Get Your Ass To Mars The first new music from Hit The Lights in nearly a decade, called Tomorrow’s Gonna Hurt, is a solid collection of four songs that highlight the band’s slick approach to pop-punk. Released in part as a tribute to their bandmate Kyle Maite, who tragically died in September 2022, Hit The Lights do their best to honor their past legacy while leaving the door open for where they could go next if they continue to march on. The set features two guest spots, the opener has guest vocals from Jay Pepito and the third track features Hit The Lights’ original vocalist Colin Ross. While the band doesn’t cover too much new ground on this EP, there’s still plenty to enjoy in these songs that will hopefully rejuvenate Hit The Lights in making even more new music soon.
The EP opens with a crunchy guitar riff on “Get Your Ass To Mars”, while lead vocalist Nick Thompson confidently sings, “Death of the party / I’m so sorry but our time has run out / Right past the golden age / And on to fuck around and find out / Great time to panic if you haven’t paid attention til now / So come with me, grab a seat / Start the countdown.” As the song unfolds, Pepito’s guest vocal spot features the lyrics of, “Bag ‘em, tag ‘em, let the maggots have ‘em / If you’re done and had enough,” to help with the aggressive nature of the opening statement.
The title track follows in the sequencing and recalls a night out drinking and knowing that the day that lies ahead of us is going to be a tough one. The anthemic chorus of, “In and out of the light / Chasing dreams in the dark / Try we as we might / Can’t escape who we are / Whether we fly or crash in the dirt / Tonight we feel no pain / But tomorrow’s gonna hurt / It’s gonna hurt,” is pure pop-punk nostalgia and is fully entrenched in the sound that Hit The Lights have been known for over the years. “Bleach Away” offers some great guitar work from Kevin Mahoney and Omar Zehery, as they both pick their spots in making the most of a tragedy of a fallen band member. I found the section of, “Dissect, connect, reject indifference and / Fix the fabric torn at every end / Reflect, connect, accept the infinite / Or bury your head hoping for the best,” to be particularly powerful in the way the band came together to honor their past (with guest vocals from original singer Colin Ross), and still offer up something new in the process. It’s a brave step forward, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
The closer of “Desperate // Grateful” is a touching tribute to Kyle Maite as Nick Thompson explains his band’s feelings with lyrics like, “Tomorrows not guaranteed / But right now this moment is a chance to see / They’re only just as far as our heart lets them be / Right now in this moment, right now in this moment / You said the love we shared is the only thing that matters / The love we shared, the times we spent together / Remember the love we shared is the only thing that matters / You said the love we shared, the times we spent together,” that’s found in the great bridge of the song. It’s sure to evoke an emotion or a past memory of a loved one in all of us, and it highlights the power of music in bringing out these feelings. Hit The Lights could’ve easily just rode off into the sunset with their last record, but this loving tribute showcases why the band made the right decision to come back.