The Way Things Should Be’ is the new album from Ohio’s City Lights and it’s absolutely packed full of huge tracks with big breakdowns and even bigger vocal melodies.
You only have to look as far as the second track, ‘Promises’, to hear one of the most anthemic pop punk tracks of 2013 and fortunately it’s not alone as ‘See You At The Top’ more than matches it. They’re both well crafted, high impact, three minute jams that don’t stop for breath. As the album progresses we hear an increasingly harder edge from City Lights too – particularly so in ‘Mistakes’ and ‘Leaving You’. They give a great balance in truth and keep the album fresh.
Do City Lights have any flaws? You could argue that they sound overly similar to fellow Ohioans Hit The Lights at times. In fact you could easily interchange tracks from this album with tracks on ‘This Is A Stick Up’ and no one would bat an eyelid. The vocal delivery, lyrical content and song structures are a good match. You’ve also got heavy shades of earlier Four Year Strong in their breakdowns and an recognisable guitar riff in ‘Leaving You’ to the popular Midtown album opener ‘Become What You Hate’. The good news though is that if you enjoy those bands then this album is definitely for you.
Perhaps City Lights aren’t going to win any prizes for originality here. This is a well trodden path but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better homage to the leading albums of the early millennium. Don’t be fooled by It’s absence from many of the published ‘Top Album’ lists either. A December release is always likely to fall through the cracks there. This has enough quality to send City Lights flying into 2014.
TOM BECK