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There were a lot of great albums from the nineties; one of the last really classic albums from that decade was Lit’s A Place in the Sun. Thanks to a single you still hear a lot on the radio today, “My Own Worst Enemy” the album blew up and made Lit a household name. The group moved on to play the short-lived revamped version of Woodstock, made music videos playing on Pamela Anderson, and generally took off with that album cycle. Because of that album they’ve always been known but because of factors outside of their control they’ve never matched that success. Atomic was a good album but it was released shortly after 9/11 and people weren’t exactly up for a party record around that time. Sadly, most people weren’t even aware the band released a self-titled album in 2004. Until now, that was the band’s last release and a lot of life happened over the past eight years including the tragic loss of the band’s tremendous drummer, Allen Shellenberger. The group has dedicated their new album, The View from the Bottom to Shellenberger.
While this is a rock record, it’s not something that you immediately think of when you think of Lit anymore. Thanks to A. Jay and Jeremy Popoff planting their feet in the Nashville songwriting scene over the past six years or so, Lit’s songs are pretty amazing. There’s something to be said about using ‘kicked in the balls’ in your lyrics and still coming off as somewhat artistic. A. Jay Popoff and Lit have five or six instances like that throughout the album. There’s a lyric or a part in a song that should be totally unacceptable because it’s cliché or because if any other band were singing it, it would come off as stupid. But because all of these songs are so well crafted, everything comes across remarkably well. The band’s songs are noteworthy but the album is perfectly produced by Butch Walker, who’s been on a roll with this album and Train’s most recent release. The production of the album is tremendous, so is the track placement here. This album plays flawless from start to finish.
If there’s one flaw with Lit’s latest album, it’s what they didn’t do. They didn’t use Jeremy Popoff as well as they could have. He’s an amazing guitarist and there’s one notable solo on this record on “She Don’t Know.” It would have been nice for Jeremy to be featured a few more times on the album.
Lit’s fourth record is a good one. It’s probably the best since the band released A Place in the Sun, something that’s bittersweet for the band and their fans. Through a lot of turmoil since their last release, the band rallied around each other and the new members to make a good album. If you want a blast from the past definitely check this out but more than that, if you appreciate great songwriting, listen and enjoy.
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