Siberia - Lights [Toronto] Album Review

Lights

Album Review

After a 10 date tour of the UK throughout February 2012, Canada's latest musical export, a 24 year old whose passport bears the name Lights Poxleitner, gets her second LP released on March 12th via the same label, that brought us the likes of Crystal Castles, Metric and Death From Above 1979, the brilliant Last Gang Records. Since Canada released the great plague of Justin Bieber and almost single-handedly destroyed every brain cell of our children I think it about time they made up for it and Lights might just be the answer, bringing with her a wave of electro sounds and an arsenal of beats, 2012 could be her year.

Following exposure to the trend of Dubstep and a chance meeting with fellow Canadians Holy F%*K when they both played Reading & Leeds Festival's Dance Stage in 2011, it led Lights to setup a jamming session with Brian Borchedt and Graham Walsh and what followed became the initial steps towards 'Siberia'.

Album opener is an euphoric mix of synths, heavy beats, catchy hooks and soft vocals that together make 'Siberia' feel instantly familiar, and despite the fast paced beats Lights vocals give the track an openness and depth that many Electro acts would give their favourite synthesiser for. 'Everybody Breaks A Glass' weaves in and out of heavy verses and gentle choruses with a heavy bass climax featuring rising rapper Shad, while the ballad like 'Heavy Rope' is a much slower beat driven song that shows off Lights beautiful voice, the line "Come bail me out of this god forsaken precipice" is delivered so gently that it could make the hardest of men weep. 'Suspension' is a dance track just waiting to explode onto the UK's dance floors; the song grows into an epic mass of bouncy tunes that are sure to whip crowds into frenzy. The real downside to 'Siberia' as an album is the ending. 'Day One' is about as enjoyable as being stabbed and clocking in at 8 minutes 57 seconds it's a long attack on the ears, it is almost criminal but thanks to technology if you download the album or burn it on your MP3 library then you can just delete that track.

I have to admit on first listen I thought Lights sounded like a poor rip off of Ladyhawke but after spending more time with Lights, the record really grew on me and although my days of hitting the clubs are truly over when I listen to Lights I do feel ever so slightly younger.

Adam Hardy