The Jacklights – Final Girl EP

Boston’s The Jacklights are set to release the horror themed EP Final Girl at the start of October, just in time for Halloween! But this is not your run of the mill release for the spooky season, rather than the predictable run of Misfits covers and 80’s slasher references this is something different, as vocalist and guitarist Nilagia McCoy explains “The EP is about major life changes and heartbreak, couched in some horror-influenced metaphor”. If we’re brutally honest with ourselves most people would admit that those events can be far more horrific and overwhelming than even the most determined cinematic psychopath!

If you’re going to do an EP for Halloween then you might as well nail your colours to the mast, and this is what The Jacklights do with the opening track Haunted, a perfect opener that’s both intense and bouncy with Nilagia McCoy’s vocals front and centre. Past Tense is a natural progression from the opening track with a heavy blast of melodic punk that has some guitar lines to die for in the songs finalè. In essence the opening three tracks are a trilogy, one that has been slowly building up to the heavyweight grunge of Anniversary, however, the EP’s title track offers a twist in the plot, just like all the best horror movies do. I’ve always been a sucker for the punked up horror punk & roll and this is The Jacklights contribution to that niche category, think The Spookshow’s finest moments or The Misfits’ classic Saturday Night for comparison.

What The Jacklights have managed to make is a a cliché free Halloween EP with three tracks that compliment each other perfectly and the EP’s finalè and title track, that’s probably my favorite track to date by the Boston trio to date. The Jacklights have combined elements of pop punk, horror punk, grunge and the heavier side of 90’s indie to create a raw and heartfelt EP that should be added to your soundtrack for the spooky season. The Jacklights will also be hitting the road on a run of tour dates as winter descends, including an EP release show on the 20th October at Roslindale, MA’s The Square Root.