Girl at the Rock Shows

The new EP from Blacklight Hotel was pitched to me as “Soulful Rock for the Lost and Broken.” Although I’m having a great day, and all things are sunshine and rainbows right now, we can all feel a little lost and broken at times, which means this tagline really spoke to me. I am all about using music to heal, so seeing a band putting their music out there in hopes that it helps you recover from whatever trauma you are going through absolutely piqued my interest. Of course, there was more than just that one line that intrigued me about Blacklight Hotel, so let’s stop wasting time and jump into this EP.

‘Space’ stars off with “Genevieve”. The beginning of this song is calming and peaceful, and that vibe is only enhanced as the vocals come in after just a couple of songs. Although this song remains relatively slow and chill overall, there’s something in the vocals of this opening track that brought such an outstanding sense of power to this song. Add the epics rises and falls sprinkled throughout this track and you have nothing short of an epic piece of art. There’s something a little jazzy and bluesy about the vocals yet the instrumentation is fairly settled into the indie-rock vein of things. Instead of a power struggle between these two feelings and styles, Blacklight Hotel perfectly and easily weave these contrasting styles together to create a unique sound. About two and a half minutes in, you are treated with a beautiful breakdown. It’s not the typical metal breakdown that I typically talk about that makes you want to open up the pit wherever you are at the time– it’s more a build-up and release of beautiful emotion that translates deep in your soul.

The title track “Space” continues with this overall feeling of a contrast of things that shouldn’t go together yet fits like perfect puzzle pieces in Blacklight Hotel’s world. “Space” has a bit more of a somber attitude to it. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still absolutely an infectious beat and a bop of a chorus here, but there’s just something a bit more serious and mature about the overall composition of this song that I instantly fell head over heels for. The sound of this track is larger-than-life with beautiful soundscapes created throughout the three and a half minute song that will instantly whisk you off your feet and into Blacklight Hotel’s world. I was so lost in this track that the ending caught me off guard. After a beautiful rise, the song stops and leaves you with a beeping noise. It’s not a harsh beep and is more like the ping of a submarine than anything else. Still, it felt harsh and seemed to act as a bit of a period at the end of the gorgeous words laid out throughout this song (which I obviously will not give away because you need to hear it for yourself).

The final track on this three-song EP is “Gold” and, yet, again, Blacklight Hotel changes everything while staying comfortably in their unique world. This song has a bit more darkness to it behind the twinkly guitars that highlight the gorgeous vocals. There’s a slight sense of desperation in the vocals. I’m not talking about the words being used, more the tone and power that comes behind every word throughout this track. There’s something so relatable about that tone, and it really left me lost for words. Of the three songs on this EP, “Gold” was my favorite and, because of it, felt so short. I mean, this isn’t a long track as it’s just over three minutes long, but I was definitely left wanting so much more when it was done.

Lucky for me, Blacklight Hotel has two bonus songs out there. The first one is “Echo”. This song kicks off with a super funky drum solo before the rest of the band introduces them with the sound of an almost water inspired guitar lick (I promise this will make sense when you hear the song). This song really hit me down to my core. From the creativity in the instrumentation to the heartfelt vocals that, like “Gold”, rattle you to your core, this song shows a sense of restraint on the band’s part. The composition kept me on my toes. There were times in this track when I thought there would be a giant breakdown but, instead, was treated to beautiful guitarwork. At moments when I thought the vocals were going to come in soft and sweetly, they ended up coming in like a freight train and hit me out of nowhere. I loved this as it wasn’t at all what I was expecting but was precisely what the song needed.

The only other bonus song out there from Blacklight Hotel is “Ink to Paper”. Out of all of the songs I’ve heard from this band, this one hit me as the most pop-leaning one, and that’s not bad. There’s something a bit more commercial about this song when it comes to the overall style, composition, and vocal sound, but, at the same time, this is far from your standard top-40 pop track. This song comes drenched with Blacklight Hotel’s signature brand of emotion and power. I was super hooked by the layers of vocals that pop in and out throughout this track. There are moments when you can hear multiple layers melting together yet hear all of the separate layers at the same time. The effect is absolutely stunning and will be something that you come back to time and time again.

Music is made for healing. Well, that’s not entirely true, but it’s used for healing. To hear music like ‘Space’ from Blacklight Hotel, which is made for healing, is powerful, to say the least. Even if you don’t have anything to heal from, I suggest you spend some time with the three song EP, the two bonus songs, and this band in general. You may think you’re all healed, but you will still feel a million times more powerful and stand up a little straighter after spending some time with Blacklight Hotel.

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