Photos courtesy of Force Field PR
Lightheaded, an ensemble originating from the New Jersey milieu, carries forward the venerable lineage of sentimental jangle-pop songwriting. Their output functions as a sophisticated distillation of decades of lovelorn melodies, effectively crafting an auditory vernacular for the contemporary aficionado of soft-focus indie pop. Their sonic palette is notably expansive, exhibiting the sunshine sparkle and baroque pop sensibilities reminiscent of The Left Banke and Margo Guryan, juxtaposed with the _C86_-era charm of touchstones like Dolly Mixture and Would-Be-Goods. This synthesis is further enriched by the cinematic swell and narrative complexity characteristic of Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura.
Established on the Jersey Shore in 2017 by core members Cynthia Rittenbach and Stephen Stec, Lightheaded’s sound underwent a meticulous period of refinement, facilitated by a mutable roster of collaborators on drums, guitar, and backing vocals. Their dedication forged a significant connection within the vast yet interconnected international indie pop scene, a trajectory which ultimately led to their association with the esteemed California imprint, Slumberland Records. Their initial foray, ‘Good Good Great!’, debuted in 2023, preceding the full-length album Combustible Gems in 2024. The culmination of this breakthrough year included a European tour and notable support slots for influential acts such as Heavenly, The Softies, and The Ladybug Transistor.
Their recent offerings, the full-length ‘Combustible Gems’ and the subsequent EP ‘Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!’, build upon the foundation of their acclaimed debut for Slumberland with considerable finesse. ‘Combustible Gems’ masterfully channels the classic pop architecture of the Gerry Goffin & Carole King songbook while maintaining a self-aware resonance with the contemporary indie landscape. Singles such as “Moments Notice” and “Bright Happy Girls” possess a timeless pop élan, characterized by a luxuriant infusion of jangle, dramatic flair, and infectious rhythmic drive.
The EP ‘Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!’ represents a significant collaborative and artistic apex, marking their inaugural joint release between Slumberland and the UK’s Skep Wax label. The recording process was bi-coastal, involving production work with Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) and Alicia Vanden Heuvel (The Aislers Set, Poundsign). The entire project was meticulously finished by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good To Me), who applied a generous coating of tape-saturated reverb, thereby rendering the songs in a dreamy, soft-focus aesthetic perfectly consonant with their starry-eyed thematic concerns. This release is further augmented by the contributions of the emerging vanguard of the New York indie pop community, featuring members of Starcleaner Reunion and Trinket, a collaboration that arguably elevates this material to a new zenith within the young band’s nascent discography.
The album showcases a profound engagement with pop history without succumbing to mere nostalgia. The folky jangle of “Same Drop” and the chamber pop complexity of “The View From Your Room” successfully evoke 1960s motifs while retaining a distinctly modern sensibility. Cynthia Rittenbach’s saccharine-sweet vocal delivery is ideally suited for the girl-group harmonies of “Crash Landing of the Clod,” a melancholic, *Shangri-Las*-style ballad. The cascading, tumbling melodies in “The Lindens, The Lindens, The Lindens!” structurally mirror the song’s lyrical depiction of a sun-dappled fantasy, while the tribute “Me & Amelia Fletcher” is fittingly an audible echo of a presumed long-lost Sarah Records nugget. ‘With Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!’, Lightheaded has effectively consolidated the foundational achievements of their previous two releases, presenting a sound that is more exquisitely bittersweet and artistically fully-realized than ever before.
Huge thanks to Daniel Gill at Force Field & Mike Schulman at Slumberland Records for the introduction and to Cynthia & Stephen for their time!
James Broscheid: The bio positions Lightheaded within a “long tradition of sentimental jangle pop songwriters.” Which artists or bands from this tradition do you feel have most significantly shaped your sound?
Cynthia Rittenback: I came across The Pastels during my teenage years while listening to different music on YouTube. I really loved the personality of it all. It seemed so fun and character driven in the way that it seemed to be revolving around the friendship of Stephen (McRobbie), Aggi (Annabel Wright), and Katrina (Mitchell). Another band that stands out in my life is my love of The Aislers Set. When I shared with Stephen (Stec) that I loved the Pastels, something he immediately suggested to me was The Aislers Set. I really love their 60s sound and production style. It still seems unreal that we got to record with Alicia (Vanden Heuvel) in San Francisco. It feels like I’ve learned so much from her in the brief time I’ve been with her and I really hope to learn a lot more from her about recording.
JB: The latest record has drawn comparisons to a diverse range of artists, from The Left Banke, Margo Guryan to Dolly Mixture. How do you see these different influences coalescing into the unique sound of Lightheaded?
CR: We really love the different instrumentation of a lot of those bands from the 60s that you mentioned. The violins and trumpets, this stuff was a huge part of the early philosophy of Lightheaded. Different women like Margo and the girls from Dolly Mixture are influential to me in their own unique ways. It was really cool to spend time with Debsey (Wykes) and Rachel (Love – nee Bor) in London over the summer. I actually friended Margo on Facebook right before she died, (laughs)!
JB: Formed on the Jersey Shore in 2017, you took time to hone your sound. Can you describe the early stages of the band and how your sound evolved before your debut EP?
Stephen Stec: We went through a lot of lineup changes, we always have. I think Cynthia and I sort of have a really special and unique relationship. We are really close personally, but that also is the same for songwriting. Cynthia had a lot of success on her own, but I think a big thing for her is having people she feels comfortable with in the band. We’ve always had a lot of people we love around us but it’s hard to have people playing with you who just have all the time in the world and nothing going on. Not many people are just sitting around waiting to be in a band and not make a ton of money at it (laughs). Early on, Cynthia and I wrote everything together. We still do, but it’s opened up to be way more collaborative. I feel like we’ve moved slightly away from an orchestral sound because of how much more often we play live and spend time practicing, rather than recording or writing. We still love recording to tape, which we did from the start with our first EP that was self-released on Bandcamp, ‘Cowboys and Constellations’ (2019). Cynthia actually mixed and mastered that herself, which now we are way more prone to having outsiders take that role. We actually haven’t mixed or mastered a release since. Although, I really do want Cynthia to mix the next record!
JB: How important has that community been to the development and trajectory of Lightheaded?
SS: Really important! I mean, it’s how we get around. And we do get around. I’m a full-time teacher, but it’s pretty incredible how often we’ve been able to travel and the places Lightheaded has taken us. I feel like Cynthia and I had a lot of dreams from the start of the band and a lot of people who were our heroes or inspirations from the beginning helped us achieve those goals. We’ve always been huge Slumberland Records fans and we can’t help but thank Mike (Schulman) tirelessly. All of the bands in California mean so much to us, music wise and their friendship. The embrace we’ve gotten overseas, especially our connection with Amelia (Fletcher) and Rob (Pursey) over at Skep Wax, our friendship with Mt. Misery, Glas-Goes Pop (Festival), and really everyone over in Glasgow, have been super incredible.
JB: Speaking of Slumberland, what does being part of that label’s roster mean to Lightheaded?
SS: It’s been everything we’ve wanted. The history of that label feels woven into the fabric of the band. I mean, Alicia VH from The Aislers Set just recorded a couple of new songs off of our latest EP. The last single we released, “The View From Your Room,” (from the ‘Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!’ EP), was
laid down at her studio, Speakeasy, in San Francisco. We were actually out there for the Oakland Pop Fest, which was put on by artists from Slumberland Records; (Christina) Riley from Artsick and Mario (Hernandez) from Kids On A Crime Spree.
JB: Your latest EP (or is it an album?), ‘Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!,’ has been described as your “most collaborative and earnest release to date.” Can you elaborate on the collaborative aspects and what makes this LP feel particularly earnest?
SS: A lot of the songs on this record are a bit more direct than usual. I was reading tons of surrealist poetry during ‘Combustible Gems’ and ‘Good Good Great’ (_Slumberland Records, 2023), stuff like Arthur Rimbaud (French poet, 1854 – 1891) and André Breton (French writer and poet, 1896 – 1966). But these songs are a little newer and maybe sort of more on the nose in terms of subject matter.
JB: The latest EP marks your first co-release with Slumberland and the UK’s Skep Wax label. How did this collaboration come about, and what has the experience been like?
SS: Heavenly was one of the first real indie pop bands that I loved. I found out about them through stuff my older sister was playing. I know Cynthia was pretty young when she heard Heavenly, too. Their tunes are some of the strongest of the whole Sarah Records roster, which is just my musical blueprint. That label hit me at a time where I was super malleable in terms of the direction my musical taste was headed, but I was absolutely floored and overwhelmed at their discography. I am constantly going back!
JB: The recording process for ‘Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!’ was bi-coastal with involvement from Gary Olson, Alicia Vanden Heuvel, and Fred Thomas. How did these different producers contribute to the overall sound of the album?
CR: Their presence and spending time with them brought something out of us. We had great fun being with them. Not knowing what to expect was great. Whatever we had lying around their studios was put to great use. For instance, Gary had a glockenspiel and a bunch of nice organs that Jo (Roman of Starcleaner Reunion) put to great use. Just tons of great gadgets. Then, in California, I used Alicia’s synthesizer, organ, and bass, with her very own guitar & amp for the songs we recorded with her.
JB: Speaking of Starcleaner Reunion, how did those collaborations with Jo and members of Trinket enrich the songs on ‘Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!’?
CR: Madison (Kate Proffitt, Trinket) actually started playing with us really late into the process, but she was instrumental in finishing up “The View from Your Room.” We created a new part at practice, but it was entirely instrumental, with not much melody going on. But her guitar line over it became almost like an 80’s-ish sounding solo and really emphasized the whole section. Jo from Starcleaner played on a lot of “Same Drop’ and ’The Lindens, The Lindens, The Lindens!’ Again, those songs came together because of her. She provided such a kaleidoscope of sounds, from synthesizers and organs to wood blocks and even glockenspiel! Adam (Kenter) does such a great job of playing 60’s style drums. He is one of mine and Stephen’s favorite people ever, but he was such a quick drummer in the studio. His takes are really good stuff.
JB: In that light, the “Laurel Canyon folky jangle” of ‘Same Drop’ and the “chamber pop” of ‘The View From Your Room’ are mentioned as nodding to the ’60s without feeling antiquated. How do you approach incorporating vintage sounds into a modern context?
CR: ‘The View From Your Room’, especially the guitar lines were actually super influenced by 80’s UK indie pop bands, especially stuff from Glasgow. In particular, The Wake was a huge inspiration to the feel of that song and when we wrote the guitar line, we definitely wanted to head in a ‘Pale Spectre’-esque direction (from The Wake’s “Here Comes Everybody” LP, 1985). Then, the bass and drums were shooting for a sort of Orange Juice*/*Prefab Sprout vibe. But overall, this is just us being ourselves. Our nostalgia for the past and the music we listen to just sort of naturally comes through in creation.
JB: Can you share some insight into the inspiration and musicality of ‘The Lindens, The Lindens, The Lindens!’?
SS: ‘Lindens’ was sort of written in the same session with ‘Same Drop.’ Cynthia came up with the music of ‘Same Drop’ and I came up with the music for ‘Lindens.’ ‘Lindens’ was sort of an ode, musically, to Heavenly. The guitar doing the picking arpeggio into stuttery strumming, the quick hits, the parts that build up and break down, the crazy sort of surf outro… I think all of that stuff was subconsciously influenced by our new bosses.
JB: Cynthia, your vocals are described as “syrupy-sweet,” particularly in regards to ‘Crash Landing of the Clod.’ Can you talk about your vocal approach and how it complements the band’s overall aesthetic?
CR: A lot of anxiety. Especially during the recording process. It’s all so permanent. I’ve got a lot of idols that I’d like to fall in between. Dolly Mixture, Margo, The Pastels, Motown girls… it just depends on the song we’re recording. I write a ton during the process of recording; I particularly like to make a lot of harmony layers. Lately, I’ve liked to leave space in the band for Madison or Jo to come up with their own ideas, during the last album. I really like both bands they play in, so it makes sense to have them involved in adding their own creativity.
JB: The tribute “Me & Amelia Fletcher” fittingly sounds like a long-lost Talulah Gosh track. What is the significance of Amelia Fletcher to Lightheaded, and how did you approach creating this tribute?
SS: Okay, so I know a lot of people have asked about this one. I’ve told quite a few people about this one. But this song was just a response to getting asked to play Heavenly’s first show in America in almost 30 years. This song was just pure joy and excitement over the opportunity to meet Amelia and I guess I was trying the indie pop thing where you write songs about your idols. I just wrote the lyrics to reference a bunch of Amelia Fletcher songs that she wrote over the course of her musical career, like her song ‘Cool Guitar Boy’ (from Heavenly’s “Heavenly vs Satan”, 1991), or her band Marine Research. It’s all quite goofy and silly, but like we said earlier… It is earnest.
JB: Your biography concludes with “Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!” building on your previous releases, sounding “even more perfectly bittersweet and fully-realized.” In what ways do you feel this EP represents a step forward for Lightheaded?
CR: To me, it feels like a collection of great memories with people who are super important to us. Everyone who we recorded with had an influence shaping the band, so to get to be with them and in these special spaces results in a special record. We really enjoyed recording this. Even before we recorded with them, they were such inspirations to us. This release is a full circle moment.
JB: The band had a breakout year with a European tour and opening for bands like Heavenly and The Softies obviously. How did these experiences shape the band and your perspective on performing your music live?
SS: Funny stories about the Softies, we did play with them twice this year and couldn’t have had two more opposite experiences. When we played with them in Glasgow during Glas-Goes Pop, we were in the midst of being on fire during a two week UK tour. It was a memorably great live show and performance from the band. On the flip side, two months later in Philadelphia, we opened up for the Softies and were fully expecting to give a riveting performance for the ages. One they would reference in the scribes of indie pop history forever. Instead, our drummer got sick and told us they couldn’t make it the day of the show when we were all on our way. We had a friend who was at the show ask if we wanted him to fill in on drums, but we had never played with him for a second before playing to a sold-out crowd in Philadelphia. This is usually the Lightheaded way! Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it does not work. This time… it did not work (laughs). So maybe that last experience has shaped our perspective because we will now practice once with a back-up drummer before we play a sold-out show with them! We may have learned a lesson.
Upcoming performances
October 30: Sip Studios – Jersey City, NJ
w/ Giant Day, Joycleaner, Wild Carnation
To have a listen or to purchase, please visit Lightheaded’s Bandcamp or their labels Slumberland Records in the U.S. and Skep Wax in the UK. Reach out on Lightheaded’s socials Instagram and Facebook for more information.
