Light Heat - Light Heat

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In the wake of a recent explosion of “nu-folk” artists like the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons, it is easy to get swept away by the overwhelming volume of bands that have tried surfing that wave.   That being said, I felt a small spring of joy well up inside me when I listened to Light Heat’s new self-titled record.  Rather than join the ranks of bandwagon acts trying to capitalize on the latest trend, Light Heat does straight-up feel-good indie, and they do it well.  Reminiscent of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s 2005 (self-titled) release in terms of song structure, and sonically similar to Wilco’s “The Whole Love” and The Dodo’s “Black and White”, Light Heat takes you to a place where you can put the hood down on the convertible and cruise with no particular destination in mind…but that’s okay.  The destination doesn’t matter when cruising feels so awesome.

            Light Heat dispenses solid rhythms without sacrificing melodic stability, and even when singer Quentin Stoltzfus gets kind of quiet and Thom York-ish, the songs retain a sense of purpose, and make the larger parts stand out.  “Dance the Cosmos Light”, the album’s first track, immediately tells you with its wash of reverb-heavy guitars and subtle horn melodies “Don’t worry about where we’re going, cause its going to be pretty cool”.  There is a pseudo Beach Boys feel to the production, filled with organ arrangements, verb-y tacked pianos and plenty of telecaster jangle without feeling contrived. 

If you’re craving a summertime fling with songs to make us New Yorkers feel good about the few months of light and heat we have, Light Heat will be that summer love you don’t forget about, and visit when the air gets to cold.