Mesmerising and dystopian from the word go, hangtime unleash a flurry of electronic elements that bewilder, beguile, and bewitch you with their overwhelming and enveloping arrangements. Combining portions of industrial sound with a much more free flowing electronic pulse, the record takes you down a wildly dynamic sonic journey that refuses to adhere to convention whatsoever. But there’s a method to the madness here. From the sheer assault on your senses that “pwn-age” opens the record with, you’re greeted with a much more dark and ominous pounding thunder on the titular track that’s far more dreary and distinct.
It’s on song two, the titular track, that the sheer madness is unleashed with such a towering and tremendous noise that it feels entirely and wholly all encompassing. The screams, the white noise, the lush textures all combine into this singularity that feels ready to explode onto you at a moments notice.
imadeit feels so distinct from the rest still. Somehow a hopeful and celebratory song that still manages to find moments to cheer and things to revel in within the darkness and heavy industrialism that it operates within. It’s thunderous and resounding, a drastically powerful bang that complements the otherwise aspirational dialogue.
This is far from an everyday listen and for the lay consumer, but to those who like to explore sounds that are towering and magnetic, explorative and experimental, radical and resounding, this is a sonic journey that’s well worth your time and commitment. A powerful and succinct collection of 3, “Lights Out” is an immersive electro-industrial paradise.