I admit the only reason I listened to this record is because I liked the album art.
At first, I thought I wouldn’t be able to take this album seriously. It has a childish quality to it. In some ways, it sounds like something you might hear at a kid’s birthday party. You know, the kind of kid’s music that tries to be hip enough for the parents to tolerate.
But Starting To Get Light is no kiddie record. The music isn’t very sophisticated, but the songwriting is solid, the arrangements are clever and well executed, and the lyrics… oh, the lyrics. The songs on Starting To Get Light are about a middle-aged man grappling with the realities of aging in world going crazy.
I’m a bit of a connoisseur of middle age myself, these days. So despite the whimsy of the music, I felt a connection to the themes Ballew explores here.
My favorite song is “Weaponize My Love.” It’s a psychadelic pop tune with a great groove, a catchy melody, and fun vocal harmonies, and lyrics that made my head spin:
Love can be fun but it can also be a gun that kills \ every ounce of empathy with one fatal shot \ loving all the weaponizers isn’t just a hobby it’s an absolute necessity the only chance that we’ve got \ the evolution of the creature and the fear of the preacher \ fighting for the win while everybody starts to rot
I’ll need to be in a special kind of mood to listen to Starting To Get Light again. But I’m glad I gave it a chance. You should, too.
Listen
What is “An Album a Day”?
Each day in 2026, I’m listening to an album that:
- I’ve never heard before
- Was released in the last six months (from the time of listening)