September 11, 1999

Lights : Dare to dream

They're mouthy and angry and, as they used to say, full of spunk and seem completely oblivious to meeja trends and 'demographics'

Four scruffy young men from the outskirts of London with The Passion and The Belief and, hopefully, nascent drug habits because, fingers-crossed, The Lights could just be the New Rock Band we've been waiting for for so, so long. At least, that's the word on the street. They're mouthy and angry and, as they used to say, full of spunk and seem completely oblivious to meeja trends and 'demographics', but, very importantly, in singer/songwriter Anthony Cunningham they have a frontman of peculiar charisma and natural 'earthy' vibes.

Even more incredibly, they do it all with guitars and drums and end
up sounding a little like The Beta Band stroking The Verve in a Motown recording studio while strings and attitude fight it out in the background. Quite good, in fact, and here's hoping they're not killed off early with blanket coverage and Best New Band In Britain-style hyperbole because the most exciting thing is they've only just started. Switched on.

Piers Martin