With 2022’s Dust Moves, Pretty Lightning fell silent. Their bluesy, psychedelic garage rock remained, but vocals were gone. The duo continues this approach on their new album, Night Wobble (Fuzz Club).
What’s new is their use of 13 fixed motifs—each song sticks to its core idea with little variation but differs greatly from the next. This pushes the album further into soundtrack territory, though it’s hard to pin down. At times, it evokes horror, Lost Highway, and even a neo-western feel.
A sampler of moods, but a good one. Spectre Crackle is surfy and wobbly, while Yonder Holly Oak feels drowsy and minimalistic. The overall atmosphere leans toward drifting western psych, yet it expands in all directions.
Glade Runner is meditative, (How To) Moonbow has a mystical air. Peek A Boo dares to break the pattern—the album’s longest track slowly mutates into something hypnotic. Here, the Saarbrücken duo allows themselves the space that, elsewhere, remains tightly controlled.
Pretty Lightning – Night Wobble: Garage psych that takes bold risks. – RIFL
