Heat and Lights - Where in the World EP

Heat and Lights

Where In The World
Amorican Music; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Andrea Abi-Karam

The pop-folk country group Heat and Lights is Tim Walker’s, from Grand Theft Bus, current side musical project complete with Andrew Butler on drums/vocals, Nick Cobham (The Olympic Symphonium, Force Fields) on bass / vocals, Brad Perry (Grand Theft Bus, Gravity Strike) on Rhodes and guitar, Dennis Goodwin (Grand Theft Bus, The Olympic Symphonium) on lap steel and guitar. Where in the World EP was mixed by Chris MacLean and Brad Perry at Comptish Studios, Durham Bridge, NB, Canada. Brad Perry mastered the EP. 

The EP intro’s with “Show Me Where to Go” that begins with a bouncy Rhodes piano intro before getting into the story of being lost, “lost child in a foreign town / I’ve got this map but it’s ripped in half.” The guitar solo at the end really makes this track; it’s eclectic, jazzy with intense picking, with some qualities of country. 

“All I Want is a Dance” begins with a jazzy-circus sound before wasting any time getting into a class analysis of different people. The song reveals Heat and Light’s sensitivity and simplicity; they are not interested in extravagance, “some folks have castles they like to call home / people to trim their shrubs and shovel their cold wet snow” but really, “All I want is a dance.” Their songs are emotionally declarative throughout but this one in particular goes as far as to satirize some folks’ absurd lives, as seen by the “castle.”               

In “Maybe I Like the Blues,” Heat and Light underlines the vocals with psychedelic guitar riffs to produce a unique cross over between the psych-rock world and folk-country to lines like “I’m not doing much sleep then it’s always dawn.” The descending outro, kind falling down the stairs effect is definitely a compositional highlight in that track.

I want to hear more exploration of exciting guitar and Rhodes piano composition in their next album to expand some of the experimentation they’ve already showcased in Where in the World EP. 

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