TLOBF Loves… Headlights

If there was one thing that Headlights, the Champaign, IL saccharine pop trio (Brett Sanderson, Erin Fein, Tristan Wraight), lacked on its remarkable but scattershot debut Kill Them With Kindness it was focus. Unlike their namesake some of their pop illumination yawned wide when it should have been exacting. Their new self-produced follow-up (Some Racing, Some Stopping) promises to shed their indie pop light in one steady direction. After a full two and half years of touring (over 300 shows!) the band needed a breather and so they settled down in an old farmhouse (like fellow Illionis native Andrew Bird) outside of Champaign and slowly plotted out their return. Vocalist/keyboardist Finn puts the band’s new approach succinctly as a need to “capture the moment of a new song.”

Speaking of new songs their new single is called “Cherry Tulips.” It’s an airy bit of indie pop showmanship mainly for how subtle it comes across. Its classic sensibility is reminiscent of the ‘60s flower power movement without all the atmospheric underpinnings that became commonplace for the band on their debut and Enemies EP. While still in the tight grasp of winter this tambourine and organ ramble conjures up white picket fences and yes, “a thousand cherry tulips all lined up along my street.” It makes sense this album is being released on Feb. 19, the watery reverb guitar and vocals waft into life like spring. Some Racing, Some Stopping might as well be packaged in a crimson heart-shaped box.

mp3:> Headlights: Cherry Tulips