The Strangest Colored Lights represents the first time since 2002 that 13ghosts’ recordings have involved a full and consistent line-up of musicians; the same five guys arranged and performed the material on every song, with the exception of the horn section in Riverside (Chad Fisher and Chip Crotts) and a female vocal passage in Photographs (Amber Quick). Like Cicada, this album spans a large and diverse cross-section of genres (electronica, grand Pink-Floydesque passages, country-sludge, psychedelic, spaghetti-western, hard-edged pop and dark acoustic), and like Cicada it is long and sprawling, clocking in at just over 55 minutes. The differences between Cicada and The Strangest Colored Lights lie in the band’s focus, their relentless attention to detail (though fans of 13ghosts’ lo-fi production aesthetic will not be disappointed; it was, after all, recorded in a basement), and a newfound harmony between Russell’s and Armstrong’s sometime disparate songwriting styles. With this new record, 13ghosts has finally united their many voices under one soaring and cinematic vision.