Hit The Lights – Skip School, Start Fights
So this week I’ve mainly been putting some last min planning into Last Letter Read’s forthcoming lil’ UK tour. Apart from that, it’s been band planning, booking recording of our new EP, and spending too much money on eBay and my usual constant efforts of promoting on MySpace.
Hit The Lights – Skip School, Start Fights 8/10
Obviously, I’ve been listening to a lot of music, and this week I’ve been enjoying the brand new Hit The Lights album, ‘Skip School, Start Fights’. It’s a 13 track blast of power pop fun that’s full of sing along chorus, clever guitar riffs and will be perfect for the summer.
The album begins with ‘Count It’, and it may initially make you check if you’ve put on the right cd. Is it the into to an 80’s love ballad or is it the new HTL album? Luckily, it is the new HTL album, and it’s a great lil into track which leads you to get smacked in the face with the great riff that ‘Breathe In’ provides. Next up is first single ‘Stay Out’, which again starts with a riff which is textbook HTL. You can really tell why this is chosen as the first single with its sing-along ‘woah-ohs’ and with its simple structure, it’s so easy to pick up and trust me, it’ll be stuck in your head for days. Track four is ‘Drop The Girl’, and is my personal favorite from the album. This is the third version I’ve heard of this song and it’s by far the best one. They’ve changed the key and added better harmonies, and this really should be the second single. The song has a great rhythm and it really drives you through the 3 mins 22 seconds, guaranteeing you enjoy every hoop & swoop & that awesome chorus every time it comes along.
’Tell Me Where You Are’, sounds a bit darker, in a rather similar style to Armor For Sleep. I think it’s the first time HTL have gone for a darker tune like this, and to be honest, they’ve pulled it off really well. Sometimes when bands go for a track like this, it normally turns out kind of dull, and ends up a skip track, but not this.
Next up is the speedy track ‘Hang Em High’, which brings us back towards the happy Hit The Lights sounds we’re used to. It’s a simple blasting pop punk song, which the band know how to create repeated.
Another thing this band do is constantly write brilliant guitar riffs that stick in your head just as well as the melodies do, and this shows again in ‘Back Breaker’, which is another stand out track, with a really great breakdown.
’Don’t Wait’, is a track jam packed thru of emotion. A great pop song, with piano thrown in for good measure. It still keeps the up-beat feeling that you come to expect, yet it stands out due to its originality compare to some tracks on the album that sounds a little similar to each other.
Track 9, ‘Cry Your Eyes Out’, is defiantly a song that should be played live, not that it sounds bad on cd at all. It’s a real get up and go song, with a real hint of Four Year Strong in the instruments & verse melody.
’Statues’ is probably one of my least favorite tracks on the cd, but this doesn’t mean it’s a bad track, it just doesn’t quite come out & grab you as much as most the other tracks on the cd do, and the hooks aren’t quite as big.
Next up is ‘Say What You Wanna Say’, and by now you can tell HTL really are just brilliant at writing great guitar riffs, and they love opening songs with them. This song has a chorus which is bound to stay with your for ages, due its simplicity and repetitiveness without being annoying.
The title for the next track is a little deceiving as it does anything but what it says on the tin. ‘Winding Down’, is full of the harmonies which HTL have perfected on this album, and you can really tell the progression of their vocals on this cd from ‘This Is A Stick Up… (Yes I know they have changed vocalists).
The album closes with ‘On & On’, which is a perfect song to end on. A track that, in the majority, quite quiet, but builds up to a massive outro full of layered vocals, which fade out with the guitar to end the cd.
This album could have ended not being the HTL we’ve come to love, but luckily the new lead vocal change hasn’t affected the bands great recognizable sound at all. If anything, it’s bettered it! ‘Skip School, Start Fights’, is pretty much a perfect summer album, that builds on its predecessor ‘This Is A Stick Up…’, and after a couple of listens you’ll find yourself eagerly awaiting to see what these Ohio lads can come up with next!
Now, for something unrelated
The past week I’ve spent many hours on Burnout 3 + 4, therefore I’ve been enjoy a nice mix of music I enjoy thanks to its brilliant soundtrack, plus I’ve just got hold of the new Zebrahead album, so look out for a review of that soon!
I’m off on tour from Friday, so be sure to check out our dates on MySpace, and come say hang out with us & bring us food cos we’re poor!
Rob!
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/LASTLETTERREAD
