“The Saddest Up-Beat Song Ever Made”

Written by Jesse James Smith

Lightyears have been becoming a front runner in the local Sydney pop-punk scene for some time now. Showing promise with their debut EP titled “Bloom!” Which came out in the middle of last year. This Aussie outfit came out of the gate swinging with a dialed in sound that is unique but also unapologetically influenced by their love of the mid 2000’s/10’s pop punk. Wasting no time in 2025, we’re less than 60 days in and the band has already released two new singles, with the newest being ‘Chasing Ghosts’. 

Chasing Ghosts is a personal look into the loss of your first love who was also your best friend. The constant lyric that plays over and over within the song is “The Feeling Of Feeling Alone” which is a very relatable yet thought provoking sentence. Musically, like I said, they are uniquely them yet wear their influences on their sleeve. Chasing Ghosts has the soul and the foundation of Blink 182 and the modern melody and guitar work of Neck Deep. Some would say that’s not a far stretch, but Lightyears come out sounding brand new. Keeping the tempo and a consistent and solid pace, they really focus on atmosphere and vibe making it real easy to just get lost in the music. 

Start to end, the melody especially in the chorus is infectious with widely relatable lyrics that will hook any pop punk fan across the board. There is no denying talent and talent is oozing all over this track and band. For being a relatively new act, Lightyears has it down to a science. While they are still coming up in the Sydney scene, I think the whole world will soon know their name.