Lightning Dust — Infinite Light

There's definitely more energy present on Infinite Light than there was on Lightning Dust's self-titled debut, but its songs almost always fall short of a climax. They also tend to end much sooner, and more suddenly, than you might expect them to.

Oddly enough, it's these frustrations that'll keep you coming back to Infinite Light. It's hard to avoid the feeling that Amber Webber and Josh Wells have somehow gotten the better of us.

It's obvious this album was heavily influenced by the recent output of Wells and Webber's Black Mountain bandmate Stephen McBean and his Pink Mountaintops. There are also a few moments where — if it's possible to use this as a compliment — Webber's singing, and the album's sinister mood, are reminiscent of the quieter moments of Courtney Love's Hole. In addition, mid-album track "Never Seen" has a wild Shakespears Sister-like vibe to it.

Infinite Light is sometimes sweet and sometimes frightening. "History" and "Honest Man" — a throwback to the style of The Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York" — are two of the year's most poignant songs.

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