Biography
Formed in Oakland, California, Naked Lights merge post-punk with textures drawn from Krautrock, dub, no wave, and minimal synth. The project originated as an understated collaboration between Christopher Sprague of Tristeza and Camaron Stephens, who produced the 2009 Sanity Muffin cassette Kukulkan Pyramid consisting solely of instrumental fragments. By the arrival of the more expansive 2011 cassette Chime Grove, the lineup had expanded to include Joshua Lindenfelzer, Billy Sprague, and Chris Hash. The resulting music grew atmospheric and hypnotic, marked by passages that evoked horror movie scores alongside basement psychedelia. Adagio830, a German label, reissued Chime Grove on vinyl in 2013, yet substantially reconfigured the tracklist by removing several original cuts and incorporating newer material. Around the period of this re-release, vocalist Aurora Crispin entered the group, shifting their approach from synth-led psychedelic rock toward an urgent art-punk style defined by angular rhythms, dub-inspired basslines, sporadic saxophone bleats, and swooping vocals reminiscent of bands such as LiLiPUT and the Raincoats. Captured between 2013 and 2015, the album On Nature appeared on Castle Face in early 2016.