Hit The Lights - Skip School, Start Fights

[Kevin Lazaroff]

Hit The Lights - Skip School, Start Fights
Record Label: Triple Crown
Release Date: July 8, 2008

It seems as if nowadays, in the pop-punk genre, there is surefire way to make it big: Look cute, wear "cool clothes," and whine about your latest breakup. In my opinion, these are qualities of generic pop-punk. However, there is no rule that states that generic pop-punk can't be good. Hit The Lights proves this on its sophomore LP. Led by former guitarist and current lead singer Nick Thompson, Hit The Lights get up in your face with raw, guitar led songs about partying hard... and occasionally "the girl."

The album starts off on forgettable note with "Count In!" and "Breathe In." Unlike most of the record, I don't find myself humming the vocals to these two songs during math class. However "Stay Out" captures the catchy nature of the album with fun, youthful lyrics about late night partying. Next, "Drop the Girl" is probably the best song on the record. It took me a quite a few listens to realize that Shane Henderson of Valencia is featured in the middle of the song. The album continues to stay strong on the next track "Tell Me Where You Are" (a song about "the girl"). After this point I find that the only songs worth mentioning are "Back Breaker" and "Say What You Wanna Say." The main reason for this is that many of the songs sound very similar to one another. It is also important to re-state that none of the aforementioned songs are very lyrically sophisticated, just fun, catchy pop-punk.

All in all, good production and catchy choruses allow Hit The Lights' sophomore release to be a major step up from their mediocre debut, but still lacks the creativity and depth needed to stand out from the rest of the scene.

Mayday Parade, All-Time Low, Valencia, etc.

Check out Hit the Lights on Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/hitthelights).

[lostfear]

this is a shitty review man, you barely scratched the surface of the album...made a few uninspired comments and called it good...work a little harder?

[Aenon]

old shit is better.....colin is better...still cool dudes...but too teeny bopper...and yes, review was weak

[TSTLSOOM]

love this album. fun times with HTL

[bobby runs]

Your last statement is bold. Saying this is better than their debut.

[Brandon Allin]

I don't particularly understand how anyone can say Colin is a better vocalist than Nick. It actually boggles my mind that Nick, with the voice he has, was in the band when Colin was around, and somehow was not their lead singer. Don't get me wrong, I like Murder as much as the next guy, but vocal-wise, Nick blows Colin out of the water, and it isn't even close, at least in my humble opinion.

[laxcrs]

I don't particularly understand how anyone can say Colin is a better vocalist than Nick. It actually boggles my mind that Nick, with the voice he has, was in the band when Colin was around, and somehow was not their lead singer. Don't get me wrong, I like Murder as much as the next guy, but vocal-wise, Nick blows Colin out of the water, and it isn't even close, at least in my humble opinion.
agreed

i also kind of like count it as an intro and then the guitar intro for breath in

[noles848]

this is a shitty review man, you barely scratched the surface of the album...made a few uninspired comments and called it good...work a little harder?
where the fuck is your review douchebag?

[sweepthenation]

this is a shitty review man, you barely scratched the surface of the album...made a few uninspired comments and called it good...work a little harder?
Agree

[3eb23]

i don't how people can rate the vocals of any of these pop punk bands this high.

[OldJersey]

this is a shitty review man, you barely scratched the surface of the album...made a few uninspired comments and called it good...work a little harder?
He wrote an average review for an album he thought was just average. You want him to write another 3 paragraphs filled with how mediocre the album is? Sheesh.

[Nick Le]

I don't particularly understand how anyone can say Colin is a better vocalist than Nick. It actually boggles my mind that Nick, with the voice he has, was in the band when Colin was around, and somehow was not their lead singer. Don't get me wrong, I like Murder as much as the next guy, but vocal-wise, Nick blows Colin out of the water, and it isn't even close, at least in my humble opinion.

agreed

i also kind of like count it as an intro and then the guitar intro for breath in


All of this. I love this album so much. One of my faves.

[ZeroGravity107]

Skip School, Start Fights, in my honest opinion, starts off fairly strong. Beginning with the simple introduction which leads into Breathe In, which almost sets the pace for the album too strong, especially when followed by Stay Out and Drop the Girl, because it somewhat tapers off. I've described this album to anyone and everyone as solid, but in my experience, very few of the tracks stand out except for the opening three. I can definitely listen to this album as a whole and enjoy it, but I do agree that this is a fairly mediocre album. I don't like your review, you don't do the album justice in the lack of depth of it and I just felt like you were trying too little with this.

[The Summer Ends]

Love this album

[Brandon Allin]

"Cry Your Eyes Out" is a pretty solid tune that I don't think gets enough attention.

[sweetforever]

Haven't listened to this album since last summer.

[BlinkMe18278]

i was a huge hit the lights fan until this album. i love these guys met them a few times and they are great. gotta say tho that this album wasn't nearly as good as this is a stick up...not even close.

[BlinkMe18278]

I don't particularly understand how anyone can say Colin is a better vocalist than Nick. It actually boggles my mind that Nick, with the voice he has, was in the band when Colin was around, and somehow was not their lead singer. Don't get me wrong, I like Murder as much as the next guy, but vocal-wise, Nick blows Colin out of the water, and it isn't even close, at least in my humble opinion.
no offense but i don't agree. nick has no range at all only a mid-high note range and it seems like he is straining. collin has a unique and raw voice and gave hit the lights their edge. nick is very bland and there is no range vocally on this record. collin could do low mid and high range and sounded great doing it. don't get me wrong, nick can def sing, but i think he was better off being a back up vocalist. he's a great performer and a great guitarist, they should have looked harder for a new singer.

[UnderMyDreams]

I love this album, but I don't think you could call it "generic pop punk" with the "coolest clothes" or "looking cute" and about your "latest breakup." Honestly, HTL wears Glamour Kills maybe, but they give them the clothes. And they for sure aren't trying to look cute or sing about the latest break up... Good review, but I think you underestimated them and kind of put them into a category they do not belong.

[UnderMyDreams]

no offense but i don't agree. nick has no range at all only a mid-high note range and it seems like he is straining. collin has a unique and raw voice and gave hit the lights their edge. nick is very bland and there is no range vocally on this record. collin could do low mid and high range and sounded great doing it. don't get me wrong, nick can def sing, but i think he was better off being a back up vocalist. he's a great performer and a great guitarist, they should have looked harder for a new singer.
I think Nick kills it. I like both Nick and Collin, but I am really glad they went with Nick. They put out a frontman that was in the group previously, so the fans didn't have to try and get used to a new band member being out in the front, you know? They put out a frontman that the fans already knew.

And I'll agree, it kind of blows my mind that Nick didn't really sing on Murder. With his voice I would expect that they would at least both sing. But it is what it is. Nick's definitely a solid s.inger, and I'm glad they went with him.

[HomelessJacket]

pretty vague review. how could you say that "Breathe In's" chorus isn't catchy? Its one of the catchiest on the album! this is a great album, by great dudes.

[lauren1234]

Your least favorite song on the album is my favorite!
I always find "Breathe In" stuck in my head
This is a solid album for sure. There aren't really any songs that I don't want to listen to. It's an album that I can listen the whole way through and not want to skip any songs.

[bladerdude360]

I like HTL a lot and have seem them live with both Nick and Colin. Honestly, I like both their voices and I can't say that I prefer one of them over the other by much. They have different voices, but they both work. I liked SSSF too-it may have been a little more poppy but I hardly think that they completely changed their sound or anything like that from Murder.

Not crazy about this review. It doesn't go into any depth. I kind of feel like if you're going to write a review, you might as well say something real and worthwhile rather than just kind of a short, generic review.

[pwnership]

I'm pretty sure I disagreed with just about everything written in this review. Count It is a killer intro and the entire album is catchy all the way through. Colin is a great singer, Nick is a great singer. They have two different styles of voices, but they both sound great fronting HTL.

[Ross18]

Album is brilliant I think. I also think Nick is the better vocalist. Even though I've only seen them with Nick. Record wise I prefer Nick.

Also Count It! and Breathe In are both great, and go into each other pretty well. Can't imagine listening to Breathe In without Count It! before it.

[nickthehick2]

I like this album a lot. I didn't even notice they switched singers.

[looksthatkillbn]

i was a huge hit the lights fan until this album. i love these guys met them a few times and they are great. gotta say tho that this album wasn't nearly as good as this is a stick up...not even close.

this. some really great guys, but this album was awful in every way. there's just no edge anymore.

[Max_123]

I don't particularly understand how anyone can say Colin is a better vocalist than Nick. It actually boggles my mind that Nick, with the voice he has, was in the band when Colin was around, and somehow was not their lead singer. Don't get me wrong, I like Murder as much as the next guy, but vocal-wise, Nick blows Colin out of the water, and it isn't even close, at least in my humble opinion.
agreed 100%

[Miss Heartcore]

I don't particularly understand how anyone can say Colin is a better vocalist than Nick. It actually boggles my mind that Nick, with the voice he has, was in the band when Colin was around, and somehow was not their lead singer. Don't get me wrong, I like Murder as much as the next guy, but vocal-wise, Nick blows Colin out of the water, and it isn't even close, at least in my humble opinion.
Backed. Though Colin was the original, he barely made a contribution and lacked the heart and desire to be a part of the band.

I'd rather have Nick on vocals, happy to be there.

[popdisaster00]

I don't really understand if the reviewer liked it or not.

[Nobodyhearsyou]

awful review. album was weak. these kids are young though. hopefully their musical horizon will change over the course of the next few years.

[Broclee]

I don't really understand if the reviewer liked it or not.
Same. The review both trashes it and praises it, and the score is moderately high.

I just don't understand how four memorable songs out of twelve makes this a great album, according to the review.

Also, I'd like to state that I'm a moderate fan of this band and album, I'm just weighing in on the review.

[denissuxx]

this is a shitty review man, you barely scratched the surface of the album...made a few uninspired comments and called it good...work a little harder?
Have you written one before? Review writing is not easy, esp. if you're doing it just for fun.

[smokeanL]

review was weak. and i used to be a htl fan. the new stuff, like somebody already stated just seems too teeny bopper for me. being 22, i feel as if im too old to listen to this.

[lostfear]

where the fuck is your review douchebag?
If you want me to write a review for this album, I will.

[lostfear]

Have you written one before? Review writing is not easy, esp. if you're doing it just for fun.
It's not, but I think that album deserves to be reviewed better, than the mediocre analysis this user gave.

[denissuxx]

It's not, but I think that album deserves to be reviewed better, than the mediocre analysis this user gave.
Write one youself and analyse it better!

[stonecoldfox]

I tried getting into this band, but I just can't. Listened to this a few times, but nothing really stuck out.

[Kevin Lazaroff]

I agree that this was probably my weakest review looking back on it. If you want to look at one of my better ones, I did an okay job on We All Need A Reason To Believe by Valencia. Just to clarify, I sent in two reviews, the first one being accepted and the modified one I guess just came too late. Sorry bout that guys,
Kevin

[Holly HoX!]

where the fuck is your review douchebag?
Welcome to the world of journalism, douchebag. You either like it or hate it. This was a bad review.

[malllorieee]

fuck you saying "if you like them you'll like all time low and mayday parade" riiiight. hit the lights is so much better than either of those bands

[YankeesFan28]

Colin Ross was one of the best modern pop punk frontmenin in this "scene." Great voice, catchy kyrics, and NO EGO

[more heart]

I agree with everyone else. You make decent points but you need to develop them more.

[G apostrophe Ra]

Colin Ross was one of the best modern pop punk frontmenin in this "scene." Great voice, catchy kyrics, and NO EGO
Colin was never the lyricist or even melodist in HTL; Nick, Omar and Dave reiterate this often in interviews to underscore how little of a transition they had to make creatively when he left. As far his lack of ego, he was known for that and I agree with you that it was a strength, but at the same time you have to wonder if his lack of ego was connected to the fact that he didn't really care much for being in the band. It makes sense that he wouldn't be too cocky about being a frontman if what he would have preferred to be doing was construction work or whatever he's doing now. I'd take a slightly cocky lead singer who was passionate about performing over a low-key dude who didn't give a shit any day.

[J.Hearne]

Both albums are pretty amazing. but the songs on This Is A Stick Up... are more catchy so i prefer it.

[BrandonDrake24]

One of the best pop punk albums of all time.