Fronted by Joe Nettles’ rich baritone and powered by anthemic songwriting and catchy guitar work, Shooting Out the Lights has been kicking out their brand of luxury rock since October 2009. The result is a penetrating mix of sounds: think Echo and the Bunnymen, Sonic Youth, The Smiths, and My Bloody Valentine with a bit of Joy Division on top and Crazy Horse blowing out the cellar doors.
The band, former members of Goodmorning Powerheart and Kill the Ego, met during the mid 2000s, enjoying live music and sharing bills in Oxford, Mississippi’s tight-knit independent music scene.
While Nettles has lived in Nashville for five years, drummer Cecil Thompson recently moved from Mississippi to Chicago. Max Hipp and Beau Bourgeois live in Oxford while Zach Thompson, guitar, is with his family in Raymond, Mississippi. But the difficult geography of the band hasn’t stalled the creativity. Shooting Out the Lights recorded their self-titled debut last spring and put it out in the fall. You can listen to a few songs off the album on the group’s bandcamp page or find them on iTunes or Spotify.