March 28, 2024

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Album Review: Hit The Lights – ‘Summer Bones’

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Hit The Lights has always been that band on the verge of breaking out beyond the underground of pop punk music. They found a tiny glimmer of spotlight when they released ‘Skip School Start Fights’ in 2008 with songs like ‘Stay Out’ and ‘Drop The Girl,’ but soon faded back into the underground.

In 2012 they would try and recapture the fame they had experienced by releasing what I consider to be a very underrated album, ‘Invicta’. The album was a departure from their ‘ez’ sound of ‘Skip School Start Fights’ for a more indie laden sound. That album would bomb, and Hit The Lights would continue to fall from their once prominent spot in the blossoming pop punk scene. They would soon take a break from touring and recording all together, and all seemed lost for the band.

Fast forward a few years and enter what seems to be a rejuvenated Hit The Lights. A band that was brought back from the brink of extinction had announced plans to release a new album through Pure Noise Records and return to their ‘ez’ sound of ‘Skip School Start Fights’. You could hear the small chant of ‘#ezcorerevival2k15′ begin in the Defend Pop Punk Group. Boy, did the guys in Hit The Lights bring the heat on their new record. Over the collective 26 minutes and 34 seconds of the record, Hit The Lights showed they still have some fight left in them and they will not go down lightly.

‘Fucked Up Kids’ kicks the record off, and Hit The Lights wants you to know that they aren’t pulling any punches on this record. The opening riff gets you amped for what’s to come. The song is an ode to all the nights spent getting, well, fucked up with friends and causing trouble. The song what you want in an opening track. The intro riff is fast, the drums have a sense of urgency to them as the song builds into an hook laden chorus that you find yourself wanting to sing at the top of your lungs on a beautiful summer night.

On the next track the boys don’t let up. ‘The Real’ kicks off with Nick singing ‘Just turn your back on me/It seems that I work better that way’ signaling that the guys aren’t done, no matter who writes them off. Much like ‘Fucked Up Kids’ the song follows the same formula. But hey, if it’s not broke why fix it? Nick Thompson isn’t holding anything back lyrically or vocally from this record, and he’s letting people know just how he feels. Channeling his frustration with the scene and how fickle people can be he belts out what is quite possibly my favorite line on the record ‘Sometimes it’s just best if I bleed’.

On the next track, ‘Life on The Bottom,’ Thompson talks about being an underdog and not catching a break. This is probably one of the standouts of the record. Speaking on the struggles that he and the band have encountered in their career it seems to be one of the more hard hitting songs on the record and it’s one of my personal favorites.

The next 3 tracks: ‘Revolutions and Executions’, ‘No Filter’, and ‘Blasphemy, Myself, and I’ follow the same formula as the previous three, great riff, catchy chorus, and some killer one liners. In ‘No Filter,’ Thompson gives a scathing goodbye song to an ex and takes a look at how social media can affect us as people and in our relationships. No one is safe from Thompson on this record and he’s letting everyone know it.

Now we come to a break in the flurry of riffs and fast drums as the guys slow things down in ‘Summer Bones’. A slow ballad that is all about remembering the past when you were young, and the things that you miss as you get older. The band shows that they still have a little ‘Invicta’ left in their system. The verses, as they build to an explosive chorus, make you want to sing along. Hit The Lights brings the mood with this song, but they bring it right back up with next two songs.

‘Keep Your Head’ is 1:30 of pure pop punk bliss. As the song explodes into a flurry of fast guitars and drums, then swells into a sick chorus, Omar Zehery shows off some of his skills on the axe with the riff in the chorus. This helps with the sense of urgency and adrenaline the songs brings to the table, as it goes into a killer breakdown that makes you want jump as gang vocals begin to shout ‘Keep your head up,’ and Thompson sings in the background ‘You keep pulling me under’. In the minute and half you and the song have together it makes you want more, and Hit The Lights is willing to supply you with your fix for two more songs.

‘Sitter’ brings you to the edge of your seat as the song is just getting you ready for the grand finale. These guys refuse to let off the gas and and are going to keep you going until the end. Hit The Lights is showing off their love for the riff, and building it up as they go into one last chorus.

Much like ‘Keep Your Head’, ‘Old Friend’ out of the gate has your hair standing up on end, and Hit The Lights show they aren’t going to let up because it’s the last song the record. With a cameo from ex-frontman Collin Ross, Hit The Lights brings things full circle, as they sing about the good times they had and how they will never forget them. The song is a great closer to a great album, and if this is indeed their last album, it is a worthy one.

Since Hit The Lights released their emo pop punk master piece ‘This Is A Stick Up… Don’t Make It A Murder’ they have struggled to find the success that many of their peers have experienced. They reached it for a breif moment with ‘Skip School Start Fights,’ but failed to keep it rolling. After a few years removed from ‘Invicta,’ Hit The Lights has come back refreshed and ready to show the scene they aren’t done yet. But if this is their final hurrah as a band, as some fans fear, then this is the perfect swan song to go out on.

Notable songs: ‘Fucked Up Kids’, ‘No Filter’, ‘Keep Your Head’

Final score: 8/10

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