Evening!
It's been a nice Sunday here, the kind where, if the sun shines bright enough, you just put your windows down and drive. An album I still reach for on occasion during these cruises is solid but not widely popular one by the So-Cal rock band Lit. While everyone always knows the big single off the album, 'My Own Worst Enemy', there are actually some really good songs that fill out the album.
I don't know exactly what it is about this album - on the surface there's nothing too remarkable about A Place In The Sun. It was a CD someone burned for me in early high school and I didn't listen to it a ton right away. On a drive up to a friend's cabin I threw it on, knowing the girls in the car liked the single and I liked a couple other tracks as well. About halfway through using the album as background music someone remarked "This is pretty good CD" out of the blue. While that doesn't sound like much of an endorsement, in context it rang true - while plenty of other bands in those weird pre-iTunes days loaded their albums with filler, there were some great songs hidden in this seemingly random CD.
The opening track, obtusely titled 'Four', is a stomping number that has a chorus that begs to be sung along to. 'My Own Worst Enemy', if you've never heard it, is a ridiculously catchy single with a memorable guitar riff and more sing along anthem hooks. 'Miserable', another single (with a not-bad video featuring a giant Pamela Anderson eating the band whole) is kind of dour but still has a great refrain that screams late 90s guitar rock. 'No Big Thing' is a driving, hurtling number that is as poppy as it is rushed. 'Ziplock' was another modestly popular single on the album that is all sunny riffs and quiet-loud-quiet dynamics, a decent song but not totally that unique. 'Lovely Day' is a fantastic song that really stands out - I don't know why their label didn't choose this song over 'Ziplock'. It's got a really strong guitar riff and an insanely poppy hook for a chorus. The harmonies and guitars are total So-Cal riff rock in the best, sun-shiney way possible. 'Quicksand' is another great song that sounds better than a lot of the generic stuff on hard rock radio stations, relying on melody and hooks rather than dour wailing and bland riffs. I still love, years later, the absurdly low slung guitar parts to 'The Best Is Yet To Come Undone'.
This album is a prime example of why I write this stuff every day - it's a stealth wonder, a hidden gem that no one seems to really know or remember. I wish more people did - it's a really solid album with some crazy good songs that are just as infectious now as they were ten+ years ago. There's an earnest, postive nature to these songs despite the alt-rock exterior that I find so endearing. A Place In The Sun is one hell of a summer album - pick it up for some good driving music.
It's been a nice Sunday here, the kind where, if the sun shines bright enough, you just put your windows down and drive. An album I still reach for on occasion during these cruises is solid but not widely popular one by the So-Cal rock band Lit. While everyone always knows the big single off the album, 'My Own Worst Enemy', there are actually some really good songs that fill out the album.
I don't know exactly what it is about this album - on the surface there's nothing too remarkable about A Place In The Sun. It was a CD someone burned for me in early high school and I didn't listen to it a ton right away. On a drive up to a friend's cabin I threw it on, knowing the girls in the car liked the single and I liked a couple other tracks as well. About halfway through using the album as background music someone remarked "This is pretty good CD" out of the blue. While that doesn't sound like much of an endorsement, in context it rang true - while plenty of other bands in those weird pre-iTunes days loaded their albums with filler, there were some great songs hidden in this seemingly random CD.
