Wonderful Rainbow

Released in 2003 on Load Records, Wonderful Rainbow is the third studio album by the Providence-based duo Lightning Bolt and is widely cited as their definitive work. Recorded at the height of the 'Fort Thunder' art collective's influence, the album captures the band's transition from pure noise improvisation toward a more structured, riff-heavy approach. Brian Gibson utilizes a cello-tuned bass with a banjo string for high-end clarity, allowing him to play both rhythm and lead roles simultaneously through a massive array of effects. Brian Chippendale's drumming is equally unorthodox, utilizing a mask with a built-in telephone receiver for vocals, which creates a distorted, lo-fi vocal texture that sits deep in the mix. The album received high praise for its 'accessible' take on noise rock, appearing on numerous end-of-decade lists and in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It remains a cornerstone of 21st-century underground rock.