With an immediacy that demands attention and a tenderness that pulls you close, the music of New Jersey based Lightheaded is unwaveringly pop in the truest sense of the word, a giddy combination of pure melody and electric energy.
Following on from last years introductory Slumberland Records EP Good Good Great!, the band’s full length debut Combustible Gems draws deeper on their 60s garage pop and 80s/90s indie influences and refocuses them for a vibrantly uplifting now.
Across eight sparkling indie pop gems, cascading keys and the full-hearted guitars of Stephen Stec and Sara Abdelbarry build whole worlds around Cynthia Rittenbach’s soaring, sun-soaked vocals. It all sounds so effortless, but repeat listens reveal just how much work and love has clearly gone into each of their stirring arrangements.
I’ll leave the final word to Lightheaded themselves, taken from album highlight Bright Happy Girls: ‘The way you make me feel is insane, something I can’t explain.’
Combustible Gems is out now via Slumberland Records, check it out here.
Monorail Music have a UK exclusive vinyl edition here.
Lightheaded tour the UK this July, you can find ticket information here. You can buy tickets for the band’s Glas-Goes Pop show here.
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