Review by Dom Vigil
Bronze Radio Return’s new album Light Me Up is infectiously catchy and fun to listen to from the very first line of the title track all the way to the very end. Filled with big choruses, catchy melodies and a spirit that is palpable on nearly every single song, Light Me Up is sure to put you in a good mood and make you want to dance.
The first song on Light Me Up, and also the album’s title track, is the perfect taste-test for Bronze Radio Return. “Light Me Up” is super catchy, and one of the strongest things about this song is the vocals, which are simple, but very memorable and fun to listen to, but it’s also the instrumentals that really sell this song. There is so much going on musically, but none of it sounds like too much. The deep drums sound perfect alongside the upbeat electronic parts and catchy vocals. The key parts are high energy and dancy, and it makes you want to move. “Light Me Up” is just fun.
The following song, “Pocket Knife” hosts strong instrumentals as well, with a sound very similar to Imagine Dragons, but the strongest part about this song is easily the lyricism and vocals. The lyrics are relatable without being bland, with lines like, “I got a rugged heart/I got a body made of blades/I’m gonna keep ‘em sharp/like a pocket knife.”
While the overall mood on Light Me Up stays on relatively the same level throughout the whole album, which would normally threaten to make it boring, there are songs like “Keep Or Lose” that shake things up a little bit. “Keep Or Lose” holds true to that soon to be signature Bronze Radio Return sound, but has a very pretty echoey and ambient feeling to it that no other songs on the album have. The group vocals in this track also add to the almost haunting sound, making the song sound even bigger. Another standout track is “Nowhere To Be” with acoustic guitar carrying much of the song. “Nowhere To Be” is easily the most different sounding song on the album, but it also doesn’t sound out of place, which can be a hard feat for some bands.
“Before I Get There” rounds out the end of the album before final track, “Good Company” with a very big and inspirational feeling to it. While much of Light Me Up does tend to sound a little similar, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing when nearly every single track is fun, catchy and danceable. Light Me Up is full of songs that are overflowing with a spirit that is bound to put you in a good mood at the very least, and there are definitely a handful of songs on this album that listeners are bound to fall in love with.
Rating: 4/5
Listen to “Pocket Knife”
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