Infinite Light

Compared to the duo that made their debut back in 2007, the Lightning Dust of 2009's Infinite Light sound just a touch gentler, more meditative, and smoothed out around the edges. Their sophomore full-length is full of sleek string arrangements (especially on "Dreamer") and graced with a heavy handful of computerized drumbeats and reverb effects; in other words, it's just as stark and strange as the duo's debut, only more elegantly dressed. Lightning Dust also sound quite a bit like the Handsome Furs on this release — something that can be chalked up to a combination of gritty synthesizers, oily drum machines, and lead singer Amber Webber's hungry croon. As on the duo's first release, Webber is the main attraction here. She sounds haunted. She sounds like Chan Marshall with a Gatling-gun vibrato. What's more, her voice is the perfect complement to Lightning Dust's theatrical, darkly glimmering compositions. This is especially apparent when Joshua Wells, the other half of Lightning Dust, sings with Webber on "Honest Man"; his voice sounds awkwardly normal in juxtaposition to Webber's caterwaul. (To be fair, Webber and Wells probably sensed this; "Honest Man" is the only track that features Wells' vocals.) What makes Lightning Dust an intriguing project is how devilishly, drippingly weird they are, and they spend most of their time on Infinite Light playing it up. From slinky-sinister numbers like "Take It Home" and "Never Seen" to single-worthy rockers like "I Knew" and "The Times," Infinite Light shows that Lightning Dust haven't lost any momentum since the release of their self-titled debut.