Hailing from Duluth, Minnesota, and wielding only a single-year run, emoviolence and screamo band Bright Lights Always Turn Off is entirely prepared to melt your teeth out of their cavities and leave you with a toothless, satisfied grin. Smashing guitar riffs akin to Jerome’s Dream, The Red Scare, and throat-blistering prepubescent screams fans of Orchid and Louise Cyphre will recognize, BLATO was active in 2006 and was comprised of members including guitarist Odin and vocalist Dan Rude.
Empty space has no place in this band, who constantly fill the space between with charming, heartbreaking melodies and pure sound riffs that blast off at breakneck pace, occasionally reminding the listener of black metal. 16 year old Rude presents us the hellish miracle of his acidic wailing of lyrics reflective of his life in and out of juvenile detention centers and other troubles living in Minnesota. Although only 50 handmade cds were burned, their only EP remained relatively undiscovered on MySpace until was it republished on YouTube.
Duluth isn’t exactly known for its bustling mid 00’s screamo scene, but BLATO remedied their isolation through MySpace and similar chat boards. Bright Lights only played two shows during their split second run; a show in North Wisconsin and Bear Garden’s 2006 EP release show at Rice Lake Town Hall, although I couldn’t find footage of either. After BLATO, Dan Rude and guitarist Odin went on to join emo band Bear Garden from Minneapolis.
ST 2006
