Bishop Allen’s “Lights Out”: Fun Fall Pop After 5 Years
Bishop Allen. Photo by Matt Petricone.
The first time I heard Bishop Allen was in 2008 – they had a part in the movie Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and I’ve been a fan ever since. Bishop Allen has not released an album in five years, so fans have been waiting to hear from the band for a while. Their new album “Lights Out” is fantastic, upbeat, and reveals a new level of quality in their music.
The record has a more mature sound, fitting because of the time between albums, and it really works for the band. Each track has a slightly different feel to it while maintaining coherence with the rest of the album. “Lights Out” has a dreamy quality, almost as if they recorded each song under a veil of sleep. For songs like “Shadow” and “Black Hole” this is most apparent, the songs are relaxing and smooth to listen to. Even the songs that have quicker tempos have seem to have this veil, and it creates an interesting and seamless experience when listening to the album.
In true indie music fashion, a majority of the album has interesting lyrics, fun bass lines, and catchy drum tracks. What is really great about this album is it has energetic instrumentals matched with fun lyrics – a great example being the song “Bread Crumbs”.
This album satisfies my Bishop Allen needs and it is very suitable to listen to as I mourn the end of yet another summer. “Lights Out” is a great album, and it fills the back-to-school-tunes quota for myself and other indie music fans alike. I give the album a solid B+ as it is fun album with many listening purposes. The album is definitely worth picking up, it is so fun and enjoyable to listen to that I’d say it is a must-have for fans of easy to listen to and fun music.
