by Kurt Orzeck
As much as we’re led to believe we live in an age of “curation” — you know, where we can assume that anything that crosses our radar is worth paying attention to because the almighty algorithms are diligently working to personalize everything in our lives to perfectly align with our tastes — those of us who have given that proposition, say, at least a second though, know it’s bullshit. For this reason but not this reason alone, many of us are turning back to what we used to consider trustworthy sources to shape our tastes in art and entertainment — or at least expose us to what we might like.
For readers of Post-Trash, Henry Owings and his decades-old prankster-punk Chunklet enterprise is one of those authoritative figures to whom one should pay heed. Big time. Extremely selective and extremely erudite, Chunklet occasionally releases limited-edition 7-inches by the most deserving of artists (Man … or Astroman?, Patton Oswalt, Pylon, Tar, etc.). If it weren’t for him and Chunklet, one of the strongest noise-rock bands from the South – Harvey Milk – probably wouldn’t be on our radar.
And now we have Ultra Lights, whose debut record — cheekily named Pleasure’s All Yours in true Chunklet fashion — adds even more proof supporting the proposition stated above. Born out of the pandemic, you wouldn’t know it, because Ultra Light’s songs — particularly “Just Like What You Want,” “Good Enough,” “Bad Feeling” and the title track — are raucous, uplifting and dare we say life-affirming rock songs.
Featuring vocalist/guitarist John Robinson, guitarist/vocalist Leela Hoehn, bassist/vocalist Alex Wharton, and drummer Gus Fernandez, the record is a joyful, discordant shot in the arm for those of us having a hard time not wallowing in the current state of the… we’re confident you can finish that thought without our help. When Robinson sings, “I got me a bad feeling,” on the deceptively (or sardonically) titled lead track “Pleasure’s All Yours,” it’s immediately apparent that he’s on our side (whereas it can take other bands an entire album to prove their case).
Slurry, drawly, and riddled with intentional flubs — especially with Fernandez’s drum-playing — Ultra Lights are a throwback in the sense that they’re impossibly endearing, which was far more common in the world of indie-rock in the late ’90s, after self-loathing had run its course; and in the early ‘00s, before irony murdered joy. Robinson is well aware that he’s calling back to the days of yore — he addresses the elephant in the room directly on “Nostalgia” — but, as is the case throughout the record, he reminds us that he doesn’t care about criticism. Or making a perfect record. Or becoming a big-time band. Very much like The Reigning Sound before them, Ultra Lights are here to have a good time — and they’ll have an even better one if they boost your spirits too.
Pleasure's All Yours was crafted by a band that either doesn’t give a shit or is three sheets to the wind; the jury’s still out on that one. Either way, this new Atlanta band is the real deal; we dare you to deny that claim after giving this, their first record, a full spin. Fans of Superchunk, Les Savy Fav and Sparta, take note.