Peaking Lights’ breakout album 936 cast a spell over listeners with the drift of their largely electronic psychedelic textures. Warping time and space, their tunes stretched out between seven to ten minutes, expanding until they completely occupied the listener’s headspace.
Cosmic Logic, a collection of short, spacey but not spaced-out psychedelic pop songs marks a significant change in direction for the Californian-based husband/wife duo. Indra Dunis with her detached and somewhat flat vocals concentrates on delivering icy cool attitude and sly robo-pop star glamour. The odd, disconnected delivery of simple and somewhat clichéd lyrics such as, “In the night we are gonna have fun,” or “Telephone call from outer space calling all the human race,” sounds like a softer take on Nicola Kuperus.
Dunis opens up on the disco groove of New Grrls, where she celebrates female heroes like Kim Gordon and Yoko Ono, understanding she’s no longer a riot girl, confronted by the mundane reality of being a worker, lover, mother and wife. Meanwhile, husband Aaron Coyes offers bright, bubbling synths and easy grooves that find the duo placing a more definite emphasis on beats through this album. Their intention isn’t dance floor domination but you get the impression they’d be pleased if they inspired listeners to sashay about their living rooms. Much of this album features a light tropical, subtly Caribbean vibe that brings to mind The Knife’s earlier work on Deep Cuts.
Peaking Lights’ approach synth pop on their own indietronic terms to deal some fresh perspectives on the genre. Although each tune is just three or four minutes long, the duo demonstrate some serious focus as they stuff each song with melodic hooks and apply a lustrous veneer of production that makes these nuggets sparkle.
BY THE SIDEMAN
Best Track: Breakdown
If You Like These You’ll Like This: THE KNIFE, ARIEL PINK, ZOLA JESUS
In A Word: Lively
