A Place In The Sun

02/23/1999 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Wendy Hermanson

Lit possess a bad case of Nirvana-itis. The young Southern Californian quartet displayed this predilection early on, namely when they had the cojones to cover the Incesticide b-side "Stain" on their debut EP a mere two years after Kurt Cobain committed suicide. They didn't mangle it too much--a left-handed compliment, but actually more than can be said about most ambitious 'Vanawannabees.

On A Place In The Sun, the band's second full-length and major-label bow, Lit continue their worship at the post-grunge altar, but they've figured out the neat trick of how to rip off your idols without being totally derivative: focus on the less obvious details. Opening tune "Four," for example, leads off with a Bleach-lifted guitar part, and it has a sticky, melodic chorus, but this isn't what makes the tune just this short of Nevermind-level terrific. It's the bashing, rollicking drum line, taken directly from Dave Grohl's sticks in the most fevered Nirvana song of all, "Aneurysm," that lifts the song way up high. (Smart, smart move, and a surprisingly sophisticated one in a relatively untested band.)

Lit drummer Allen Shellenberger isn't quite a transcendental player as Grohl, but his sparkling rhythms toss this album up, down, and all around, adding twists to otherwise predictable rock-pop exercises "My Own Worst Enemy" and "Zip-Lock." Lit do occasionally cross a line: album closer "A Place In The Sun" is a straight steal from Kurt & Co., R.I.P. But it's such a pleasure to hear Grohl (the drummer, not the Fighter) referenced so lovingly, I'm willing to let this one ride.