Credits:

Lightheaded

Description:

New Jersey band Lightheaded make indie pop that casts a wide net. Their 2023 EP, Good Good Great!, was five songs that moved quickly from dour jangle pop to 60s-informed instrumentation that called to mind the chamber pop sweetness of the Beach Boys or the folksy sensibility of the Byrds. There were even hints of the reverb-saturated wave of dark pop that reigned supreme on the earliest Captured Tracks releases. All of these touchstones are revisited and expanded upon with Lightheadeds proper debut album, Combustible Gems. Every song takes a slightly different approach while maintaining a consistent songwriting aesthetic, which makes for an album of colorfully diverse highlights that doesnt feel too piecemeal. The production is deep and defined, also, giving the synths of opening track “Always Sideways” a little extra sparkle and the naive 12-string leads of “Dawn Hush Lullaby” an added push tha