Bright Light Bright Light, Make Me Believe in Hope (Aztec Records, 2012)

Thealbum that I’ve been looking forward to the most in 2012 is definitely Make Me Believe in Hope, Rod Thomas’sfull-length debut as Bright Light Bright Light, his fantastic electronicaproject.  (Yes, he snagged thatunusual moniker from one of his very favorite ’80s movies, Gremlins!)  I’ve had ahuge musical crush on this scruffy Welsh Londoner ever since his catchy andmelodic acoustic record, Until SomethingFits, first appeared in 2006. Seven of the eleven tracks on his new effort as Bright Light BrightLight were made available gradually over the interim, and to increasingapplause from all corners of social media.  Four previously unreleased songs join them here, equally solidon every sonic and lyrical level: intelligent, dance-floor ready tunes that are also infinitelyhummable.
It’sno secret that Rod is a die-hard fan of piano-based house music from the ’90s;he currently hosts and DJs an ongoing retro club night called Another Night at venuesthroughout London.  (And he’s atotally fabulous remixer, by the way.) The influence of Rod’s fascination with ’90s dance music is fully andgorgeously apparent throughout the songs on MakeMe Believe in Hope.  Bright LightBright Light strikes the same balance of drama and optimism that made pop/dancedivas like CeCe Peniston and Lonnie Gordon so appealing to an entire generationof club kids, while also putting a brand-new spin on the genre.  Check out Bright Light Bright Light’srecent music videos on YouTube for a taste of the cutting-edge visual artistswith whom Rod has collaborated. Exciting concepts, indeed.
Andit’s for that reason that part of Bright Light Bright Light’s pop DNA washard-wired by Rod’s deep admiration for Pet Shop Boys and Erasure.  There’s always an aura of world-wearydisenchantment to complement the surging adrenaline of these tracks.  Rod has mentioned how the songs on hisnew album focus on numerous kinds of interpersonal and romantic connections,but a sense of disconnection — and the resulting frustration — is just aspresent, if not more so.  That’sperfectly logical in a way; gay men are surrounded by a culture that’s oftenunloving, so it follows that loving others and being loved in relationships won’tusually be too simple for us.
Rodcritiques this idea from the onset of MakeMe Believe in Hope, which starts out with a “storm of solitude” and “my onereliant friend.”  The shimmeringopener, “Immature,” boasts a far more honest chorus than the vast majority ofpop fare:  “Now everything I wantedseems so immature, and all the time I wasted shines like gold.”  In fact, it’s that level of honesty thatmakes the sudden glimpses of hope on the album possible.  The feeling of being jaded, temperedby a stubbornly redemptive longing, again plays a central role on “Love PartII,” with its sly taunts of a “clever boy” and ecstatic refrains of “I’m inlove again.”

Themost danceable number on the record, “Feel It,” furthers the pursuit of desire tothe brink of a techno breakdown, which then gets uplifted by the type ofroof-raising diva vocals (courtesy of Mykal Kilgore) that formed the intenseheart of house music.  The trackwas arranged and engineered by Del Marquis, otherwise known as the guitaristfor Scissor Sisters, who also provides a sweet vocal assist on the sweepinglycinematic “Cry at Films.”  Both“Waiting for the Feeling” and “Moves” continue in this same irrepressible, epicdirection, as does the more subtly charming (and chiming) “A New Word to Say.” I'm also certain that I hear a fun little nod to Stacey Q's "We Connect" in the awesome bridge on "Waiting for the Feeling."

Althoughthe entire album is phenomenal (truly), my favorite songs are the slightlydarker tunes.  “Disco Moment”brilliantly unfolds its melancholy “boy meets boy, boy loses boy” storyline;Rod describes it as the kind of song he’d imagine for a key scene in a JohnHughes movie from the ’80s.  Thetrack begins midway through “another awkward conversation,” a snippet of a lover’squarrel in a relationship that has clearly reached a stalemate (“I want to gohome, or stay out, or go dance, just not this”).  By the song’s close, we’ve arrived at a point ofheart-rending separation in the midst of a crowded dance club:  “So you have your disco moment alone,I’ll stand at the side of the room. You’re dressed in light, I’m just a shadow that’s flickering.”  This theme is beautifully extended onthe more down-tempo “How to Make a Heart” as the singer muses, “It’s funny insuch a small room there can be so much space between us.”
Despitehow finely realized his euphoric and introspective moments are, Rod Thomas alsoknows exactly when to turn the proceedings a bit more downbeat.  The album’s final two tracks, the quiet“Debris” (featuring vocals by Allison Pierce of The Pierces) and the affirmative“Grace,” together offer the listener a generous emotional landing pad anddenouement.  In just over 40 minutes, Bright Light Bright Light’s MakeMe Believe in Hope makes me believe in the future of pop music all overagain.