Headlights
Issue #29
Kill Them With Kindness (PolyVinyl)
By Anna Breshears
Published: September 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
I fondly remember the glory days of the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois scene that brought the Poster Children, Sarge, Hum, and Bus Stop Records, one of the first indie-pop labels, to my attention. Since the early ’90s, however, it seems the college town is better known for birthing REO Speedwagon than groundbreaking pop. Up-and-comers Headlights may change that with their first full-length release, Kill Them With Kindness. The three-piece showcases shoe-gazing layers of electronics, impeccable guy-gal harmonies, and melodies Wayne Coyne would die for. Sure, they’re reminiscent of other bands out there (Stars, the Delgados, and Earlimart come to mind), but Headlights carry it off with a Midwestern sincerity so genuine that they come across as comfortable, not copycats.
“TV” and “Signs Point to Yes (But Outlook Not So Good)” prove the band is capable of assembling pop songs on a grand scale. Tristan Wraight and Erin Fein’s vocals connect effortlessly, encased in fizzy, soda-pop rhythms strewn with jangly reverb and glimmering noise. Elsewhere, they reveal an affinity for ’60s garage with the chompy riffs of “Lion” and the organ-and-handclap smash-up of “Hi Ya!” “Lullabies” is full of surprises, morphing from a jumpy, melancholy mood into an orchestral chorus, then a Lush-inspired solo.
Kill Them With Kindness is easily one of the most impressive debuts of the year. Here’s to Headlights for fostering Champaign-Urbana’s return to the musical forefront.
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