Hit the Lights - Summer Bones (Album Review)

Sometimes you have to go backward to move forward. That sentiment can be found all over Summer Bones. The band is back on an indie label (Pure Noise Records) and has created an album that is both mature in some ways and back to the basics in other ways after a disastrous major label situation. Fans didn't know what to expect when Summer Bones was announced after the not necessarily fan loved album, Invicta. I wondered what the band could do to recapture some of the high interest they had received back around 2006-2009. 

Lyrically and musically you can tell the band learned a lot from Invicta and some nuances and growth can be heard throughout the album. Instead of letting it lead the album the band let the sound they were well known and loved for shine through with enough magnitude to create the kind of Hit The Lights album fans have been waiting for since 2008's Skip School, Start Fights. Summer Bones is under thirty minutes in length and packs a pretty powerful punch of pop/punk rock. The album has those riffy guitar moments I've enjoyed from previous HTL albums while finding moments to also slow down and show some real emotions. Title track "Summer Bones" is one of those songs. It reminds me a lot of Cartel in their prime. It's a slow burner that builds into heavy well paced guitar riffs. It's one of the best sung Nick Thompson songs of his front man era of the band. It's one of my favorite songs, if not my favorite, from this album. In truth, it's one of the best songs the band has ever written.

"Keep Your Head" is packed with heavy riffs and belting melodic vocals. It's one of the more blistering tracks on the album and I really enjoy the almost frantic paced parts of the songs. "The Real" is classic HTL at their best with riffy, catchy vocals. It's a fun pop/punk song. "Old Friend" is a cool closer and features some cool harmonies from original vocalist Colin Ross. As a fan of the band's first album, This Is a Stick Up... Don't Make It a Murder, it was really neat to hear him on a HTL song. It really gives the album a full circle feeling.

It's fair if you listen to it and come out saying, "I'm not seeing how this is progressing the genre" However, I tend to look at the band, their career arc, what they need to make, and what fans want to hear. I think all things considered Hit The Lights come out on top with doing good on all of those things. This album proves the band still has a fire in their belly. They come out giving fans the best album of the Nick Thompson fronted era. It's a return to form and shows that the band can still write the type of material that fans enjoy while finding a couple spots to improve their formula. This will no doubt be a really good summer album. It's a good pop/punk album.