Carrying on the long tradition of sentimental jangle pop songwriters, Lightheaded distill decades of lovelorn tunes into sounds for modern softies. They have the sunshine sparkle of The Left Banke and Margo Guryan, the C86 charm of Dolly Mixture and Would-Be-Goods, and the cinematic swell of Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura.
Formed on the Jersey Shore in 2017 by Cynthia Rittenbach and Stephen Stec, Lightheaded took time to hone their sound with a rotating crew of drummers, guitarists and backup vocalists. They found a community of like-minded bands in a vast but tight-knit international indie pop scene, which eventually led them to the iconic California label Slumberland Records. Their debut EP, "Good Good Great!" landed in 2023 followed by the full-length "Combustible Gems" in 2024. A European tour and gigs opening for bands like Heavenly, The Softies, and The Ladybug Transistor rounded out their breakout year.
Their latest EP -- "Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!" -- is their most collaborative and earnest release to date, and marks their first collaborative release with Slumberland and the UK's Skep Wax label. Recorded bi-coastally with Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) and Alicia Vanden Heuvel (The Aislers Set, Poundsign) and drenched in lush reverb on tape by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me), the songs are rendered in a dreamy soft focus that perfectly suits their starry-eyed themes. Adding to all the fun are the cameos and contributions from the new generation of New York indie pop goodness, featuring members of Starcleaner Reunion and Trinket, pushing the songs on this record to a high point in the young band's discography.
The Laurel Canyon folky jangle of “Same Drop” and the chamber pop of “The View From Your Room” nod to the ‘60s without feeling antiquated. Cynthia’s syrupy-sweet vocals are well suited to the girl group harmonies of “Crash Landing of the Clod,” a lovesick, Shangri-Las-style ballad. The tumbling melodies in “The Lindens, The Lindens, The Lindens!” mirror the song’s sun-dappled fantasy, while the tribute “Me & Amelia Fletcher” sounds, fittingly, like a long-lost Talulah Gosh track. "Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!" builds on the foundation of Lightheaded’s first two releases, their sound even more perfectly bittersweet and fully-realized than ever.
- DJ Poindexter
- 1. Same Drop
