There is an episode of “The Simpsons” where a record producer has Bart, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph sing into microphones that are hooked up to a machine that makes them sound like N’Sync (“Thank you, NASA,” the producer says). After listening to Hit the Lights’ Skip School, Start Fights, you will be inclined to believe that this machine actually exists, and nearly every emo band that put out an album in the last five years has used it. The problem is that instead of sounding like Justin Timberlake, you get a nasal, whiny, pinched tenor (must still be in the beta testing stage). Hit the Lights are not awful, mind you; they’re just unoriginal and derivative. Their songs are a series of Something Corporate-style vocals melded to breakdowns straight from your favorite My Chemical Romance song, so if you like that sort of thing, then odds are you’ll like this, too. But don’t let that album title fool you: the last thing these boys want to do is cause trouble. They sing of sobering up and staying out all night, getting you to break up with your miserable whore of a girlfriend, and getting out of “this bitter town,” presumably the band’s hometown of Lima, OH. They’re trying to sound like angst-ridden tough guys, but they’re far too cute and harmless to pass for menacing. It makes you wonder if they are even aware that their band name is a Metallica song. (EastWest)
