Is it not weird the way we sometimes listen to one record more than another even though the record we listen to more we (think) we like less than the other? That’s the way it was for me this summer with Lightning Dust’s debut release. An ethereally stark and cool recording more suited to the dreary days of February than the sweltering nights of summer, I nevertheless found myself listening to it more often than not. Comprised of songwriters Amber Webber and Joshua Wells of Vancouver’s Black Mountain, LD’s songs are decidedly downbeat and gloomy, although thankfully not depressingly so. With a minimal, bare-bones approach to their music (most of which consists of softly strummed guitars and lightly played piano over which Webber’s haunting voice soars), Webber and Wells have succeeded in creating a stunning and spare set of music, one that I will no doubt be returning to as the days get short and the nights grow long. (Geoffrey Brown)
CD, Jagjaguwar, www.jagjaguwar.com