Artist: Hit the Lights
Album: This is a Stickup… Don't Make It Murder
Label: Triple Crown Records
Tracks: 12
Length: 44:25
Review By: John Durkee

Hit the Lights is a five piece pop punk band from Lima, Ohio, that has a knack for writing derivative pop songs with little substance and a flare for the obvious. On their debut album This is a Stickup… there are so few high points that I feel the best use of my time and this space on the web would be for me to give a few pointers to the band themselves. This is not a claim that I am in any way a total music expert or that the band in question is beyond improvement, just that there album leaves much to be desired.

First, vocals are very important to good music, even pop punk (although you might not see it as being nearly as crucial with bands like New Found Glory or Simple Plan around…). Anyway, I believe it would be best for the band to send their lead singer to a neighborhood voice instructor to learn to sing properly from the diaphragm and not through one's nose or throat as the vocalist of Hit the Lights does in every song on This is a Stickup… Perhaps an outright replacement of the vocalist could be in order as the backup on the album has a much more pleasant voice that, while not being particularly dynamic, does not grate on the nerves.

Second, while the scene and sound of choice for this album, pop punk, has its own merits, it has been explored a bit too often and another lackluster album for this genre is not needed. There are already far too many Good Charlotte albums in existence as it is. Perhaps stretching out the sound to utilize more time changes, have more instrumental parts (as these are the best parts of the album, although, this is likely because of the poor vocal performance), and the usage of more instruments could all help make a better overall sound.

Third, lyrical substance is fairly hard to find in the genre of pop punk already, and This is a Stickup… is another archetypal pop punk album, lyrically. Typical topics are fine, but simple explanations of typical topics get a bit boring. Perhaps the investment in a local community college's Poetry 101 class could bring the level of the band’s lyrics from that found on a 14 year-old’s Xanga site, to at least the level of a common college freshman (at least one would hope so).

And finally, STOP LISTENING TO FALL OUT BOY, NEW FOUND GLORY AND BANDS FROM DRIVE THRU RECORDS WHEN WRITING YOUR NEXT ALBUM!

If Hit the Lights adheres to the advice laid out, a better sophomore album is likely. While what is laid out is certainly not a definitive list on how one could make a better album, the next album will be a lot more enjoyable (or at least more interesting) if adhered to. Other things could be added or thrown out and the same effect could be made. It should also be noted that a derivative sound with trite lyrics could be what was aimed at, and if this is the case, Hit the Lights certainly succeeded. I would only recommend this album to those who love the bands I have already compared this band to and to those still in Junior High, otherwise, this album will sound immediately redundant and require an abrupt visit to one’s local used record store to sell or trade in.