The Profound Underground: Pretty Lights

Have you ever been rocking out to the latest Thievery Corporation hit wishing they would blast that beat a little more? Wishing that maybe they would have just a little more hip-hop? Well, Pretty Lights hailing from Fort Collins, Colorado have achieved just that in there 2006 album Taking Up Your Precious Time. A joint project of Derek Smith and Michal Menert, Pretty Lights incorporate hip-hop, rap, elctronica, and glitch all with a down-tempo organic feel described as an umbrella of sound.


Taking Up Your Precious Time opens with the song "Short Line", which features an orchestral opening which reminds me of a Jurassic 5 song. Quickly though, the orchestra falls giving rise to the calming moan of the synth. As the two fuse, a mellow but uplifting sound emerges which remains for the duration of the song.

Following "Short Line" comes "Until Tomorrow" which again features a mellow mix of electronica with soulful background vocals and the fastpace rain-like sound of the harpsichord. The song remains fairly mellow leading into "Wrong Platform," one of the groups most intriguing pieces on the album. The song begins with a sound which is similar to previous tracks, but about 3 minutes the true genius of the song is relieved when a sound similar to Holy Fuck dominates. The mellow mix returns only to be transformed into a compelling rap in the last 30 seconds of the song.

"Switch Up" is the next notable piece, creating a definite Thievery Corporation sound with horns mixed with record-scratching goodness with of emphasis on the steady beat. Another two mellow songs follow when we hear another gem, Down The Line. By far one of the most chill, "Down The Line" features a lo-fi piano mixed with drums, synth, acoustic guitar, and the chilling, deep vocals of a soulful singer. "Almost Familiar", "The Last Passenger", and "Try To Remember" wrap up the album with the downtempo sound which has been presented previously, that is until the bonus track of "Try To Remember" appears. The bonus track is definitely the most upbeat and electronic of the album, sounding similar to bands like Holy Fuck and The Octopus Project.

So I'm sure some of you are thinking this sounds pretty good, BUT IT GETS BETTER! The album is 100% free! Just head on over to www.prettylightsmusic.com to download the entire album, all 73 minutes of it. If you'd like to preview, I've posted a few tracks below.

For any additional information on Pretty Lights, check out their myspace.

Pretty Lights: Wrong Platform
Pretty Lights: Switch Up
Pretty Lights: Down The Line