Kevin Bronson on January 26th, 2009

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Wild Light’s reach might have exceeded its grasp on Saturday night at the El Rey Theatre, but the New Hampshire quartet still displayed a keen sense of songcraft that marks them as future contenders.

The foursome writes big anthems that remind you of Arcade Fire, the Killers and U2, and while the material isn’t exactly uncharted pop territory, its engaging themes, sturdy melodies and sing-along qualities can make you leave a venue humming a bit. It has not hurt their fortunes that they’re pals with Win Butler – Tim Kyle was a founding member of Arcade Fire, and Wild Light opened the Canadians’ Hollywood Bowl show in 2007. Or that their debut album, “Adult Nights” (due March 3 on StarTime International), was produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith, et. al.), who was upfront Saturday.

But whether it was the occasionally dodgy sound mix or the fact Wild Light was largely unknown to an El Rey crowd there to see headliner Tapes ‘n Tapes, the quartet didn’t connect strongly Saturday. Not that they sent everybody streaming to the restrooms. It’s just that, until the final two songs of their 45-minute set, their sprawl – which you suspect Schnapf is going to help sound big on their album – felt a Power Bar short of epic. With a month and a half left on tour with Tapes ‘n Tapes, Wild Light has plenty of time to turn it up.