Lighten Up

Lighten Up! impressed me the most out of all the unknowns at a certain Philadelphia-based fest last year, and while their 7" doesn't quite stack up, it's still a promising effort from the Philly-based quartet.

Not quite full-on `80s revivalism, nor straight-ahead youth crew, Lighten Up! carry a somewhat unique hardcore sound on I'd Rather Be Snoring. At times we're reminded of Career Suicide's raw blast, other times the unbridled energy and upbeat flavor of early Gorilla Biscuits, a sure influence; somewhat often it's a sound structured with some traditional youth crew elements: raspy vocals and fast tempos served up in a tender, callow coating.

I'd Rather Be Snoring runs its course in under 10 minutes, but not before offering some rather blunt declarations. Take "Tired": "I'm sick of having no clue / I'm tired of life / but most of all / I'm tired of you." Hm, yeah, it certainly wouldn't hurt Lighten Up! to flex their lyrical muscle here and there, but in choosing not to, they at least manage to intentionally channel the most basic dicitional tendencies of the last fifteen years of hardcore revivalism...which is good or bad depending on how you see it.

In any case, I'd Rather Be Snoring is definitely worth a listen, and being that it was recorded nearly two years ago, we'll hopefully get a progression from the band to something really swell on their next batch of new material.

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