I haven’t seen The Luminous Empty play live, so I’m not sure how old these guys are, but even if they’re all over 65, they still sound perpetually 15—more precisely, 15 and under the influence of Black Sabbath, a bong rip or two, and maybe a couple of beers. Not messed-up to the point of falling down, just a little heady and hesh.
That’s certainly not a dis, nor do I mean to say that the band sounds loose or sloppy. On the contrary, on record at least, they sound heavy, tight and well rehearsed. The sound is basically Sabbath meets Queens of the Stone Age—a meeting that’s sort of like a re-introduction at a stoned family reunion. So yeah, these are familiar sounds, and it’s clear by the end of their new record, Between, that their bag of tricks isn’t very deep, but good music that immediately conjures the spirit of teenager first discovering the joys of alcohol, drugs and distorted guitars will always be cool.