The Fifth State of Consciousness

Last updated
The Fifth State of Consciousness
TheFifthStateofConsciousness.jpg
Studio album by
Peaking Lights
ReleasedJune 16, 2017
Recorded2015–17
StudioDreamfuzz Studio, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length72:34
Label Two Flowers
Producer Aaron Coyes
Peaking Lights chronology
Cosmic Logic
(2014)		The Fifth State of Consciousness
(2017)
Singles from The Fifth State of Consciousness
  1. "Everytime I See The Light"
    Released: April 11, 2017 [1]
  2. "I'll Be In The Sky"
    Released: May 10, 2017 [2]
  3. "Love Can Move Mountains"
    Released: June 6, 2017 [3]
  4. "Coyote Ghost Melodies"
    Released: June 13, 2017 [4]

The Fifth State of Consciousness is a double album [5] by husband-and-wife psychedelic pop duo Peaking Lights, consisting of Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis. The making of the record differed from previous albums by the duo in that Coyes and Dunis had no involvement from other labels (the LP was released on a label formed by the duo named Two Flowers), they were in the studio together more often, and they were much more experimental with the music. The Fifth State of Consciousness's press release summarizes that the album is "a story of overcoming the shadow to rise above" with concepts of "dreams, loss of innocence, strength and seeking an enlightened state of being after trials and tribulations." An example of this theme on the LP is "Love Can Move Mountains," which was inspired by the duo's disappointment from the results of the 2016 United States presidential election. In general, professional critics wrote favorable reviews of The Fifth State of Consciousness upon its June 2017 release.

Contents

Production and composition

The making of The Fifth State of Consciousness significantly differs from previous Peaking Lights albums. It was the first album by Peaking Lights where Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis produced and funded an full-length LP on their own and without label involvement. [6] As Coyes explained, "That’s cost us in some ways, and in other ways it hasn’t cost us, but what we’ve learned is you have to do things yourself, you have to learn how to record things yourself and for this record we decided we wanted to put it out ourself." [6]

Peaking Lights produced the album as a slower rate so they could have more time to spend with their children. [6] In addition, Coyes and Dunis were able to work together in the studio more than their previous album Cosmic Logic (2014), which Coyes favored: "The clarity in thought and being able to work together was super important and production wise was probably more important than any piece of gear or technique, we were vibing and that made the approach feel fresh." [3] Recording of The Fifth State of Consciousness took place for two years at Peaking Lights' own Los Angeles studio named Dreamfuzz Studio, [5] which was described by Coyes as consisting of "a lot of junk and crap, but we try and use that stuff in whatever way we can to make sounds that are different to what you can make on the computer." [6]

As Matt Oliver Clash magazine categorized, The Fifth State of Consciousness mainly "covers new romanticism and keeps on the coattails of today’s synth pop with dayglo indie standards." [7] The record is also much more experimental than Peaking Lights' previous albums, [3] which the official press release of the album described the album as having a diverse and "magical" sound throughout: "Sonically the double album shifts through many states from beginning to end, resonating deep, like a drive thru foreign landscapes where you’re glued to the window as everything slowly changes around you." [5] Oliver labeled Dunis' vocal performance as a "floating head swap of Lana Del Rey and Spalding Rockwell" and described the set of sounds produced by Coyes as "tropical[,] both of twinkling waters on pixel beaches and bone-dry tundra." [7] As he analyzed, "The longer [the sounds] go on, Peaking Lights’ paradise becomes a slow release of quicksand suffocating the ‘80s motifs and kitsch semantics, suckering you in with easy listening propositions before turning the tides." [7]

According to the press release, making the LP involved "using tape machines, writing melodies backwards then playing them in reverse, layering sound upon sound to create “pads”, literally breaking electronics to get sounds, and a strict motto of "anything goes, pure creativity"." [5] The album was produced with a combination of Pro Tools and various analog equipment such as "cheap battery powered mics," a 1976 Soundcraft Series Two mixing console, an Otari MTR-12 tape machine, and a Yamaha four-track cassette recorder. [3] Coyes bought the Series Two mixer in 2016 for $100 in a deal. As he said, "It was a really crazy find. The guy had an ad up with really shitty pictures that said make me an offer." [3]

Concept

As the official press release states, The Fifth State of Consciousness is conceptually "a story of overcoming the shadow to rise above," dealing with themes of "dreams, loss of innocence, strength and seeking an enlightened state of being after trials and tribulations." [5] AllMusic journalist Paul Simpson wrote The Fifth State of Consciousness "generally feels easygoing yet energetic, and informed of the state of the world while trying to achieve inner peace and enjoy life to the fullest." [8] One of the tracks made for The Fifth State of Consciousness was initially titled “Thinking Out Loud." [3] The track was originally not going to be on the final album since, in Coyes' words, the duo "never felt it was right." [3] However, the duo's sadness from the results of the 2016 United States presidential election influenced them to keep working on the track and make it about blue aliens trying to overthrow an "orange creature" leading them. [3] The name of the song was also changed to "Love Can Move Mountains." [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 6.4/10 [9]
Metacritic 75/100 [10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Clash 5/10 [7]
Drowned in Sound 8/10 [11]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Loud and Quiet 6/10 [13]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Pitchfork 7.6/10 [14]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Under the Radar Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]

Under the Radar claimed that with The Fifth State of Consciousness, "Peaking Lights continue to advance their sound by blurring genre lines and this time found a winning combination of hypnotic reggae beats, airy synths, and semi R&B grooves." [15] Irish music journalist Jim Carroll opined the LP consists of a "series of sounds that appears wonky and disembodied yet produces a satisfying and effective through-line." [12] A Drowned in Sound reviewer opined the LP was the most like Peaking Lights' early works, and as a result, "Peaking Lights have, rather bizarrely, flown forwards, proving in the process that, when handled correctly, nostalgia can be a fine tool." [11] Marc Masters of Pitchfork wrote that the "unique signature" of Peaking Lights was much less buried in "generic" styles than on Cosmic Logic. [14]

The mixed reviews of The Fifth State of Consciousness were primarily critical of the album's use of sounds that wander for too long. [13] [7] As Oliver stated, "the humidity rarely lets in any fresh air — certain tracks could do with their loops being curtailed, seemingly not knowing when to stop (‘Sweetness Isn’t Far Away’) — and lack of vocal variety (again, historically straight-laced) prompts the knock-on of making matters fuzzy and forgettable." [7] He also noted the "disengagement" between the vocals and the music which "makes [the duo] sound achingly image conscious, a set of sunglasses saying everything and nothing." [7] A Loud and Quiet critic wrote that "while [the duo] remain determined to move to their own beat, there’s little stopping [the album from] drifting off into the ether." [13]

Track listing

Derived from the liner notes of the official Bandcamp page for The Fifth State of Consciousness. [5]

No.TitleLength
1."Dreaming Outside"6:51
2."Coyote Ghost Melodies"7:17
3."Everytime I See the Light"6:12
4."I'll Be In the Sky"4:08
5."Love Can Move Mountains"5:33
6."Sweetness Isn't Far Away"10:24
7."Que Du Bon"5:42
8."A Phoenix and a Fish"6:24
9."Eclipse of the Heart"6:55
10."In My Disguise"5:03
11."Put Down Your Guns"7:31
12."Wild Paradise"6:56
Total length:72:34

Personnel

Derived from the liner notes of the official Bandcamp page for The Fifth State of Consciousness. [5]

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label
Worldwide [5] June 16, 2017
Two Flowers

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Future Sound of London</span> British electronic group

The Future Sound of London is a British electronic music duo composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. They have been described as a "boundary-pushing" electronic act, covering techno, ambient, house music, trip hop, psychedelia, and dub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interpol (band)</span> American rock band

Interpol is an American rock band from Manhattan, New York. Formed in 1997, their original line-up consisted of Paul Banks, Daniel Kessler, Carlos Dengler, and Greg Drudy (drums). Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino. Dengler left to pursue other projects in 2010, with Banks taking on the additional role of bassist instead of hiring a new one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thievery Corporation</span> American electronic music duo

Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including bossa nova.

<i>LP5</i> 1998 studio album by Autechre

LP5 is the untitled fifth studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 13 July 1998 on Warp. No title was printed anywhere within the artwork, in line with the later EP EP7; it has also been called Autechre, as well as Album, as listed on promotional copies.

Way Out West are an English electronic music duo comprising Jody Wisternoff and Nick Warren. Originating in Bristol, England, they rose to fame in the 1990s with their UK-charting singles "The Gift" and "Ajare", and their debut studio album Way Out West was released in 1997 to critical and commercial success. Their 2001 follow-up, Intensify, also garnered chart success, along with its singles "The Fall", "Intensify" and "Mindcircus", the latter of which reached number one on the UK Dance Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby I'm Yours (Barbara Lewis song)</span> 1965 single by Barbara Lewis

"Baby I'm Yours" is a song written by Van McCoy which was a hit in 1965 for Barbara Lewis, the original recording artist. The song was featured in the 1995 film The Bridges of Madison County and was included on the soundtrack album. It was also featured in the TV movies The Midnight Hour (1985) and An American Crime (2007), as well as being briefly featured in Baby Driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood Red Shoes</span> English alternative rock band

Blood Red Shoes are an English alternative rock duo from Brighton consisting of Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell. They have released six full-length albums, Box of Secrets (2008), Fire Like This (2010), In Time to Voices (2012), Blood Red Shoes (2014), Get Tragic (2019) and Ghosts On Tape (2022) as well as several EPs and a number of singles. In 2014, they founded their own label, Jazz Life.

<i>River Deep – Mountain High</i> (album) 1966 studio album by Ike & Tina Turner

River Deep – Mountain High is a studio album by Ike & Tina Turner. It was originally released by London Records in the UK in 1966, and later A&M Records in the US in 1969. In 2017, Pitchfork ranked it at No. 40 on their list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.

Numbers are an American indie rock band from San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Knocks</span> American electronic music duo

The Knocks is an American electronic music duo consisting of Ben "B-Roc" Ruttner and James "JPatt" Patterson. They have released 3 full length albums [HISTORY, New York Narcotic, 55) and 5 EPs on record labels Big Beat Records, Neon Gold, Atlantic Records, and their label HeavyRoc Music. In addition, they are prolific remixers, delivering remixes for artists across the musical spectrum. They are also known for their singles "Classic," featuring the duo Powers, "Ride or Die" ft. Foster The People, "Bodies" ft. MUNA, and marquee collaborations with Sofi Tukker "Best Friend", Purple Disco Machine "Fireworks," and ODESZA "Love Letter."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deafheaven</span> American post-metal band

Deafheaven is an American post-metal band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released a demo album together. Following its release, Deafheaven recruited three new members and began to tour. Before the end of 2010, the band signed to Deathwish Inc. and later released their debut album Roads to Judah, in April 2011. They established a unique style blending black metal, shoegazing, and post-rock, among other influences, later called "blackgaze" by reviewers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stooshe</span> British girl group

Stooshe are a British girl group from London, consisting of three members Alexandra Buggs, Karis Anderson and Courtney Rumbold. Initially signed to Warner Music they released of their first single "Love Me", featuring US rapper Travie McCoy, in 2012. Later that year Stooshe were nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Seaman</span> American musician

Ryan Eric Seaman is an American musician and singer, best known as the longest tenured drummer for the band Falling in Reverse. He also serves as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock duo I Dont Know How But They Found Me.

Music of <i>Minecraft</i> Music of the video game Minecraft

The music of the video game Minecraft was primarily composed by German musician Daniel Rosenfeld, better known by his pseudonym C418. Later on in the game's history, Gareth Coker, Lena Raine, Kumi Tanioka and Samuel Åberg contributed with several albums and EPs. These albums include music featured in the game, as well as other music included in trailers, and instrumentals not included in the game's final release.

<i>936</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Peaking Lights

936 is a 2011 neo-psychedelic album by Peaking Lights, a Spring Green, Wisconsin-based husband-and-wife duo of Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis. Peaking Lights stepped outside of the lo-fi style of their previous recordings, recording in a studio for the first time, and infused their psychedelic pop style with sounds from dub and hypnagogic chillwave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Wimberly</span> Musical artist

Jonathan Patrick Wimberly is an American record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and mixing engineer best known as being one-half of the synth-pop duo Chairlift. The band parted ways in 2017 so Patrick and former bandmate Caroline Polachek could focus on their careers as producers/songwriters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul White (record producer)</span>

Paul White is an English multi-instrumentalist, singer, and record producer from Lewisham. He is one half of the duo Golden Rules along with Eric Biddines.

Yannick Beaucaine, best known as Häzel, is a French-Brazilian music producer, based in Melbourne, Australia. He is most recognized for his Hip-Hop and R&B productions and produced one of the songs on Gallant's Grammy nominated album Ology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estrons</span>

Estrons were a Welsh alternative rock band from Cardiff, Wales. The band's final lineup featured Tali Källström (vocals), Rhodri Daniel (guitar), Steffan Pringle (bass), and Adam Thomas (drums).

Black Dresses were a Canadian noise pop duo consisting of Ada Rook and Devi McCallion. Their debut album, Wasteisolation, was released independently in 2018. The duo released three additional albums, Thank You (2019), Love and Affection for Stupid Little Bitches (2019), and Peaceful as Hell (2020), before breaking up in 2020. Despite no longer being a band, Black Dresses have released two additional albums, Forever in Your Heart (2021) and Forget Your Own Face (2022).

References

  1. ↑ Tully Claymore, Gabriela (April 11, 2017). "Peaking Lights – “Everytime I See The Light”". Stereogum . SpinMedia. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ Fitzgerald, Colin (May 10, 2017). "Peaking Lights share new track “I’ll Be In the Sky” from upcoming album The Fifth State of Consciousness". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Catching Up With… Peaking Lights". Self-titled. June 6, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ Iadarola, Alexander (June 13, 2017). "Dub Reggae Meets Disco on Peaking Lights' Mind-Expanding New Single". Thump . Vice Media. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Fifth State of Consciousness (double album)". Peaking Lights Official Bandcamp. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Going Their Own Way: Peaking Lights Talk". The Ransom Note. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Oliver, Matt (May 30, 2017). "Peaking Lights – The Fifth State Of Consciousness". Clash . Music Republic Ltd. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Simpson, Paul. "The Fifth State of Consciousness – Peaking Lights". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Fifth State of Consciousness by Peaking Lights". AnyDecentMusic? Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 "The Fifth State of Consciousness by Peaking Lights Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Doherty, Jack (June 15, 2017). "Album Review: Peaking Lights – The Fifth State of Consciousness". Drowned in Sound . Silentway. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  12. 1 2 Carroll, Jim (June 1, 2017). "Peaking Lights get freaky with the studio gear". The Irish Times . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 Younis, Reef (June 16, 2017). "Peaking Lights – The Fifth State Of Consciousness". Loud and Quiet . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  14. 1 2 Masters, Marc (June 20, 2017). "Peaking Lights: The Fifth State of Consciousness". Pitchfork . Conde Nast. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Matt the Raven (June 12, 2017). "Peaking Lights: The Fifth State of Consciousness Two Flowers". Under the Radar . Retrieved November 5, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.