

What can you say about a band that seems to take inspiration from Green Day, Supertramp, and The Fixx? Capital Lights tosses these and other unlikely influences into a blender and comes out with the musical equivalent of Red Bull. Known in an earlier incarnation as afterEight, this Tulsa, Oklahoma combo gets rambunctious on their high-energy 2008 debut This is an Outrage! Singer Bryson Phillips dives into the tunes with a jittery glee, softening the percussive edge of his phrasing with honeyed vocal harmonies. Tracks like “Outrage,” “Work it Out,” and “Worth as Much as a Counterfeit Dollar” are goosed along by brittle guitar lines and rapid-fire drumming. Analog synthesizer burbles lend “Miles Away” a 1980s ambiance, while “Let the Little Lady Talk” recalls the frilly contours of ‘70s prog-rock. Much of Phillips’ lyrical content deals with failed relationships and personal angst. In “Return,” though, he makes his Christian faith clear through Bible-rooted imagery and an expansive melody. Capital Lights get so carried away by their own high spirits that you can forgive their more derivative tendencies. This is an Outrage! is sharp-witted and infectious, if not quite outrageous.