Band: Lights
Album: Lights
Genre: Electronic Pop
Label: Doghouse

Tracks:
1. Ice
2. Drive My Soul
3. February Air
4. White
5. I Owe You One
6. The Last Thing on Your Mind

We all have those bands we find online and think deserve a lot more exposure because they are phenomenal. For me, one of those “bands” has, for quite awhile, been Lights. This Canadian songstress mixes hauntingly beautiful vocals and pop stylings with synth and key based sounds to create a refreshing sound that should have no problem climbing into the top 40 charts across the country. The debut EP entitled Lights showcases the best of what this one girl [who has a full band live] has created in her bedroom and welcomes us all to the new dawn in the industry; the beginning of Lights and her takeover of America.

Now, from the people I’ve shared this girl with, everyone seems to have a seperate favorite track, but for me, it doesn’t get any better than the lead song, “Ice.” From a simply rhythm introduction to a well timed bass hit, the music for this tracks seems to swell as the vocals come in and scream”play me on the radio.” If that isn’t enough, the chorus could fit easily into any nightclub setting, but the song itself has the some depth even with the fun tones the music takes. I mean, comparing a relationship where one’s heart has turned to ice is not a new concept, but it feels fresh here and the bridge, if you can keep up, is absolutely addictive. It doesn’t hurt that the line “ice ice baby,” was fit into the track without coming across as too ridiculous. A moment of pure vocals, no accompaniment ends the song before the much more mellow, “Drive My Soul,” takes over your ears. The multiple vocal tracks and crescendo-ing synth notes shine the most hear. The song itself, to me, is one of the weaker ones on the disc, but there’s something about it you can simply groove to. you know those songs that just sync up with your very being and almost relax you they’re so comfortable with you? That’s this track. “February Air,” a much more approachable song than the last, keeps the near hushed vocal work, but it fits much better hear. Too many bands today fall into a rut of using similar synth effects on every song, but Lights has yet to duplicate anything and that holds true for this song even more. The real beat of the track is just so driving that even though the vocals move a bit slower, you feel like it’s continuously building and moving forward.

For the fourth track, “White,” we get a beat that sounds like something that could have fallen off of Madonna’s Ray of Light album and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. This song has a chorus that simply floats to the rafters and through the ceiling of wherever you’re playing it. No speaker can retain the sounds this song puts fourth. If a major were to hear this, I don’t think anyone would be able to walk away. It’s simply great. However, I can’t say that I’m quite as ecstatic about, “I Owe you One.” The vocals have this schoolgirl innocence to them, like reading a diary, but the music feels a bit too much out of the mid 1980’s for the track to do too much. It just seems like this track is a bit unfinished when compared to everything else. I mean, I’m all for a more stripped down sound every now and then, but this is a bit much. Luckily, “The Last Thing On Your Mind,” comes in to finish things off on a skyrocketing high note. They say all you need is one song to seal a career and if that’s the case, it’s located on track six of this EP. Lyrically, it’s the most developed and full song on the disc with greatly toned vocals to match. Everything just flows and builds and hits so right you want to tell your friends about it before it even ends once. In fact, while writing this review, I called [UTG] JP into the room just to hear this exact song. There could be no better closer for this EP than this song. It’s a 10/10 on it’s own.

Everyone needs to strap in and climb aboard the Lights train because it’s headed straight to the top of the charts. Forget about female pop vocalists who sing prewritten lyrics to instrumental tracks, this is the real deal and ten times better. This isn’t a gimmick, it’s pop music with heart and it’s gorgeous. Though there are some rough patches, as a whole, Lights leaves us with a grin and an itching to share her music with anyone and everyone we can [and we should!]. This disc drops on Sept. 23rd in the USA, so start counting change and pre-order this record right now.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 8.5/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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