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The Birmingham collective’s fourth album finds it working, for the first time all century, with a set lineup beyond singer/songwriters Brad Armstrong and Buzz Russell – but don’t go thinking that means The Strangest Colored Lights represents a buttoned-down shift away from the shambolic, retro-post-folk sprawl that 13ghosts fans have come to expect and love. These 13 tracks, recorded in a basement over the course of a year, cover the same dreamy, spaced-out territory the duo has called home since 2001’s We Are the Sun, but their newly settled personnel help give The Strangest Colored Lights a more consistent sonic palette. 13ghosts’ sound is so expansive – and their relationship with melody so casual – that anyone looking for a quick, casual listen need not apply; this album’s darkest truths are buried deep within its knotted whorls. The press kit compares Strangest Colored’s sound to Sparklehorse and Pink Floyd, and for once, the publicists aren’t grasping at straws; this is an album positively begging for mood-altering substances and a laser light show. Pull down the shades, unplug the phone, and pack a lunch – you may not be done with this one for awhile. (LABEL: Skybucket 2008)
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