Headlights: Kill Them With Kindness

As luminescent as their moniker suggests, this trio, consisting of vocalist/keyboardist Erin Fein, Brett Sanderson on drums, and Tristan Wraight manning the stringed instruments, pumps out endearing indie pop. Awash with ambient, shoe-gazing tides and placid flourishes of violins and harmonicas, Kill Them with Kindness soothes the beast with a spring in its step.

Be it the shimmering synth oeuvre “Words Make You Tired” or the T-Rex giddiness of the Wraight-led “Lions,” Headlights relish a good time.

Not every sonic experiment should be heralded though: the confounding instrumental “Struggling with Numbers” undulates like the drowsy intro of an episode of the PBS show “Nova” and detracts from the buoyancy of the other tracks. And whereas the dreamy opener “Your Old Street” is lovely, Fein’s molasses-dripped vocals border on tedious and the whole number sounds like it was culled directly from Stars’ Set Yourself on Fire.

Nevertheless, these Midwesterners are more resourceful than those Canucks – with only three official members, the immensity of their sound rivals any Canadian indie collective (Broken Social Scene, watch your backs!). The group sings of the fear of being watched in the joyful “TV” but they ought to get used to it because Kill Them is bound to put the critical darling spotlight on Headlights.

- Melissa Bobbit
Headlights (Polyvinyl Records)