This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply. The fourth studio album from pop-punk band, Hit The Lights, called Summer Bones is a solid collection of songs that bookmarked where the band felt most comfortable in. The record has since turned ten years old today, and Hit The Lights have not released a full-length record since then. The closest we got to new music was the 2016 EP, Just To Get Through To You, that also featured acoustic versions of several tracks from Summer Bones. Summer Bones was produced by Kyle Black (New Found Glory/All Time Low/State Champs) and highlights a familiar sound from the band’s most successful record, 2008’s Skip School, Start Fights. After the experimental Invicta, Summer Bones has the vibe of a more matured version of the band, and still plays out well to this day. The set would spawn three singles in “Fucked Up Kids,” “Life on the Bottom” and “No Filter.” The record starts out on the right foot with the speedy punk rock of “Fucked Up Kids” that has everything we’ve come to expect from the Ohio pop-punk band. The track features a great opening riff from Omar Zehary and Kevin Mahoney, before lead vocalist Nick Thomoson shares on the chorus a rallying cry of, “Hey! I can say / We’re all just fucked up kids and that’s okay / If we don’t belong / To anyone or anything / We’re all just fucked up kids / Walking on promises / We’re breaking all of them / But we could be.” The song features a nice theme of inclusion and the message that “it’s okay to not be okay.” The song delivers the goods and bleeds away just after two and a half minutes before the guitar crunch of “The Real” kicks in. The chorus of, “I wanna stand for something real / Say something of substance, be honest and shed old ideals” is good advice from Thompson, while still addressing the band’s legacy. ”Life on the Bottom” follows in the sequencing with some more speedy pop-punk that highlights drummer Nate Van Damme’s key contributions to Hit The Lights. Thompson confidently keeps up with the up-tempo song, and it even features some gang vocals in the pre-chorus to keep things interesting. “Revolutions and Executions” is one of the heavier songs in Hit The Lights’ repertoire and discography, and features a cool chorus of, “Step back, relax, just breathe, don’t react / The worst thing you could ever do is let them get the best of you / Step back, relax, just breathe and don’t hold back / Find what matters most to you, stay the course and fight / I think I figured it out,” that is reminiscent of heavier pop-punk bands like Four Year Strong. ”No Filter” is more a mid-tempo rocker that takes its time building up to its messaging in the bridge of, “You crave acceptance from strangers through pictures and filters / Attention from people who don’t know you / And now that it’s over, how many will be there to pick you back up / Cause I see right through, I see right through / I know the real you, I see right through.” The song is largely about the “fake love” of finding acceptance through social media likes and shares, while wanting more from the people who crave this trivial attention. “Blasphemy, Myself and I” continues down the path of self-discovery and showcases another great vocal performance from Thompson, while bassist David Bermosk provides a steady groove in the bass line. The title track comes at the right time in the sequencing, with a song built for an acoustic campfire sing-a-long as Thompson tells a vivid story about home, summers with friends, and the best days of his life. The anthemic chorus of, “Where do I go? I’m so tired of the same roads / I know that it’s home but I can’t take the snow anymore / We had the fall and now it’s lost like everything / Just fell apart right in my arms, I got nothing to lose,” provides a bit of balance to the “slow-jam” and prevents the track from just feeling like a necessary break from the speedy punk rock that dominates the record. ”Keep Your Head” rocks along with up-tempo hardcore energy, while “Sitter” relies on near-shouted vocals in the opening bars to keep things interesting in the delivery of the lyrics. Album closer of “Old Friend” leaves the listener with the closing lyrics of “Old friend, so happy to see you again / No matter when days turn to years / I know that you’ll always be there / Always be there,” that reminds us of the importance of never taking anything for granted and making an effort to connect with those worth our time, even if its been years since we last saw them. It’s a bit surprising that Hit The Lights haven’t put out another full-length record since Summer Bones was released, but maybe the 10-year anniversary will spark the right feelings in the band to get back to making music together once again. more Not all embedded content is displayed here. You can view the original to see embedded videos and other embedded content.
I always thought Skip School Start Fights was a horribly underrated album. It's so sunny and I feel like is a crown jewel of the neon era. This album was great too, saw them on the Pure Noise tour with Seaway, Can't Swim, and Casey Bolles back in 2015 or 16 when they toured off this. Getting Colin back for Old Friend was a great little easter egg. I've heard rumblings that they're up to something so fingers crossed for new music soon.
Such an under appreciated band/record. That opening riff is SO good. This whole album is a stellar piece of rock and roll. Wish they’d put out some new music.
I threw on Skip School, Start Fighter the other week for the first time in a while and man, it's banger after banger in my opinion.
I remember getting to hear a bunch of these songs live when they opened up for cartel on the chroma 10 year anniversary tour. That was an awesome show
I blasted the fuck outta this when it came out, especially on CD while on drives in my car in the summer. Just the pure essence of pop punk, done well.
This band should have been as big as ATL. Seems like they were headed in that direction after getting signed to Universal after Skip School, it's too bad that fizzled out
from what i remember them saying, they really struggled to write music that universal were happy to put out, which led to them being dropped. then invicta happened which (despite being ambitious and very impressive at points) was pretty far from a savvy commercial move. i feel like @Jason Tate had a lot to say about this band in the past and maybe can add something to this story? iirc
HTL def occupy a certain space and carry a certain banner to me. I was always on the lookout for bands that sounded like them, but not many brought the whole package. I’ve loved the random singles they’ve put out over the last few years of the 2010’s. They still got it and I think a lot of people and a new generation of fans would be thrilled with a new record from these guys. For now, the jams we got are still jammin’.
Yeah Nick has talked a lot about it in podcasts. Universal wanted them to sound like Anberlin who were on the label at the time and having success. They made them work with co-writers which they didn't want to do. I think this is why Invicta had that more experimental sound. I remember Jason saying this band is super generic and he isn't a fan lol
Every album they've made is good, extremely personal to me, and is a time capsule. This album front to back is incredible, and so is his Thief Club stuff too.
My memory of this is that the opening lyrics to "The Call Out" were in direct response to this absolutepunk.net review: Hit the Lights – Until We Get Caught • chorus.fm
oh sick I'm so fucking stoked to learn that what in my head is the new hit the lights album is ten years old