Written by Darcy Rumble of Uxbridge, Ontario
Light The Way (LTW) is a California pop-punk band made up of a few guys that are all about “playing shows, having fun, sing-a-longs, heartbreaks, spirituality, and friends.” Dude, Lame is a six song EP released by Indie Vision Music, and a solid follow up to their EP, Grace, which came out earlier this year. Dude, Lame is angsty, melodic, and a lot of FUN.
Light the Way is killing the pop-punk world right now alongside other indie acts such as Heart Like War, and are well deserving of a big break.
If you’re digging old Hawk Nelson, FM Static, Blink, Waterparks, or any of the legion of other pizza-loving, Vans-wearing pop punkers currently rocking the scene, then Light The Way could be your next band obsession.
Though they do give us a solid dose of high-energy pop punk, LTW throws a couple of curveballs by slowing things down with a piano-backed spoken word track mid-record, and closing out the album with an acoustic song.
“So Stoked” delivers hard and fast punk beats, nifty guitar parts, and the always catchy vocals that are dying for a sing-a-long. “Voices” slows the tempo and shows an even more poetic side to the band, stretching way beyond the genre standby topics of girls and hangouts. Although, of course, those subjects show up too.
“Stag Line” is the required “song about girls,” but, rather than the typical heartbreak song, it takes a slightly different approach. It’s definitely easy to relate with. We hear the vocalist asking, “What did you mean when you sent that last text?” and wondering how long his singleness will last. At the end, we hear him share advice he once received: “Life’s not about getting the girl, man.” Instead, he directs us to “seek God/ play to your strengths/ work hard/ stay humble/ and you’ll be in the right place.”
The standout track of the EP is for sure “Dead Head.” This song is catchy, fast-paced, and brimming with hooks that will have you dropping this song onto your favourite playlists.
Dude, Lame is Spirit-filled, high speed fun with a solid message. It’s available digitally at music.indievisionmusic.com/album/dude-lame-ep, and soon physical copies, called Deluxe Edition, Man will be released, which feature all tracks from Grace and Dude, Lame.