Brett
Admire – Guitar
Bryson Phillips – Vocals
Michael Paul Phillips – Drums
Jonathan Williams –
Guitars
After a name change and stylistic shift from members’ days in locally acclaimed screamo act afterEIGHT, the Tulsa-based
pop/rock foursome became Capital Lights. We had a couple people leave the other band’s line-up, I stepped up from bass
to singing, rewrote our material and we changed styles completely,” says front man Bryson Phillips of Capital Lights’
debut disc This Is An Outrage. “The main thing we’ve learned personally is to really focus the writing on what
you like rather than trying to be like all the other bands around. The album begins with the track “Outrage.”
It’s a high energy track with a very popish vocal set with multiple voices in many places, claps, and just an overall
up beat feel. After the very catchy “Outrage” the band goes to “Worth…” the shortest track on
the album. It is a bit harder with more distinct guitars than the pervious. It too is a very catchy track. “Out of Control”
spins off 3rd, but the title doesn’t go hand in hand with the sound. They keep going in the pop rock direction.
It does hit a high spot about 2:30 mark with a group. The next tune is one of the best on the album. “Remember the Day”
is a very good track that is radio ready and should be a crowd pleaser, with a distinct guitar presents on the track that
leads the drums and the vocals. It almost sounds like Fall Out Boy was mashed together with Yellow Card. “Miracle Man”
is another installment of high energy sounds mixed with great lyrics to bring together a very nice sound. “Mile Away”
is a vocal driven track that includes keys and a funky beat as “Work It Out” is infused huge with effects and
lead by multiple vocals voices and guitars. It too is a radio ready and even Hollywood ready track. “Let The Little
Lady Talk” begins with distant vocals which turns into a blast of music. The vocals catch up to the sound as he gets
out of the close and even hits some super hit notes that will make your eyebrows rise. The second longest track “Return”
spins off next with repeating guitars and balanced drum play. I’m not a big fan of the “Oh Oh, Oh Oh” spread
throughout the song, but the strings that are placed in the song makes up for it. The lyrics are easy to follow and have a
good strong message. “Kick It Off” is a super catchy track that should catch on quick with fans. It offers up
an almost punk feel with the guitars but stays pop with the vocals. “The Night” is infused with vocals battles,
switching singers multiple times and more punk sounding music. They do place in stutter vocals in a few spots, which for the
most part I’m not a fan of. A time or two is cool, but no more than that. The album concludes with the track “Frank
Morris.” As the longest track on the album it gives the listener more to love or hate. In this case most of it is love.
The track is very catchy as is the rest of the album, but it just an extended play on the others. The vocals are very clear
and the music is near perfect. There are a few spots that seem to be sloppy, but it could be done on purpose. There is also a spot around the middle that is hits a low point and you can’t wait for it
to pick back up. Overall this is an okay debut album. I’d like to see a bit harder sound to it, but the lyrics are great.
There songwriting, which they spend the most time on, is great. A bit more practice spicing up the tunes will get more juices
flowing in their fans and get them out there a bit more.
Rating: 7 out of 10
My favorite tracks:
Remember
the Day and Kick It Off
Track List:
1.
Outrage
2.
Worth As Much As A Counterfeit Dollar
3.
Out of Control
4.
Remember the Day
5.
Miracle Man
6.
Mile Away
7.
Work It Out
8.
Let The Little Lady Talk
9.
Return
10. Kick
it Off
11. The
Night Of Your Life Is When You’ll Die
12. Frank
Morris
Website (s): www.capitallights.com
