There’s not an acoustic strum, hoot or holler to be found in the EP’s five offerings; instead, you’ll find cavernous ’80s synth landscapes, glitzy guitar hooks and an obvious penchant for catchy melodies, covering the full axis of electro-bent pop artists in the process.
Standout track “Something to Outrun” does bear a striking resemblance to Chunk of Change-era Passion Pit, although Jumpship Astronaut fills the space that Michael Angelakos left empty with a U2-worthy chorus.
The song is bookended by opener “Romanticize” and “Kaleidoscopes,” the former recalling the more sprawling and jam-groove anchored sound of Pretty Lights or Ghostland Observatory, and the latter ratchets up the noise with Lights’ most guitar-driven moments.
Ballad “Return” builds like a B-side on the Drive soundtrack before giving way to a more conventional, but well-constructed verse-chorus signature. The airy, radio-friendly “Ghost” brings the album to an epic close.
Like a laser shooting up from the dirt, Jumpship Astronaut shows that it’s not impossible to make good electro-pop music in Oklahoma. With time, this five-piece will be able to develop a brand of it that is uniquely its own even beyond the state’s borders.
Lights Burn Out is available at jumpshipastronaut.bandcamp.com. —Joshua Boydston
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