- Few albums have been as misleadingly titled as 2012's Lucifer from American husband and wife duo Peaking Lights. The music crafted by Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis was soft focus dub, indie and electronica—more gossamer fairy than angel of darkness. Equally, at times, it sounded lightweight and insubstantial, as did 2011's predecessor 936, which inhaled similar influences—Broadcast's indie experimentalism, Amon Duul's krautrock, King Tubby's dub, '60s psychedelia of The Silver Apples. And like 936, which was re-released with a package of reworks, Lucifer has now been given the remix treatment. The 936 release called on the likes of Adrian Sherwood and Dam-Funk, but here Peaking Lights take a classic dub approach by remixing Lucifer themselves, losing the sense of surprise, but gaining a feeling of coherency.
The first track, "Cosmic Dub," shows that Peaking Lights have gone for a more reverent deconstruction of the originals than an outright dub demolition. "Cosmic Tides" was already the dubiest track on Lucifer; turning the bass up and smothering Indra's vocal in reverb simply makes it sound more like Scientist than before. But much of Lucifer in Dub seems like a mirror image of the original album: it looks familiar but also reversed. Where before the bass was buried in the mix, here it rises above the tropicália influences on the "Live Dub" version of "Live Love"—and actually provides the melody on the "My Heart Dubs 4 U" version of "Dream Beat."
As the vocals are set loose from their moorings, so the music slowly drifts into darker waters. "Midnight" had an Eastern psychedelic feel on Lucifer, but with the guitars more distorted and the skank more menacing on "Midnight Dub" it moves closer to the atmosphere—if not strictly the sound—of Gaslamp Killer's more infernal interpretation of similar influences. It still smells more of skunk than sulphur, but Lucifer in Dub does have a certain sense of Satanic majesty more fitting for its name.
Tracklist01. Cosmick Dub
02. My Heart Dubs for You
03. Beautiful Dub
04. Live Dub
05. Dub Low Dub High
06. Midnight Dub