Reviews

Two avant-garde titans team up for a split LP of majestic spiritual noise

Lightening Bolt. (Credit: Scott Alario)

You might be disappointed to learn that OOIOO and Lightning Bolt do not actually collaborate on their new LP, The Horizon Spirals/The Horizon Viral . But maybe it’s for the best. The pairing of two of the underground’s wildest bands, powered by two of the most formidable drummers in the biz — OOIOO’s YoshimiO and the Bolt’s Brian Chippendale—is a lot to handle as a split album. A true partnership might prove too much for this fragile reality to bear.

On the surface, Spirals/Viral presents a study in contrast. OOIOO contributes two long tracks, filled with shifting tempos, interlocking rhythms, and metaphysical grooves. Lightning Bolt gives us five quick, overdriven barnburners.…