Ultra Lights play '90s slacker indie with a bit of classic rock swagger and a pinch of Southern flavor. One listen through "It's Your Funeral," the opening track on the Atlanta quartet's self-titled debut EP, will inevitably elicit Pavement comparisons, between John Robinson's snotty-sassy vocal delivery and the brilliantly simple, slightly off-kilter high-register guitar leads by Leela Hoehn and Robinson (formerly of Turf War and Illegal Drugs). But there's some Stones and Stooges in these six tracks, too — and maybe some Strokes and Fontaines? And as long as I'm hitting you with the RIYL, while copping to the Malkmus love, Robinson himself cites touchpoints like Modern Lovers, Wire, and Archers Of Loaf.
The Ultra Lights EP brings together three 7"s previously released by Atlanta's venerable Chunklet Industries. The music's not breaking any new ground, but if you miss when indie rock had a kick to it — and sometimes perhaps even some hip-swinging, hallucinatory, shout-to-the-rafters vibes — then I heartily concur with Evan Minsker at see-saw: "Stop sleeping on this band."
Ultra Lights is out now via Chunklet. Buy it here.
