Dear and the Headlights
Dear and the Headlights, the Phoenix-based quintet, did not have an auspicious start. Lacking a drummer and bassist, they spent their early existence as a loosely-organized trio, and recorded their first few demo tracks with the assistance of their friend Chuckie Duff, who was reluctant to join as a full-time band member. After months of waffling, Duff eventually signed on as the group's bassist and helped recruit a drummer through Craigslist, fast-tracking the band's 2007 debut Small Steps, Heavy Hooves. Following a year's worth of opening gigs for a smorgasbord of indie and alternative scenesters, including Plain White T's, Jimmy Eat World, and Paramore, the group returned to the studio to record their sophomore album, Drunk Like Bible Times, released last September.
Despite (or perhaps because of) their rough beginnings, the band's sound has evolved quickly, anchored by Ian Metzger's plaintive vocals that seemingly channel a gentler, more earnest Isaac Brock. While Small Steps reflected clear influence from the indie singer-songwriter tradition tinged with a healthy dose of bookish cynicism (as per song titles like "I'm Bored, You're Amorous"), the melodies were inherently based on pop-punk conventions. On Bible Times, though, the band is clearly coming into their own sound, making full use of Robert Cissell's keyboard skills to create a simultaneously more frenetic and richer sound.
Like a bizarre combination of Hot Hot Heat and Fleet Foxes, DATH's new material is lyric-driven, wrought with desperation and organ swells laced with Americana twang. While still drawing inspiration and form from the pop genre, Bible Times signals a new direction for the group, as they seemingly veer towards the path of modern America troubadours like Okkervil River fellow Noisepop headliner AC Newman. Consider yourself warned: this month's festival date is a mere warm up before the boys hit the road to SXSW and the Warped Tour later this year. CONNIE HWONG
