Debut Lights album begs for a ‘Listening’

Lights

The Listening

Sire Records

Sounds Like: Owl City meets The Corrs

Grade:… Lights

The Listening

Sire Records

Sounds Like: Owl City meets The Corrs

Grade: B

Lights’ debut album, The Listening, is a surprisingly enjoyable first release from the electro-pop band.

The mingling of jamming techno beats with an old-school pop sound creates an interesting spin on the genre and is usually pleasing to the ear.

It embraces pop’s ability to carry a beat and allow for a theme about a love or a relationship that’s so frighteningly deep and intense, each lover can’t live without the other.

But nothing is perfect. Out of all the songs, a handful touch on the idea of being more than unhappy with where you are. It’s a little disheartening.

Sure, every person has experienced one of the multiple moments Lights breathes into musical form. On the other hand, it’s probably best to eventually be proactive about one’s life, which is exactly the opposite of what Lights seems to advise in many songs.

Don’t look to this album for much inspiration in that field.

Above all, it’s good entertainment. “Pretend” is an especially sweet track about playing pretend and remembering what it is like to be a kid. There are even two versions of this song for musical lovers: an upbeat techno-mix and a classical piano version.

By the album’s end, though, just don’t forget about moving forward and living for today after waxing nostalgic about your childhood.