Artist: Light Hearted
Album: How The World Works EP

Light Hearted might well yet suit their name, for their EP has set a record in my head for most potentially interesting songs set to truly awful vocals, so much so that it brings a kind of twisted, bemused smile to one’s face. How the World Works EP is a decent package of moderate to good songs, pounding with obstinate attitude throughout but which, it must be said, is inescapably amateur. The vocalist needs a lot more work to match the nascent potential of the music and the haphazard way in which it’s all thrown together does little to detract from this flaw.

“Bite Your Tongue,” the album opener, is prodigious but a little pre-teen. It makes a relatively positive impact until the singing begins, at which point we’re introduced to some tuneless, weak, and almost out of place warbling that doesn’t fit at all with the rest of the song. Point of fact, it’s almost drowned out by the music – which itself has a typically raw edge that could excel a little more given some polishing. Presumably, this is the type of polishing that comes with a bank balance (my sources inform me they’re unsigned) but more fundamental work is needed on the vocals to prevent this petering into non-existence. “For Pete’s Sake” then has a cool, measured start, which is admirably self-assured. It builds up nicely to the addition of another guitar and the gradual explosion of the song proper, though once again progress is marred by the stuffy singing. It’s a credit to the band that the song manages to make the most of its rousing guitars and forceful group hollers, but the misalignment of music and vocals undoes much of the work. The contrast between the two is a little too obvious and makes the album feel undernourished.

“October” has a very nice opening, checking low, sultry, and atmospheric. The entrance of chugging guitars over the two menacing sounds that open distract from this a little, sounding a tad eager. It’s in little aspects like this that the amateurishness referenced above becomes most evident – instead of taking their time and crafting something memorable with the dry smoothness of the opening, the band opt for a kind of slow-burning forcefulness that flitters by unspectacularly. It’s eloquent in its own way (and thankfully, wordless), but not reserved enough. “PA 29” is an excellent song however – sporting a vibrant sheen from the off, it kicks straight into life and has the inspired idea of blending the vocals with backing vocals so that they actually find some form and mix in well as a kind of muted harmony. One solitary voice is still way too raspy, but the music displays some impressive kicks, particularly some deftly inserted solos to spruce up the verses and a faded, reflective breakdown. This all adds a sense of heart and emotion that isn’t particularly visible elsewhere.

“NG (No Good)” is a shorter number, a quick sliver of fairly straight up rock goodness. It isn’t very coherent and feels like a filler, but it’s a decent filler. “Daydreamers” revives the sense of precociousness evident elsewhere, with an urgent, eager sound fueled by incessant drums and rolling vocals. The latter are layered here too, and blend things together quite ably for once. The slower, concluding attempts to inject some intensity don’t work very well, for the same reason as aforementioned track “For Pete’s Sake” – it seems a little too try-hard and off-kilter to fit with the rest of the song.

“Preschool Graduate” unfortunately is truly horrible. It’s acoustic, which seems promising at first, but the singing is totally awful. It’s plainly and painfully obvious when the heavier music is taken out of the equation and makes for charring listening. At wordless intervals, there are nice melodies here, and a harmonica makes a fun and engaging appearance to add a certain sense of occasion, but the vocals tarnish everything irrevocably.

This dud note ending shouldn’t really colour your view of the EP as a whole, though it does represent many of the weaker aspects of it. It’s a diligent effort, but one that requires a lot of thought and training (on the singer’s part) to whip properly into shape. Light Hearted have given it their all and will surely improve with time, but in the meantime this might be too basic to make a proper impression.

SCORE: 5/10
Review written by: Grace Duffy

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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