Singer Amber Webber and arranger Josh Wells have released their first album since leaving Vancouver rock group Black Mountain to focus on their duo project, and Wells said expectations are high.
For 10 years Webber and Wells were splitting their time between both groups until deciding to focus on the side project, Lightning Dust, in 2017.
“It’s been really good for the music and I think it’s just freed us up to just really put everything we have into it,” Wells said of leaving Black Mountain. “And also to think more about touring and without having to be working around another schedule. So we do intend to tour quite extensively.”
Earlier last month Lightning Dust released their fourth album, Spectre, and on Nov. 8 they kick off their fall tour at the White Room in Nanaimo before playing Victoria and Vancouver and then heading to Europe for a month.
Wells said the White Room is “a special place to start a tour.”
“It’s a very cool place and I think it’s really helped to foster an underground arts community in Nanaimo along with lots of other places,” he said. “I feel like Nanaimo’s really taken off in that respect.”
After the sparse, indie, electro-pop of their last album, Fantasy, Wells said he and Webber went into Spectre wanting to return to more rock instrumentation while maintaining a “sonically spacious … cosmic atmosphere.”
“We wanted to dig a little bit deeper into the sounds of FM radio rock from the ’70s, which is a big influence on our songwriting in general, I guess, and to maybe re-frame some tropes that could be seen as somewhat cheesy or just gauche in some way and maybe make them awesome,” Wells said.
WHAT’S ON … Lightning Dust play the White Room, 4 Church St., on Friday, Nov. 8. Doors at 8 p.m. Show at 9. Tickets $12 in advance or $15 at the door.
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