The Lighthouse Commission’s debut album, Angels & Aliens, is one the first in a series of DIY/indie/alt albums of 2019 that we recommend the most for our readers and listeners.
The opening track “Colorado Water” is a rolling and tumbling soft rocker in the vein of classic rock with an Americana and country vibe. The reverb-heavy guitars, bass, and drums all come together nicely and in time signature with shifting melodies and rhythms throughout. The song may remind some of classic southern rock radio.
Sweet down-home melodies and lush harmonies mark the feel-good track (and ironically-titled) “Feel So Good.” It is a dreamy, comforting and perfect song for a sunny summer day; it even has a tinge of funk intertwined with the sultry melodies and harmonies.
The vocals are the main thrust of the song with quiet, understated guitars and percussion and instruments that take over the last half of the track.
The album title comes from this hazy laid-back track; band founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Jon “Chuch” Chuchvara sings: “I dream of the ocean/I dream of you and me/Swimming in harmony with the angels and the aliens.”
For a band that only has three members – Chuchvara; Kevin Grant (drums) and Jim Prange (keyboards; bass; vocals), they make a big sound.
“Down The Shore” is a mellow, spacious track with a lazy, hazy, hot summer day type of groove. The band nicely accomplishes a sense of summertime and anticipation for reaching the shoreline.
A chorus is supplemented with glittering instrumentation and Chuchvara’s fitting vocals. There are not too many DIY indie/alt-rock vocalists who have the right vocals for the songs they put out; in this case, the opposite is true.
This next track, with its clear Kurt Vile-like vibe, is one of the true standouts on the LP. “Woke Up in Detroit” features a character living in Detroit who is having a dream about New York City. The fuzzy guitar swagger, slacker-style vocal deliveries, and alt.rocker verve, organ jam, and chorus all lead to a fantastic song.
The lyrics for the track are interesting all on their own: “I dreamt I was in a Woody Allen movie/In the middle of New York City/Just about to win her heart/Flying thru Central Park/But I woke up in Detroit/Now I’m just as cold and vacant/As all of these crumbling buildings/Just waiting to turn to dust/Turn to dust and rise again.”
The mellow, meandering “Longest Train,” fits the mold of soft country-rock/Americana track with the band’s typical chorus singing, which by itself bolsters many tracks on the album from what could have been mediocre songs to terrific tracks. The band members’ playing and the overall recording and production quality of the album are also better than most we hear.
Pinning a genre on The Lighthouse Commission is impossible and even futile. What we have instead is a talented band that is able to put out fine tracks across genres and by genre-mixing of classic rock, Americana, country-rock, post-punk, experimental and jazz influences.
This is one of the hallmarks of indie rock music, and one of its saving graces, especially in an age when formatted Billboard cookie-cutter “popular” music taints the airwaves.
Similar in some ways to “Woke Up in Detroit,” the track “Don’t Let Go,” has a slacker alt-rock vibe and the band’s fantastic interplay and experimentation with their unique instruments and vocal styles.
Another big, standout track is “Sugar Buzz,” which Prange exclaims “is a memory of a trip to the carnival with a childhood crush.” Whatever inspired the song is less relevant to the fact that it’s a transformative track on an album flowing over with big moments.
The song’s busting, bumbling vibe is upbeat, celebratory and coated with a sweet, sing-along chorus.
The psychedelic melancholy of “Midnight” switches the mood quite dramatically from “Sugar Buzz.” One could say “Midnight” is the crash that typically follows a sugar buzz.
What we call a slow burner: a slow-striding song, reverberating vocals drift along a classic rock vein, “Three Legs,” as Chuchvara sings: “Yea and all the booze and all the pills/And all the thrills and all the spills/And all the joy and all the shame.”
The heartfelt number, “In the Trees,” was written for a friend and bandmate who tragically took his own life, Prange says.
A stern classic rock sound mixed with a slacker groove and some bad-ass guitar playing makes up the funky rocker, “Barricade.”
TLHC’s enjoyable, compelling album closes with the smoldering, “I’ll Be Waiting.” This is another standout track. Its laid back vibe and instrumentation experimentation allow the lyrics to come through loud and clear: “I got sticky fingers/you got sticky hair/my tummy aches/but I don’t care/you’re my Sugar Buzz.” This is another track that has a Kurt Vile vibe.
For older music lovers, Prange says, the song is an ode to the bygone days of vinyl; the experience of going to a record store; the excitement of finding an album and taking it home to play on a record player – those days are still present in places for some people, but nothing compared to the days when every small town in America had a record store or two.
According to Prange, the storyteller finds a rare vinyl album at a record store. Thanks to a turntable and needle “the magic that ensues and the everlasting timeless power of music comes through.”
Angels & Aliens is one of the many DIY albums that we heard in 2019 that definitely belongs in this series.
The Lighthouse Commission has been recording and performing live an eclectic mix of melodic and psychedelic sounds for more than a quarter of a century. They are good at what they do – very good.
The band was formed in 1993 by Chuchvara and Grant. Prange joined the outfit in 2004. The album was recorded at Soundfield Studios in Wyoming, Michigan by producer Pete Bass.
The other instrumental parts and all of the vocals are overdubs that were subsequently recorded by Chuchvara and Prange with ProTools. The album was mixed by Chuchvara and mastered by Rob Savage.
TLHC is heavily influenced by bands like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Minutemen, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Grateful Dead, Beck, and The Velvet Underground.
