Bolt's "most accomplished effort to date, one-upping 2003’s Wonderful Rainbow with a fresh sense of maturity."[17] Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy similarly described Hypermagic Mountain as the band's "most well-oiled album", but criticized that "somewhere in the middle a lack of variety creates a dull patch."[11] Joe Martin, in CMJ New Music Monthly, said that the album's "craft-refinement has an exhilaration all of its own".[18]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Lightning Bolt
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "2 Morro Morro Land" | 3:43 |
2. | "Captain Caveman" | 3:19 |
3. | "Birdy" | 3:06 |
4. | "Riffwraiths" | 3:03 |
5. | "Megaghost" | 6:01 |
6. | "Magic Mountain" | 4:55 |
7. | "Dead Cowboy" | 7:58 |
8. | "Bizarro Zarro Land" | 4:47 |
9. | "Mohawk Windmill" | 9:38 |
10. | "Bizarro Bike" | 5:18 |
11. | "Infinity Farm" | 2:46 |
12. | "No Rest for the Obsessed" | 2:10 |
Total length: | 56:44 |
Personnel
- Brian Chippendale – drums and vocals
- Brian Gibson – bass guitar
- Dave Auchenbach – recording engineer
References
- Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain, retrieved 2023-04-20
- Licht, Alan (December 2005). "Lightning Bolt". The Wire (262). Retrieved January 23, 2008.
- Weingarten, Christopher (2005). "Deep Cover: Lightning Bolt". CMJ New Music Monthly (136): 50.
- "Reviews for Hypermagic Mountain by Lightning Bolt". Metacritic. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- Loftus, Johnny. "Hypermagic Mountain – Lightning Bolt". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". Alternative Press (209): 216. December 2005.
- "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". Blender (42): 137. November 2005.
- Greenblatt, Leah (October 28, 2005). "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". Entertainment Weekly. p. 89.
- "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". Mojo (145): 105. December 2005.
- "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". NME: 45. November 5, 2005.
- Stosuy, Brandon (October 18, 2005). "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- Jagernauth, Kevin (December 22, 2005). "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". PopMatters. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- Strew, Roque (October 24, 2005). "Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 20, 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". Uncut (102): 108. November 2005.
- "All-Time High and Low". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- "Best Albums of 2005". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- Richter, Aaron. "Hypermagic Mountain – Lightning Bolt". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- Martin, Joe (2005). "Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain". CMJ New Music Monthly (136): 41.