The Jacklights

Reviews

The Jacklights Final Girl CD

For nostalgia-seekers of ’90/’00s female-led emo bands, listen up. Grainy and chunky guitars, with that fast-shuffling hi-hat beat, build a landscape for PARAMORE-esque vocals, saccharine to sour, asking questions like “Why’s this so hard? / I can’t believe the things you said to me” (from “Past Tense”). This is the JACKLIGHTS’ third EP, and they have kept laser-focused on their sugar-coated emo persona, dialing in some great songwriting chops. This four-song release is the perfect length for me—I enjoy it, but it’s the kind of thing I take in small doses.

The Jacklights Drift CD

Female-fronted melodic punk that just slightly misses the mark for me. I can’t quite put my finger on what cylinder this isn’t firing. I enjoy the vocals, and while technically there’s nothing bad here musically, it just isn’t clicking for me. Together it just comes off as generic and kinda boring at certain points. There’s just that little something extra missing here.