Written by: Luke Dunmore
Band:
Title:
Release Date:
Lit Like Vegas
Lit Like Vegas
30th May 2025
For a band who originally formed around 2013, the debut album by Lit Like Vegas has been a long time coming and is probably one that early fans of the band didn’t think would ever happen. Well quell those palpitations, fearful one because it’s finally here and (if you buy a physical copy) holdable in your hands.The burning question though, is has it been worth the wait? Before I answer that (spoiler: Obviously it has) I’ll offer up a little back story.
They were started by a group of friends based in Guildford in Surrey, as just mentioned, in 2013. They gained a fair bit of traction with their initial single releases but all became increasingly busy with their personal lives and eventually meandered into a hiatus around 2017 or so. Some time after this, James became the vocalist for the Nu-Core band, Caine. They released several, very well received, singles, a few of which were even considered for Grammys. The absolute pinnacle of their career, however, must surely have been when James was interviewed for ERB magazine by one of their most talented, enigmatic and handsome team members. Despite this, a lot of other positive media buzz as well as some successful festival appearances, Caine sadly folded in 2023 or so. In the following months, Lit Like Vegas came out of hibernation, albeit with a couple of line up changes (one of which was Josh on bass, formerly of Caine) and started recording again. Over the last year they’ve released a few preliminary singles with a view to following them up with a debut album.
And here, dear readers, we are. Lit Like Vegas have a sound that’s not dissimilar to Caine; an amalgamation of Pop Punk, Metalcore and Nu Metal, with an emphasis on high energy and good times. They describe themselves as ‘Alt-Rock party starters, which is odd as a lot of the songs on the album seem to deal with quite negative and miserable subject matter. Not very party. That said, the whole album does have a positive, feel good vibrancy, despite any negativity present in the lyrics, and every song is immediate and extremely listenable.
The production by Chris Coulter and Sam Burden is perfect, everything sounds crisp and buoyant and lovely. One noticeable thing too, is that James’s southern accent often comes through when he sings, not to the extent where we’re havin’ a jolly old knees up round the Auntie Joanna or anything so crass; it’s subtle but enough to give Lit Like Vegas a sense of honesty and authenticity, which is something I appreciate. The ten songs on the album all fall roughly into three separate categories and I’ll address them in such a manner.
The first group of songs were all originally recorded and released back before the hiatus, though they’ve been re-recorded for the album. Given the line-up changes and the fact the songs are around ten years old, that’s totally understandable. Their inclusion is justified in that Citylights and Drawing All The Lines are two of the strongest songs here and, even if only down to the title, Get Set Go is a perfect way to to open the album. Displaying that energy and bounce they’re aiming for, It’s an anthemic call-to-arms that kicks things off in style. The first line of the chorus is a, possibly coincidental, description of where the band are at these days “We’ve got ideas above our station, not like the one we had before”.
Just in case it wasn’t quite umphy enough they chuck in a ton of gang vocals into the finale for good measure.
Citylights is a break up song but, unlike others later on, is about picking yourself up, healing and moving on. It’s an early highlight, stupidly catchy and, again, anthemic. The chorus stuck from the first time I listened to the song and would not go away. There’s also a thing they sometimes do that’s present in Citylights, and Get Set Go actually, where they drop things down and do a quiet version of the chorus before picking it right back up again and it works great. Just in case it wasn’t quite umphy enough they chuck in a ton of gang vocals into the finale for good measure. The final song in the trio seems to either be about a couple’s strained relationship, on the verge of a break up or already split but wanting to reconcile. It may even be about someone imagining problems that aren’t there. I’ve listened to Drawing All The Lines loads and can’t decide which so maybe I’ll let you make your own mind up! It’s another massive earworm and I found myself singing the chorus “Are you, are you out there?” to myself constantly. As I say, it’s a really strong song and I can see why it was included despite being an older song.
The second group of songs are the three released as singles prior to the album. The first released since their comeback was Set In Stone and it was a fine statement of intent; more full on than anything so far. James alternates between his usual vocal style and some harsher, screamed vocals that are very welcome. The drums in this one are particularly breakneck and relentless. There’s still plenty of charm and hooks though. And yet another annoyingly infectious chorus. The following pair of singles were more sedate in comparison, though still upbeat and, yes, anthemic (I think I’m gonna have to crack out the thesaurus). The enjoyably-titled That’s Really Not Cool At All is about someone who fibs so excessively that it stops being hurtful and almost amusingly expected, It’s such a good song and likely my favourite overall. There’s a cool stop/start chuggy breakdown two thirds through that I very like. Little Liar is the most recent single and has been getting a fair bit of airplay, including on several ERB shows. It’s about being in a situation, severe addiction maybe, that seems insurmountably bleak but it’spossible to get through it, with help. The song has a purposefully energetic, hopeful sound that might seem incongruous with the theme.
The final set of songs then, are the ones new to this album and previously unheard. They’re pretty much what you would expect from the band: all, super-catchy melodies, massive choruses and a few great guitar hooks. There may possibly be some morose lyrical content involved.The first is Raise Your Glasses, which you might think is a rabble-rousing, good time drinking song? No such luck, it’s a snarky take on relationship break ups. That said, it is more about picking yourself up after and being happy in yourself so it’s not as whingy as I’m unfairly making it out to be. Complete Me isn’t the simpering ‘You complete me, darling’ love song that the title implies. I think it comes from the line“I’ll paint a target, so you can finish what you started” and it seems to be about someone that’s had enough of a toxic relationship. The song starts innocuously but soon kicks off into a monumental chorus and carries you away from there. And if that wasn’t enough to wheedle it into your brain then the closing section has more woah-oh’s than a Desmond Child hit. Bringing It Back is the heaviest song here with ferociously roared vocals and a fantastic, Groove Metal-influenced, riff that’s the absolute guitar highlight of the album. Brilliant song! Taken as a stand alone song it’s a perfectly good track but, compared to the others, Light Me Up is a little nondescript and forgettable. The quiet middle section and the plaintive howl of “Back alone” are pretty cool though.
In conclusion then, Lit Like Vegas’ long-awaited debut album IS worth the hanging about for, There’s nothing in the way of filler, every track is excellent and sounds equally fine in a dark sweaty club or too loud in the car, on the way to Asda (I can only confirm the latter) A lot of their songs tend to be personal enough come across honestly but vague enough to be relatable for the listener too. If I had any real critisicm then it would be that all ten songs are, relatively, similar and I’d maybe had liked more variety and experimentation. It’s a minor nitpick for the sake of nitpicking though and there’s no sameyness on show. The band are playing live around That London currently but also putting together a full UK tour in 2026. Be a pal, get yourself along.
Lit Like Vegas are:
James Sanger-Brown – Vocals
Tom Pile – Guitar
Karl Knottrodt – Guitar
Josh Bates – Bass
Jack Ross – Drums
Track Listing
- Go Set Go
- Citylights
- Raise Your Glasses
- Set In Stone
- Drawing All The Lines
- Little Liar
- Complete Me
- That’s Really Not Cool At All
- Bringing It Back
- Light Me Up