Additional personnel: Larry Williams (saxophone); Gary Grant (trumpet); Jerry Hey, Reggie Young (trombone); Niels Bye Nielsen (Mellotron); Don Gilmore (background vocals).

Personnel: Lit (hand claps); A. Jay Popoff (vocals, percussion); Jeremy Popoff (guitar, background vocals); Larry Williams (saxophone); Gary Grant (trumpet); Reggie C. Young , Jerry Hey (trombone); Niels Bye Nielsen (Mellotron); Allen Shellenberger (drums, snare drum); Michael "Elvis" Baskette (hand claps); Don Gilmore (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Brian Malouf; Brian Young .

Recording information: Nrg.

Editor: Daniel Mendez.

Photographer: Dennis Hollinan.

Arrangers: Jerry Hey; Jeremy Popoff.

The musical schizophrenia of Lit's independent release, TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, showed promise but never quite hit the mark. Lit's major-label debut, A PLACE IN THE SUN, puts the band right on target. The band has done away with its unfocused genre-hopping and polished its sound into tight power-pop-punk rock. The group's commercial crossover puts it more in the vein of bands such as Green Day and Eve 6, but the band continues to build on its keen lyrical sensibility.

The opening track, "Four," mixes humorous lyrics with irresistible vocal harmonies. "Quicksand" has the melodic grace one associates with songwriters like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. The dichotomy of "Happy" is clever to say the least, with a perky, up-beat chord progression and lyrics that speak of frustration and the struggle to maintain a positive mindset. A PLACE IN THE SUN serves up its main course with "My Own Worst Enemy." The song's protagonist has woken from a drunken stupor only to find a trail of physical and emotional destruction in his wake. Self-deprecation has rarely been so hilarious and so damn catchy.