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Write Up in Skratch Magazine

August 2004

THE RED LIGHTS BROKEN CITY DEMO The Red Lights are like an indie-rock diamond in the rough. This L.A.-based trio find inspiration in both '60s Brit-pop and '80s new wave and combine it with an indie-rock sensibility. The disc opens with the instant pleasure of "Cold Showers" and flows into "Sleep" (which opens with the clever line "I'm in love with nobody at all / Not a boy, not a girl, just alcohol." The only drawback is that this five-track demo doesn't capture how good this band sounds live (the lyrics are slightly muffled, the drum volume is up just a bit too much). Regardless, this is still a gem, so keep your eyes peeled for this band. For a copy of this demo or more info, contact. -Jude Ruiz (Scratch Magazine)

The Red Lights Broken City (CD-R EP) These kids look like they've just walked off the stage of their local high school with their diplomas tucked in their back pockets. They look in fact like they might be the Bad Religion OC punk type of crowd. But boy, they certainly don't sound like it. So much for a picture being a thousand words. Their sound ranges from the excellent Wilco/Galaxie 500-ish opening track "Cold Showers" to the VU "Sunday Morning" type inflections of "Sleep". This is a fucking cool laid back sound that I dig, total garage band style but not screamo by any means. They're no geniuses of chords or drumming (but I actually really dig the that ride-heavy drumming style) but boy are there some good songs here. Quite a bit of reverb on the vocals, but it fits the style quite well. "Howl Out The Moon" sounds sort of indie classic rock in that Big Star way, till it gets to the chorus where the guitars ring more modern. "Summer Clothes" is almost Doors-like in its approach where the band waits carefully through the whispered verses only to explode into the choruses. They're barking up the right tree with this demo. Their pseudo-country rock mutations really hit home. Really refreshing actually. The Red Lights are a garage band that actually showcases their talents of guitar droning and tasteful singing. Instead of going for the cheap thrills of needless screaming and classic guitar soloing. Nice stuff indeed, thank you Andrew, Lex and Jesse. -Shorty (Shmat's Reviews 7/04)