Coming to you straight from Saarbrücken, Germany is Pretty Lightning’s newest album – Night Wobble. This new LP is the German trio’s second instrumentals-only album, but it is their sixth full-length project to date. I was offered to take a listen to this project before its official release and invited to take a sonic journey through an “oozy, woozy cowboy groove”, as described by the band. Night Wobble is a fun psychedelic fusion album – the band says the album is “dusty spaghetti-western psychedelia, Tuareg-derived desert-blues, library music and ’70s progressive”. Just based on the description alone, I was super stoked to get my headphones on and sit with the album.
Night Wobble is my first introduction to the band. Yet another unorthodox introduction to a group, however a deep dive into Pretty Lightning’s composition skills and musicality was a fantastic first encounter.
For brevity’s sake, I’d love to take you through some highlights of Night Wobble. While this album was a thoroughly thrilling journey from start to finish, I’d rather go into depth on a few songs than just give general comments on the body of work as a whole.
Spectre Crackle – The second track on the album undoubtedly leans toward the funky and quirky side of the psychedelic spectrum. Spectre Crackle feels bouncy and twangy. The very beginning has some notable surf rock sound with the guitars. As the song progresses, you start to hear more of this springy, off-kilter guitar come to the front of the song. I absolutely love it. It’s wacky and fun, and it reminds me of playing a piano that hasn’t been tuned in a few decades (odd, but an experience all it’s own!). I definitely think that this spooky-psychedelic tune is my favorite off the album.
Glade Runner – Track 6 on the record is the album’s lead single. Though a mellow tune, the complexity in the foundation of the instrumentation is especially intriguing. The looping, steady guitar is especially enchanting. The melody feels like a cowboy’s lament in a way – a bit melancholy with some southwestern flair. There’s an echo-y drum that comes through, almost as a response to the melody rather than as a part of the base of the song. The song is absolutely fantastic. My only complaint is that it isn’t longer! Glade Runner was definitely my most-played track off the album.
Sonic Broom – The album’s closer ends the journey on a very western note. The song has a lot of movement in it. Though the song feels very grounded in the bass and drums, there’s some sort of synthesizer (I think) that lends itself to an airiness in the song. I definitely think this song is the most “cowboy” of them all – the foundation of this song feels very much like a theme song of an old western. My favorite aspect of the song is the bassline – though it isn’t a complex bassline, it’s very solid and well-executed, and I love nothing more than a good bassline.
Overall, this record was an incredibly well-done instrumental album. I can’t say I’ve listened to anything quite like it. I’d definitely recommend the album to any audiophile who wants to take a step off the beaten path. You can find the album on streaming services and on Fuzz Club, and you can find Pretty Lightning on Bandcamp, Facebook, and their website.
The band has also released a live session of selected songs from Night Wobble! Check it out on their YouTube!
