On May 13th, Kishi Bashi released his sophomore album, Lighght, under Indiana’s Joyful Noise. The album begins with a frenetic 47 seconds of violin playing, followed by the heavenly vocals that lead in “Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!“. This song is the definition of a happy place, with Kishi Bashi’s falsettos leading the song in, and energy bursting from start to finish.
So, if you can make it past the second track (admittedly, I hung out there for quite a bit), you’ll find that the rest of Lighght is jubilant, dancy, and fun – a perfect and well-balanced mix of electronic accents and skillful violin.
Lighght has been described by others as “a really satisfying acid trip” (Stereogum) and as containing the “catchiest, best-titled, most-likely-to-make-you-smile songs you’ll hear this week” (Pretty Much Amazing). Who are we to argue? With the pun-filled lyrics of “The Ballad of Mr. Steak” and the bright instrumentation on both “Bittersweet Genesis for Him AND Her” and “Hahaha Pt. 1”, this album is the very definition of feel-good music.
“Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!” even comes with an amazing and entirely fitting music video. Get lost in it below:
It might be too early to call it, but Lighght feels like this year’s “summer album”. Order Lighght in either yellow or black vinyl (or CD or digital) at the Joyful Noise storefront. In the meantime, close your eyes and let Kishi Bashi’s undeniably chipper tunes flow over you like warm sunshine on a summer day.
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