Kishi Bashi
Lighght
Release Date: May 13, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Indie Pop
Record label: Joyful Noise
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Album Review: Lighght by Kishi Bashi
Very Good, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Jupiter One co-founder and frequent Of Montreal merrymaker K Ishibashi's second go-around under the Kishi Bashi moniker is as lavish and fanciful an affair as its flamboyant cover art would suggest, offering up a bountiful 14-track set of dense, multi-hued indie pop confections that lands somewhere between the clubby, blissed-out glow of "Sleepyhead"-era Passion Pit, the bedazzled Icelandic fairy realm of Jónsi, and the neon green fields of the Teletubbies. Ishibashi's violin steers the needle through a tapestry of classical-infused electro-pop that's as dense as it is effervescent; looping, pitch-shifting, arpeggiating, and swirling about like a fly drowning fitfully in a vat of simple syrup. Lighght requires a sweet tooth, but at least it lets you know what to expect early on, thanks to the criminally sugary, one-two punch of "Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It!" and "The Ballad of Mr.
Based on rating 7.5/10
K Ishibashi actualized his joyous rooftop pop with sophomore effort Lighght. It’s a 12-track journey through floating hope, bone-breaking jubilee and crushes so intense you might just barf. It’s an aural exercise in blowing bubbles with a tiny hangover on the most beautiful sunny day in your favorite park. Lighght is easy to ingest and digest.
Based on rating C
Over the course of two albums, songwriter/violinist/composer Kaoru Ishibashi has proven he isn’t afraid of big ideas. For his sophomore effort, the man behind the Kishi Bashi name could have remained content performing the same kind of breezy chamber pop that made his debut, 151a, a surprise hit in 2012. Instead of reinforcing his laurels, he pushes new boundaries on Lighght, seeking new sounds, but unfortunately missing more often than he hits.
Opinion: Fantastic
Kaoru Ishibashi (you can see what he did there) has quite the pedigree. The violinist singer-songwriter has toured with Regina Spektor and is a regular member of fellow Athens, Georgia natives Of Montreal. His 2012 full-length 151a proved a radiant, exuberant debut and Lighght continues his trend of songs bursting with creativity - but can it escape the long shadow of its predecessor? To discover the answer, Kishi Bashi asks the listener to join him on a fantastical psycho-spiritual adventure.
'Lighght'
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