EARMILK EARMILK
  • NEW MUSIC
    • DANCE
    • ELECTRONIC
    • EXPERIMENTAL
    • HIP-HOP
    • INDIE
    • POP
    • ROCK
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • DOCUMENTARIES
    • EVENTS
    • FASHION
    • LIFESTYLE
    • MUSIC GEAR
    • MUSIC INDUSTRY
    • TECHNOLOGY
  • OPINION
  • ALBUM REVIEWS
  • GEAR REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • FEATURES
    • FESTIVALS
    • EXCLUSIVES
    • LISTS
    • CONTESTS
    • Photo Journals
  • SERIES
    • Artist to Watch
    • Under The Crust
    • Flashback Friday
    • Suicide Sundaes
    • Daily 2%
    • The Club
    • Weekend Selector
    • Mashup Mondays
    • Artist Remixed
    • Wobble Wednesday
    • Night Rumours
    • Indie Sabbath
    • Straight No Chase
    • Straight From the Teet
  • Jobs
  • About EARMILK
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Music
EARMILK EARMILK
EARMILK EARMILK
  • NEW MUSIC
    • DANCE
    • ELECTRONIC
    • EXPERIMENTAL
    • HIP-HOP
    • INDIE
    • POP
    • ROCK
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • DOCUMENTARIES
    • EVENTS
    • FASHION
    • LIFESTYLE
    • MUSIC GEAR
    • MUSIC INDUSTRY
    • TECHNOLOGY
  • OPINION
  • ALBUM REVIEWS
  • GEAR REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • FEATURES
    • FESTIVALS
    • EXCLUSIVES
    • LISTS
    • CONTESTS
    • Photo Journals
  • SERIES
    • Artist to Watch
    • Under The Crust
    • Flashback Friday
    • Suicide Sundaes
    • Daily 2%
    • The Club
    • Weekend Selector
    • Mashup Mondays
    • Artist Remixed
    • Wobble Wednesday
    • Night Rumours
    • Indie Sabbath
    • Straight No Chase
    • Straight From the Teet
  • Album Reviews
  • Experimental

Finish off your week with White Lights' latest album NUMBSKULL

  • September 3, 2020
  • Lindsey Oh
Total
0
Shares
0
0

Brooklyn-based producer and digital creator Johnny Shankman is not exempt from the hardships of the human experience. Best known as White Lights, his pursuit of happiness begins with creation and has no finite end. His artistic mantra traverses across a plane of inspiration and human connection. Borrowing from the musical meditations from artists by the likes of Kid Cudi and Joji, White Lights’ sound fits in effortlessly with the anti-pop pioneers. With over 1 million streams across his discography, the genre-bending musician capitalizes on his recent triumphs with his debut album NUMBSKULL. 

The genesis of the project, “In Water” is an easy first listen. The track swells with soul-stirring synths and subtle percussive elements, seducing listeners into the dream world that White Lights has built. The track swings into “Simulation Breakdown,” a defining, textured track that was released as the sophomore single to the album. Using “Simulation Breakdown” as a launch pad for the intended insights of NUMBSKULL, the next two tracks “Too Much To Dream” and “Floating World” contemplate cyclical thoughts in relation to the obscured world we live in. Followed by an ebb and flow of crystalline vocal work that phases in and out of indie-guitar riffs, “Worn” is NUMBSKULL’s alternative gem. Following an ascent of stormy synths, narcotic trap beats, and atmospheric vocals, the album begins parachuting back to earth with two similar-sounding singles “Dirt Nap” and “Body Trap.” The album comes to a conclusion with the aptly titled “Everything At Once,” a necessary final cut that draws from the musical elements of each track before it and digs into feelings of emotional chaos. 

On the record's title, White Lights explains, "I felt numb for a long time — I felt like my whole skull was numb. I was in such a dark place with my health that I tuned out the world around me. The process of writing and recording this album alone in my room slowly brought sensation back to my head and let me be present once again. It helped me realize that it is possible to find comfort within my issues. I hope to spread that message to others who are struggling to happily exist as themselves."

Although each track in the album is distinct from its predecessors, NUMBSKULL yields an obvious uniformity. A glitchy and often brooding 12-track LP, NUMBSKULL surveys more than the intricacies of synths and reverb. While the electro-R&B project is steeped in impressive sound design, the greatest takeaway lies in the music’s deeper meaning. "It's neither an R&B album nor a hip-hop album, but the echoes of inspiration are there — recommended if you like Lil Peep, Joji, Aries, Kid Cudi, or The Weeknd," White Lights says in a statement.

Connect with White Lights: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Stream NUMBSKULL Everywhere: HERE

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • numbskull
  • white lights
Lindsey Oh

Previous Article
  • Hip-Hop

Jadon Woodard is not 'Late to the Party' with his new album

  • September 3, 2020
  • Margaritë "Magi" Camaj
View Article
Next Article
  • Hip-Hop
  • Music Videos

Phora "Promises" to touch our hearts [Video]

  • September 3, 2020
  • Margaritë "Magi" Camaj
View Article
You May Also Like
View Article
  • Album Reviews

Jess Kerber shares compelling debut project 'From Way Down Here'

  • June 23, 2025
View Article
  • Experimental
  • Indie
  • Interviews
  • Pop

Nastiya Kai chats new single "Goodbye", traveling the world, mental health and more [Interview]

  • June 20, 2025
View Article
  • Ambient
  • Indie
  • New Music
  • Synth

Austel ponders the human condition on "I'm No Home"

  • June 13, 2025
View Article
  • Festival
  • Jazz

From Jungle to Jazz: The Shambala Sets We’re Buzzing For

  • June 12, 2025
View Article
  • Alternative
  • Indie
  • Indie Pop
  • Indie Rock
  • Pop
  • Psychedelic

Montazona brings in the patience with psychedelic masterpiece "Slow Your Roll"

  • June 6, 2025
View Article
  • Lo-Fi
  • Mainstage
  • Post-Punk
  • Psych-rock

Captain Crocodile lures you in with “Your Slithery Fum”

  • June 6, 2025
View Article
  • Atmospheric
  • Easy Listening
  • Electronic
  • Lo-Fi

Mistress Moon is the low-fi duo defining nostalgia and atmospheric electronic music

  • June 6, 2025
View Article
  • Ambient
  • Indie
  • New Music

BODHI deals with burnout on "This Little Dove"

  • June 4, 2025
Popular Music
  • Tamta
    Tamta flips the script with dual-powerhouse album ‘THE VILLAIN HEROINE’
    • June 24, 2025
  • Ben Bostick
    Ben Bostick sheds his skin on "Become Other" [Album]
    • June 24, 2025
  • Art Schop
    Art Schop returns with a bold concept album "The Fifth Hammer"
    • June 24, 2025
  • Horseshoes
    Horseshoes paints love and loss in ghostly detail on "suite ossuary" [Album]
    • June 24, 2025
  • No Can Fly
    No Can Fly melts boundaries on ‘Chemicals Forever’ [Album]
    • June 24, 2025
Recent Scoops
  • Matt Oakley is redefining country music with heart, soul and modernity
    • May 5, 2025
  • Texas’ Blacktop Mojo does rock music the way it should be done
    • April 29, 2025
  • Tha Rapper Haiti blends authentic style with musical passion
    • April 28, 2025
  • Glorybots redefines rock with latest album 'mad.end'
    • April 10, 2025
Community Voices
  • From Machismo To Mujeres: Women As The Face Of Reggaeton
    • July 14, 2022
  • Tyler the creator
    4 things I learned on the 'Call Me If You Get Lost' tour
    • March 31, 2022
  • 4 things every artist needs to think about in 2022
    • January 27, 2022
  • The TikTok Takeover of Hip-Hop
    • January 11, 2022

EARMILK EARMILK
  • Jobs
  • About EARMILK
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Music
All Milk. No Duds.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.