photo courtesy of DRPR

EP Review of Night Lights: 6 Feet Aparty (Position Music)

Indie pop group Night Lights delivers catchy, danceable, hooky pop on its current EP, 6 Feet Aparty. Mau Jimenez (vocals), Yusuke Sato (guitar), and Dag Eirik Hanken (drums) serve up the kind of synth-driven party pop that will quickly embed themselves into your brain so that you’ll soon react, as you hear the first notes, as if you’re hearing one of your favorite big pop hits. By all rights, that should be true. If not now, then soon.

image courtesy of DRPR

For me, while all five songs on the EP have their appeal, there are a couple that really grab me.

First, “Look At Me Now” opens the EP strongly, with a sparse electronic beat accompanied by thin vocals before exploding into a full-on dance party with recurring synth riffs (including one occasional rhythm you’ll sing along to by the end of the first listen) and the occasional drum-beat breakdown keeping things lively.

“Here We Go Again” follows a slightly different pattern. It opens similarly, though this time with cheerful, soft music underscoring a rhythmic rap before picking up the tempo. It cycles back through this style, with each appearance of the “here we go again” lyric teasing that the song’s about to break out, but it never really quite does. Eminently danceable, this is a fun track to listen to, a nice option to keep the rhythm and dancing going while simultaneously bringing the energy level down, if you’re DJing, as a bit of a break to the breakneck-paced songs you’ll place before and after it.

photo by Nathan Tecson Studios; photo courtesy of DRPR

“Ready, Lose Yourself, Go” ups the ante again, starting at a higher energy level, with an almost Jimmy Eat World-like vocal texture atop a very danceable track. In addition, the “ready, lose yourself, go; oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh” lyric presents a great opportunity to sample for a quick-hit music blast at an event. In its entirety, though, the song itself is overwhelmingly radio-friendly with cool bridges and variety to keep listeners engaged for the entire 2:57 of the song.

Song four, “Revolution,” seems like a song I was already familiar with before the first listen, though I’m sure I wasn’t. The song with perhaps the broadest potential cross-genre appeal, it’s a familiar verse and chorus based structure with lyrical insights in the verses and a hooky-beyond-belief main chorus lyric: “You know we’re gonna start a revolution, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah.” This is Imagine Dragons-styled stuff. I could absolutely envision them scoring an enormous hit with “Revolution.” I could also picture a poppy version of this song being a huge hit for Katy Perry. Of course, given a chance, Night Lights would be the ones scoring that hit.

photo by Nathan Tecson Studios; photo courtesy of DRPR

The EP closes with “Fire,” with a dominant synth rhythm and a danceable beat. An old-school dance number with variety of tempos and intensity, it’s another song that seems already-familiar even though it clearly isn’t, except for those lucky enough to already be familiar with Night Lights. And now, that includes you.

Give these songs a listen. You know I’m selective when I choose danceable synth-pop to share; I only review stuff that really stands out, music that’d liven up your dance party, whether it’s a packed roomful of people or just you and your family jamming inside your own house during the pandemic. (What? You don’t own a disco ball and danceclub lighting at home? Me, either, but that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.)

Looking Ahead

Though there aren’t currently any dates listed, you can keep an eye out for Night Lights’ future live performances on the “Events” tab of their Facebook page.