Fortune favors the brave. And lordy, nobody has been more rewarded than I have by stumbling into the brilliantly crafted world of Ultra Lights. It started innocently enough when I witnessed their second show, appearing on a stacked bill that included locals Bizner and Arbor Labor Union and the Dutch phenom band Lewsberg. After their opening set, I went up to guitarist/vocalist John Robinson and asked if their closing song was a cover, because it sounded so dang familiar. An earworm for the ages, if you will. Yeah, it was that annoyingly catchy. Maybe was it a Fang song? That Sunday night signaled the beginning of my torrid love affair with Ultra Lights.
Ultra Lights’ first release was “Nostalgia.” At the time it was unquestionably their best song. “Nostalgia will eat the young”? Are you serious? That still stops me in my tracks. The two subsequent singles were equally all killer, no filler. The six-song 12” that collects all three singles is equally spotless. I’ve got zero notes. The band has played New York (including a WFMU session!), Chicago, Nashville, and anywhere else that’ll take them. Left in their wake are fans like me who are convinced that Ultra Lights is their new favorite band.
Enter Pleasure’s All Yours. A record that, by any reasonable metric, is a stone-cold masterpiece. Not just compared to records by other bands in Georgia or, more broadly, the South. No, I mean that in the great history of recorded music, this is up there with the greats: Loveless, Funhouse, Is This Real?, Bandwagonesque. Pleasure’s All Yours is a record that came out of the forge perfectly cast. A prestige effort. This record is honest t’god special.
Become properly acquainted with Pleasure’s All Yours. Listen to it. Study it. And let me just get this out of the way: John Robinson is a songwriting genius with derisively brilliant nihilistic lyrics. He’s a mindful postgrad of years upon years of studying the masters, from Australia’s supreme trash rock to American buzz guitar pop and back again. Pleasure’s All Yours is eleven songs of unrelenting perfection.
“Bad Feeling” is the first single. Why? Well, while the whole record is airtight (prove me wrong), “Bad Feeling” feels just twenty percent additionally special. I suspect it has something to do with the middle eight that’ll bring a tear to your eye, or perhaps the achingly catchy chorus that will stop you in your tracks, or just the reductive lyric “It’s a pretty nice day for a kick in the face.” I mean, wow. Just wow. Such laconically brilliant songcraft that you’re gonna wonder, just like I did, if that last song’s a cover. Let me tell ya somethin’, cupcake, it’s all original. Lyrical headscratchers abound. Botox on my balls. Fillers in my guts. Got damage? Good god, yes. All undeniably Ultra Lights.
Pleasure’s All Yours is an unstoppable pop juggernaut. John’s wife, Leela, is on second guitar and backup vox. The rough-and-tumble rhythm section of Gus and Alex have stripped away the bullshit, leaving nothing but a sinewy platform for John’s inarguably flawless jams. Listen to the album once and you’ll agree. Recorded masterfully by Khris Sampson and mastered beautifully by Mikey Young. Pleasure’s all yours, indeed.
As with all things at Chunklet, the buck stops with me. Theoretically, if Pleasure’s All Yours were the final release for the label, would I be proud? Not only am I proud, but I’d hazard to say it could be the best record the label has ever released. But hey, tell your friends. Mark your calendars. Heed my words. “Pleasure’s All Yours” is the feel-good hit of not just this summer but every summer until the end of time.
Blast it.
