CLICHÉ-RIDDEN POP-PUNK RELEASE

Is this really an outrage? I’m not quite sure what the members of Capital Lights are referring to, musically at least. The latest pop-punk product of Tooth & Nail is, well… exactly what you would expect from a band most famous for Hannah Montana cover tunes.

This Is An Outrage, then, doesn’t really represent a band angry against anything. If so, they wouldn’t be so bent on repeating everything around them. This Is An Imitation would serve as a much more accurate title. That’s not necessarily a horrible thing, as the Tulsa band certainly knows its way around the pop-punk genre’s tight constraints. Harmonies are pitch-perfect; handclaps are in place; pulsing guitars are ready to riff; and there’s even a gimmicky synth thrown in for good measure.

Lead single “Worth As Much As A Counterfeit” is a bit too typical for an audience’s first taste—the track is too easily lost in an iTunes playlist with its rubber stamp guitar work and repetitive lyrics. The band finds its footing in other songs, with stronger lyrics found in “The Night of Your Life is When You Die” or the initial track, “Outrage,” which refuses to let go once the chorus grabs hold.

Unfortunately, the bottom line is set low as many other bands simply do it better. If Tooth & Nail sticks with them, maturity is certainly a possibility as seen with other bands (i.e. Relient K). But for now, Capital Lights fails to make its mark.

–Matt Conner