The Providence, Rhode Island duo of drummer Brian Chippendale and bassist Brian Gibson met in the mid-1990s while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design, a hotbed of undergound musical activity that produced numerous groups including Black Dice. For the past 15 years they have released on Load Records, with new album, Fantasy Empire (their first recorded in a studio) released by Thrill Jockey.

Chippendale and Gibson are featured in The Wire 374's Invisible Jukebox, tested by Matt Krefting. Also in in The Wire 374, Nick Southgate reviews their forthcoming album, Fantasy Empire: "Lightning Bolt’s drummer Brian Chippendale makes comic books in his spare time and records with solo project Black Pus, while bassist Brian Gibson creates computer games. No wonder, then, that in 20 years of existence their albums have often had lengthy gestations. Fantasy Empire, over four years in the making, is no exception, but it also marks their first foray into a state of the art recording studio courtesy of their new label Thrill Jockey... Notorious for playing their intense shows in the middle of the room with the crowd moshing and milling around them, Lightning Bolt have always faced the conundrum of how to translate this experience to tape. The crackling focus of Fantasy Empire puts them closer than ever to achieving that."

Fantasy Empire is out on 23 March. Lightning Bolt will be on a US tour in April and play ATP Iceland in July. Click here for full tour info. And if you missed it, you can currently stream the full Fantasy Empire album on NPR.