Posted on: July 29, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Mixing the best of Lucero with the vocals of Eddie Vedder, The Light Wires’ Jeremy add the icing to a confectionary orgasm. Laid back to the extreme, The Light Wires go for the road not taken by fellow labelmates Thistle. As a result, this disc has a much more polished sound and radio-friendliness that something like “Tired Anchor” just didn’t have. Eons beyond anything a jam band could do, The Light Wires still play that completely innocent brand of rock that could be heard wafting over college dorms in the early hot spells of a spring. Each track is the equivalent to a length in horse racing, and the band themselves are equivalent to a racehorse with blinders on. Each length is practically the same, but contain their own little faults and heights that are theirs and theirs alone. The simple fact with this disc is that the style of rock that The Light Wires play is something that is noticeable absent from popular music since the halcyon days of The Gin Blossoms and Jed-era Goo Goo Dolls. The recording on this disc is actually something that is not the absolute best but still works for the band, in that the fuzziness at the outer levels of the disc really makes the sound of the band more personal.

What really makes me have such a connection with The Light Wires is the amount of cohesion that the band has – the sheer talent that they exhibit in arranging each song on this, their debut release is far beyond 90% of the musical artists out today. This is perfectly shown by the godlike “In a Modest Apartment”, which uses both instruments and backing vocals to make a more full sound that cannot be immediately attributable to any single thing; rather, the sum is greater than its parts.

If we were to enter the time machine with about 100 copies of this album, go back to 1992, The Light Wires would be the biggest thing in alternative music, outdrawing both R.E.M. and Pearl Jam together. The music on this disc is by no means dated, really showing a consolidation of a large amount of influences, and is vibrant today on its twelfth listen as it was on its first. Time will only tell whether The Light Wires can stick together and reach for fame, but I firmly believe that given the chance, they will find fortune in their work.

Top Tracks: In a Modest Apartment, Small As Strawberries

Rating: 7.3/10

The Light Wires – Self-Titled / 2004 Tiberius Records / 10 Tracks / http://www.thelightwires.com / http://www.tiberiusrecords.com / Reviewed 25 June 2004

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