We’ve featured Bright Shining Lights before on this blog, comparing them to “stellar trailblazers like Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and Hans Zimmer.”
By Graeme Smith
The Pequannock, New Jersey, USA-based outfit delighted us with their 2025 album release, The Sun Is A Star, and now the follow up, SM-01, is out in the universe. While The Sun Is A Star was a vocal-led project, the band’s new release lets instrumentals do the talking.
Bright Shining Lights reference film scores as part of their influences and I certainly heard elements of Eno and Vangelis as I listened. SM-01 has the kind of atmospheric world-building a soundtrack needs, yet it’s not a collection to put on in the background. It’s a record in which you can get completely absorbed.
It opens ambiently with the slow-building introduction of Here At The Beginning. It’s a moment that encourages patience and serenity, doing much with little. Snatches of melody build the layers of atmosphere as the piece provides a sense of calmness that is at a premium in today’s busy world.
This early ambience evolves as the album unfolds. There are sudden, overwhelming moments contrasted by long, ghostly notes as Bright Shining Lights play within a broad sonic spectrum.
The percussive beats and soft vocalisations of Spark make it an early highlight. The rousing climax of This Is No Time To Panic is another, injecting the album with a sense of movement and dynamism just when it’s needed. The collection ends gently and reflectively through Here At The End and Say Their Names.
Interestingly, for an album that tells such a strong story, the band call SM-01 a “record without narrative.” They prefer to let the listener interpret the compositions in their own way. Perhaps that’s what’s happened. Bright Shining Lights have given me enough for my imagination to do the rest.
SM-01 is the first entry in a longer project, so I expect we’ll hear more like it from the band. Given their evolution over the past year, however, I also wouldn’t be surprised if the album’s sequel takes things in a completely different direction once again. I do love a band who keeps me on my toes!
If you want to keep up to date with what Bright Shining Lights are doing, you can by heading to their website, and by following them on Facebook, X, Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, and Instagram.
SM-01 is out now, and you can listen to it below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator
