After a three-year emersion in all things indie rock, I kicked off 2009 by jumping back into music of my youth. While I don’t see myself becoming one of those middle aged adults that clings exclusively to music released before their thirtieth birthday, I’ve had the realization that I’ll never care for BON IVER or THE FLEET FOXES nearly as much as I do for hooky pop-punk.

The third album from THE MORNING LIGHT elegantly bridges the piano-driven sound of SOMETHING CORPORATE with the songwriting variety of Dog Problems-era FORMAT with the vocals reminiscent of MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK’S Justin Pierre.

The songs are hooky enough to immediately grab listeners, but it’s the little things that make the self-titled album sparkle. Minimal trumpet flourishes on the first three songs that open the album accompany saccharine sweet hooks sang by the youthfully high pitched vocals of Bobby Garver. THE MORNING LIGHT don’t stray too far from the core theme as the album progresses, but there’s a freshness that hints at an artistic depth as deep as their love for pop.

“Happy Now” opens with a peppy bass drum driven verse reminiscent of THE FORMAT’s song “She Doesn’t Get It.” The rhythmic delivery of the lyrics “Just the clock / it kept up / so I fell behind / and my heart / said enough / so I closed my eyes” in the second verse are so textbook Nate Ruess that it hurts. While many young bands might frontload an album for fear of losing the attention of a listener THE MORNING LIGHT deserve credit for distributing their best songs throughout the album, most notably track 8, “Honest”.

THE MORNING LIGHT may wear their influences on their sleeve, but it doesn’t detract from the strength of the album. In some ways, they even improve on their influences. The Morning Light is more diverse than any SOMETHING CORPORATE album and they aren’t nearly as overindulgent as THE FORMAT were on Dog Problems. Now to just figure out how to not look like the creepy old guy when I see them live.

Fearless Records