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.

Their first major-label release (for RCA) sees California rockers Lit mellow the grunge-lite-punk-metal assault of their first two albums in favor of airbrushed, radio-friendly power pop. The result is an album that is sonically more focused, with its buzzing guitars and singsong vocals. Lyrically, the Popoff brothers have a way with words, and they lyrics are full of ironic angst and clever self-deprecation. The playing is tight and crisp. A couple of songs really stand out: "Miserable" brings vocalist Jay Popoff's Elvis Costello impression to the fore and "Quicksand" sparkles. ~ Leslie Mathew

Their first major-label release (for RCA) sees California rockers Lit mellow the grunge-lite-punk-metal assault of their first two albums in favor of airbrushed, radio-friendly power pop. The result is an album that is sonically more focused, but it also unfortunately makes the band sound like replicas of a dozen of their post-grunge contemporaries: neither Better Than Ezra or Less Than Jake. There's very little on this album that hadn't been done to death by 1994 -- the buzzing guitars, the whiny, singsong vocals. After a point, everything on A Place in the Sun just folds into a monochromatic, sub-Goo Goo Dolls blur. Lyrically, the Popoff brothers have a way with words, but there's only so much ironic angst and clever self-deprecation you can take at one go. And while the playing is tight and crisp, it is mostly too one-dimensional and by the book to evoke more than feelings of deja vu. Just a couple of songs stand out: "Miserable" brings vocalist Jay Popoff's Elvis Costello impression to the fore and "Quicksand" sparkles briefly. The rest of the time, Lit is merely joining the dots. ~ Leslie Mathew

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.