Headlights Brighten Their DIY Sound

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on May 21, 2008 4:30PM

Headlights crafted their sophomore effort, Some Racing, Some Stopping, in rural seclusion. The trio holed up in a farmhouse to record the album at their own pace, taking time to carefully craft each song, lovingly layering sounds over each other, ultimately crafting a remarkable result.

The album is dominated by an ethereal feel anchored by brightly chiming guitars. This mixture creates a grand effect that still sounds immediate and attainable, drawing the listener in with its attempts to relate to its audience. This is a nifty trick accomplished by the domination of Erin Fein's dreamy vocals giving you something concrete to latch on to while she and the rest of the band outdo themselves building the backing tracks. The front end of the disc is loaded with syrging pop songs before dropping into a dreamy interlude with the songs "Some Racing, Some Stopping" and "So Much For The Afternoon." It's a perfect move, giving the listener a brief respite while still keeping things interesting with simplicity.

Headlights wield a wicked trifecta of skills within this album; they know how to build up a song until it is fairly bursting, they know when to pull the layers back until they just barely tickle the ears, and they know how to pace themselves and the listener through well thought out sequencing. We're in the thrall of a band just harnessing its strengths and learning how to wield them, and that is always a pretty thrilling thing to witness.

MP3: Headlights "Cherry Tulips"

Headlights play tomorrow, Thursday May 22, at Schubas, 3159 N Southport, 9 p.m., 18+

Photo courtesy the band