2005 was good to Lightheaded.  Othello dropped a solo album. Ohmega Watts also caight solo fame with aptly-named The Find.  Braille still sounds like Bootie Brown.  Wrong Way follows the same optimistic tones as the trio embarks on another journal of playful, break-friendly hip-hop.

   Wrong Way is exuberant and cheerful, seemingly incongruous with the rainy Pacific Northwest.  From the horn-kissed interludes and Lightheaded’s playful similies on “In The Buliding” to the hyper-funk and machine-gun bassline on “Uhh!”, Lightheaded is as buoyant as their name suggests.  Ohmega Watts replicates his production efforts from his solo debut as the trio adopts a high-stepping tone to repel the sophomore slump.

   But considering the headlines over the past year, Wrong Way seems a tad inappropriate.  It’s as if they’re blissfully unaware of the 2K5 slide into coke-rap, the decimation of an American city, the dismal US policy situation in Iraq, or, say, global warming.  Dick Cheney is shooting people, for crying out loud.  No, Lightheaded is not The Perceptionists and asking for prophetic pronouncements may be too much.   But can’t they drum up a grain of realism or commentary outside of moaning lost love on “Short Stories” or making vague “down-and-out” statements on “Eye to Eye”?