Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!

2024年『COMBUSTIBLE GEMS』で独特なジャングリー・ポップを響かせインディシーンに衝撃を与えたUSニュージャージー州拠点のLIGHTHEADED。新曲と2023年のカセット・テープ&配信限定EP『GOOD GOOD GREAT!』を合わせた新作『THINKING, DREAMING, SCHEMING!』をリリース! レーベルは世界のインディ・ロックを司るSLUMBERLANDから!

公開された新曲"Same Drop"、"The View From Your Room"の前作より更に洗練された音作り。MARGO GURYAN方向へ行く陽に満ちたアレンジとDOLLY MIXTURE的イノセンスが混ざったスタイルが洗練の証拠! またBELLE & SEBASTIAN級の全世界のインディLOVERへ訴えかけるポップセンスも獲得。一緒に収録された"Mercury Girl"の初期衝動っぷりと比べれば、LIGHTHEADEDがドンドン姿形を変えながらキュートさが増して行っている事が分かるはず!

Lightheadeds bright and breezy brand of indie pop captures all the things that make the genre such an enduring delight. The bands records combine innocence and experience, balance melancholy and sweetness, draw from a set of influences ranging from the noise pop of C86 to the Baroque sounds of the mid-60s, and ultimately come across like a warm hug from a friend when one is really needed. Their debut album, Combustible Gems, was a jangling, peppy delight, and their 2025 LP Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming! adds some upgraded production values, stretches out a bit musically, and makes good use of a coat of reverb applied in the mixing stages. The band worked on some of the songs with Gary Olson of Ladybug Transistor, and that totally makes sense as both groups have direct connections back to the fragile tenderness of bands like the Left Banke and early Bee Gees. They also did some recording with Alicia Vanden Heuvel of Aislers Set, and that also makes sense since both groups have slightly off-kilter ways of constructing songs, looping around the melodies in delightfully circular motion. Additionally, they recorded with Kevin Basko in his home studio, and the tracks do have a kind of made-in-the-living-room appeal perfect for those who hate their indie pop delivered too professionally. Lightheaded are far from pros, at times seeming to have just learned their instruments very recently. Thats a feature, not a bug, and the lack of chops, riffs, and music-school tricks is refreshing and just right for the kind of small emotional peaks and valleys they are documenting. Only one song shows a ton of musical proficiency, and its added by a guest violinist on the album-closing "Love Is Overrated." Even more than the rest of the record, this truly heartbreaking tale of busted love would have been wrecked by a big sound. Instead, the warm and enveloping cocoon of sound provided by the gentle strums, drum taps, and reverb gives the vocals just the exact amount of support they need. It happens throughout the album, whether the songs are uptempo janglers like "Me and Amelia Fletcher," slow-walking ballads like "Crash Landing of the Clod," or good-old indie pop ("Mercury Girl," "Patti Girl"). The arrangements are full without being busy, the lyrics are intimate and almost painfully tender, and Lightheaded have grown just a bit without losing any of the charm of their earlier work. Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming! is indie pop at its life-affirming best, guaranteed to break hearts and lift spirits at the same time while delivering one hummable tune after another. ~ Tim Sendra