“There’s More to Life Than Crooks” by Lightning in a Twilight Hour

Why did nobody tell me that Bobby Wratten has a new dream pop project? Lightning in a Twilight Hour isn’t all that dissimilar from Wratten’s iconic work in The Field Mice and Trembling Blue Stars. The band’s latest single, “There’s More to Life Than Crooks,” is filled with shimmering guitars and moody synths, while Wratten still sounds as lovelorn as he did on albums like 1998’s Where’d You Learn to Kiss That Way? and Lips That Taste of Tears.

This time, however, his lyrics seem less about heartache and unrequited love, and more about our current socio-political situation. He delivers trenchant observations (“Some saw it all the same/But wouldn’t believe their eyes/Some knowing wrong from right/Couldn’t locate a spine”) as well as poignant exhortation:

And as you see him being let off all the hooks
(Illuminate what’s tender, illuminate what’s wise)
Remember there is more, more to life than crooks
(Don’t let yourself surrender to feeling occupied)

I have to say, I didn’t expect social commentary from Bobby Wratten in the Year of our Lord 2025. But in an age where outrage is everywhere and vitriol undergirds our political discourse, a gentle reminder to “illuminate what’s tender” is refreshing.

“There’s More to Life Than Crooks” is currently available from Elefant Records.