New Zealand one-man psych outfit Lamp of the Universe are headed toward the release of a new album. Almost always. In this case, however, multi-instrumentalist Craig Williamson (see also: Arc of Ascent, ex-Datura) carries the marked ambition to, as he puts it, “cover pretty much everything” he’s ever done. Not a minor ambition. Consider that Lamp of the Universe has been active since the turn of the century, has over 10 full-lengths to its credit and, on its own, takes on an acid folk style that ranges from sunny West Coast acoustics to been-to-India sitar drones and percussion to all-out space rock, all the while basking in dream-echo vocal melodies and ethereal, mystical themes. That’s before you get into Williamson‘s band work, the cosmic grunge of Arc of Ascent or the late-’90s psych riffage of Datura. One way or the other, it’s all fairly far out, but hell’s bells that “one way or the other” is covering a whole lot of ground.

One can hear the difference in intent immediately when taking on the new single “Return as Light.” Even as compares to 2020’s Dead Shrine (review here), which continued a thread pushing Lamp of the Universe in a more full-band-sounding direction — the big question is whether or not there are traditional rock-style drums, and for the most part there were — the vision in “Return as Light” is markedly clear-headed and the presentation resoundingly full in its production. A new studio situation has resulted in a depth of mix that indeed stands more in line with Williamson‘s band output, and the straightforward structure isn’t necessarily something he’s never done before, but never quite this way in this context. Two decades on from The Cosmic Union (discussed here), Lamp of the Universe is still finding new corners of psychedelia to illuminate.

If this doesn’t make you stoked for that next record — whatever it’s called, whenever it’s coming — then I don’t know what to tell you. I’ll hope to have more on the LP as we get closer.

For now, enjoy:

Lamp of the Universe, “Return as Light” official video premiere

Craig Williamson on “Return as Light”:

Well this song is quite different, or the start of something different for LotU. A lot of firsts… first time in an actual recording studio by myself (recording drums), first time having a proper full recording setup, very first single and video I’ve ever released.

“Return as Light” is part of a new album that will be quite diverse and cover pretty much everything I’ve done solo and band-wise.

Lamp of the Universe on Facebook

Lamp of the Universe on Bandcamp

Projection Records on Bandcamp

Tags: Hamilton, Lamp of the Universe, Lamp of the Universe Return as Light, New Zealand, Projection Records, Return as Light

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 17th, 2021 at 9:25 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.