October 2012 is a milestone for UK band, Light You Up (formerly LYU). Not only is it when their EP, Broken Jaw, is released, but it will be the month where their past efforts will finally be paid off and the world will praise their talent once and for all. Light You Up has wow-ed crowds opening for the likes of A Loss For Words, Hit The Lights, and Set Your Goals in the past, in addition to landing a spot on pages in Kerrang! Magazine. And with new vocalist Tom Napier at the helm, it’s only a matter of time until the band’s name is plastered across every major tour and publication that is out there.
Broken Jaw EP welcomes listeners with Foxfire, an explosion of an opener in both the power of the instruments and the exquisite vocal harmonies, particularly during the chorus ("Play this broken record on your stereo"/"And you’ll never be alone”). Dedicated fans from years past get their first impression of Napier’s vocal skills in this track, which really isn’t such a bad thing. Napier’s soft, raspy, smooth, and semi-high-pitched vocal style sets him apart from the more in-your-face and aggressive vocalists we typically see in the scene today, which also isn’t such a bad thing. The title track follows almost immediately; it’s a song that conceivably inadvertently gathers inspiration from the band’s more popular contemporaries. The song as a whole has a Yellowcard air to it, while Napier sings the bridge in a very Ben Jorgensen (Armor For Sleep) The Truth About Heaven kind of fashion.
The EP continues with Without You Here, a single that is about a year old and was originally produced through Great Escape Records, but has finally found a home on a record. Quirky rhythms make up the majority of the introduction as guitarists Drew Masters and Rob Taylor turn their instruments to the key of Pop Punk, which later escalate to a very dramatic and powerful finish (“Waking up tomorrow will never be the same without you here”). The EP ends with Lifebox, which tricks the listener into thinking it is your typical acoustic-turned-full-band song that every band writes at some point in their career; however, the listener is gladly mistaken. Napier exclaims, “I know that I am too far gone... I hope you know when you have everything/I will always be haunted by these dreams” in the acoustic segment before the song builds up to a powerful full band conclusion, featuring more of those lovely vocal harmonies. Lifebox is like most softer, concluding tracks that usually make it to smaller bands’ records, but the magnitude of it is highly unexpected and not usually anticipated by the band’s contemporaries, a fact that sets Light You Up apart from the pack.
Light You Up’s Broken Jaw EP will most certainly increase the band’s already quite populous about tenfold, in addition to drawing in newer and bigger opportunities for the band members. The release will truly surprise any willing listener.
Tracklist:
1. Foxfire
2. Broken Jaw
3. Without You Here
4. Lifebox
Rating:
Written by Melissa Jones
