To fully understand what went into Some Racing, Some Stopping, one must first understand what led up to it. Since Headlights' formation in 2004, the band has toured virtually nonstop, playing over 300 shows in the past two and a half years in support of its debut The Enemies EP and its stunning 2006 full-length Kill Them With Kindness.

Based around Tristan Wraight's acoustic guitar and Erin Fein's keyboards, the songs on Some Racing, Some Stopping purposefully lack much of the spacey atmospherics that define the band's earlier work. Instead the album is steeped in a classic pop sensibility, reminiscent of the '60s, Brill Building song craft, and Phil Spector production.

Songs like the chiming, harmonic "Catch Them All," the light and airy "Cherry Tulips," the solemn "January," and the driving, string-touched "Market Girl" are evidence of an album that is more focused than any of the band's past work.