Review: Lighthouse/Comic Mischief – That Time I Closed The Door split EP

              COOL SPLIT ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

  Lighthouse’s “It’s No Time To Care” is a very cool song that starts like an early New Order tune. Mostly a very “clean” sounding recording, but the music wraps around and envelops ya like the best shoegaze always does. Dreamy stuffs. Also, this may be some of Jesse N.’s best vocals to date. “A Closed Door” is almost a counterpoint to the tune before it. Chunky garage-iness. The drums just pound the floor and rattle the lights. Of the two LH songs, this one’s the rocker, not to say that the other is a recliner.

    Comic Mischief’s “Baked Ziti” is a dizzy little dash of indie poppiness. Somewhere between the Smiths, early New Order, and The Dead Milkmen. In other words, they don’t sound like any of those bands but I like those bands, too, and I’m sleepy, so I’ll lump them all together. Dig those harmonies! “That time I almost died at The Coffee Bar in Gadsden, AL on January 5th, 2025” is a deceptively “mellow” recounting of a bandmate nearly getting hit by a car. Unhinged.

   Lighthouse is sorta a well-oiled machine, the sum of very talented creative musicians that just lock in with each other. They’ll be like, “we fucked up,” and the audience is like, “Okay?” They bounce so well off each other that can go anywhere together. Comic Mischief, a newer outfit, is more obviously quirky. The angst sneaks out a little more with them. More raw. You can see the seams. Positive seams. Both bands are AS SOLID AS A HARD THING. The way they compliment and contrast each other absolutely makes for an exciting listening experience. There’s lots going on that you won’t catch on your first playthrough. So you have your mission: Play this split once and love it. Then play it a second time and get it. Our indie scene ain’t big, but it’s better than yours.

          -Harmless

           

           That Time I Closed The Door on Bandcamp

           That Time I Closed The Door on Spotify

 

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