{"id":118378,"date":"2023-06-22T09:17:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T14:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=118378"},"modified":"2023-06-22T09:17:52","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T14:17:52","slug":"review-no-lights-dream-eraser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-no-lights-dream-eraser\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: <b>No Lights<\/b> &#8211; <i>Dream Eraser<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The debut record from <strong>No Lights <\/strong>is an LP caught out of time. With a lineup boasting a shared background in frenetic hardcore, and a primary musical influence rooted in post-punk projects of the &#8217;80s, NO LIGHTS&#8217; debut is a record that&#8217;s bursting with the insatiable energy of the former and precision of the latter.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Kicking off the record, this juxtaposition is illustrated most with the one-two punch of the first and second tracks, &#8220;Sparrows&#8221; and &#8220;Shallow Breathing&#8221;. With both featuring an unstable, ostinato guitar run alongside a chunky, riding bassline, they equally bring to mind the stylish restraint of early-2000s post-punk revivalism as well as the muscular, anticipatory riffing found on the harshest metalcore of that era.<\/p>\n<p>Originating from projects as disparate as <strong>Early Graves<\/strong> and <strong>Kowloon Walled City<\/strong>, No Lights&#8217; hardcore pedigree is obvious. Their combination of indie pop and hardcore sensibilities, however\u2014alongside lush production\u2014make <em>Dream Eraser<\/em> a pretty singular record. With stop-start, staccato song structures indebted as much to the <strong>Pixies<\/strong> as they are to <strong>Snapcase<\/strong>, it&#8217;s a record whose influences are present and observable, but blended into something refreshing.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, despite operating within angular post-punk frameworks, the bright and tight production of <em>Dream Eraser<\/em> brings to mind emotive and chaotic metal and hardcore from Deathwish&#8217;s peak years\u2014unsurprising given the relation to Early Graves, a group very much indebted to the musical style of <strong>Converge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 420px; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1597757800\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/track=2061995190\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nolightsband.bandcamp.com\/album\/dream-eraser\">Dream Eraser by No Lights<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The lushness of its presentation belies a certain sense of unease. &#8220;Nowhere To Run&#8221; highlights No Lights&#8217; persistent, anticipatory rhythmic sensibility which underlines tracks throughout the record, filling the songs with a potent sense of unrest\u2014as if the stability of the composition about to collapse at any moment.<\/p>\n<p>This tension is at times undercut by the records ultimate restraint\u2014it&#8217;s an album that very rarely unleashes into the sort of mania it hints towards. Its commitment to such an aurally restrained, almost ascetic sensibility can leave parts of <em>Dream Eraser<\/em> feeling occasionally a little flaccid on relisten.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Antenna&#8221; is the instrumental highlight of the record\u2014shimmering production buffing a precise performance, the interpolation between bass and rhythm at its peak. There isn&#8217;t much in the way of instrumental flashiness throughout <em>Dream Eraser<\/em> but the performances are consistently solid, highlighted by satisfying instances where the individual performers really just click into place.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 420px; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1597757800\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/track=2219815562\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nolightsband.bandcamp.com\/album\/dream-eraser\">Dream Eraser by No Lights<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Following on from this, &#8220;Head In A Cage&#8221; is more somber, reflective and pensive. The interplay of the dual guitar setup is uncharacteristically pretty, bringing to mind the guitar wizardry of both <strong>Hum<\/strong> and <em>Siamese Dream<\/em>-era <strong>Smashing Pumpkins<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In the opening line I mentioned the record feeling caught out of time. Despite being indebted to the post-punk of the &#8217;80s, it feels just as comfortable as a lost continuation of the late 2000s blogosphere post-punk and rock scene\u2014specifically the groups lauded by the underground like <strong>The Men<\/strong>, <strong>Destruction Unit<\/strong>, <strong>Japandroids<\/strong>, <strong>Deerhunter<\/strong> etc. They shared similarities to No Lights\u2014fuzzed-out and emotive rock music that was new and fresh, emerging from the dust of hardcore and post-punk. Acts that were predicted to crossover and flourish outside of the underground\u2014before ultimately becoming one of many micro-scenes that was overtaken by other trends, left behind only to those who remember it. <em>Dream Eraser<\/em> feels like it encapsulates and progresses from that same era of online rock music\u2014matured and battleworn, but all the more unique because of it.<\/p>\n<p>In many ways <em>Dream Eraser<\/em> is a more refined version of what <strong>Ceremony<\/strong> have been attempting to achieve with their past handful of records. Whereas Ceremony&#8217;s mellowed sound is hampered by flat production and\u2014unfortunately\u2014unmemorable songwriting, No Lights manages to skillfully articulate a proper blend of post-punk and hardcore that while maybe occasionally too ascetic for some to appreciate, is graceful and efficient in delivery.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nolightsband.bandcamp.com\/\"><em>(Photos Via)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The debut record from No Lights is an LP caught out of time. With a lineup boasting a shared background in frenetic hardcore, and a primary musical influence rooted in post-punk projects of the &#8217;80s, NO LIGHTS&#8217; debut is a record that&#8217;s bursting with the insatiable energy of the former and precision of the latter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":118445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Aaron almost has no lights left after No Lights knocked his lights out!","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[370,403,70],"tags":[17617,3443,3524,4906],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/no-lights-header.jpg?fit=710%2C375&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118378"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118378"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118446,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118378\/revisions\/118446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}