Great new album from Party Lights!

Wowzers! A great year for music just got even better! New York City's Party Lights just released an album called I See The Lights, and it's a lock to make my year-end top ten list. You may know Anna Anabolic (guitar/vocals), Elliott Klein(guitar), and Dave Smilow (drums) from their other band, The Recordettes. They're joined in Party Lights by Joan Chew (bass/keyboards/backing vocals). And as awesome as The Recordettes are, Party Lights are even more up my alley. Their sound is basically a straight-up mix of '70s power pop, garage rock, and '60s girl groups. Of course that's my sort of thing, but there's something about the way that Party Lights integrate those influences that makes it even cooler. Over the course of a full album, Anna proves herself to be a dynamite songwriter and an instantly likable vocalist. And as the band name suggests, this is a record made to be thoroughly enjoyed. You're gonna wanna crank up the volume and dance around like crazy - pausing to shed a tear or two when the ballads come around. If you could somehow go back to 1979 and make one band out of Blondie, The Knack, and Cheap Trick, Party Lights would be it! 

At a time when so many bands under the banner of "garage power pop" seem to be missing something, Party Lights totally get it right. It comes down to well-crafted and genuinely memorable songs. "Breakup #4" is the kind of tune you wish they played on the radio. "A Boy Like You" reminds me of a lo-fi Muffs in a totally non rip-offish way. Even when the influences are obvious (behold the majestic Cheap Trick worship of "Don't Miss You"), the distinctive personality of the band fully shines through. What a fun and delightful record! To anyone who is a regular follower of this blog and "gets" my taste in music, I urge you to acquire I See The Lights. And at least for the time being, it's a name your price download! One of the best albums of the year for free? How can you beat that?! Yay, Party Lights!



-L.R.

https://partylights.bandcamp.com/album/i-see-the-lights
https://www.facebook.com/partylightsband
https://twitter.com/partylightsband