New Waves.. LIGHTS - 'Suspension' (Acoustic)

I love me some Lights! I really do.

When I first came across the intergalactic sounding electro-pop of The Listening, I admit, it took me a while to warm to her; her voice came across as nasally through the auto-tune which, whilst used for effect, she definitely did not need. Since then, we have had her second album, 2011's Siberia, which saw the singer-songwriter get more experimental and eclectic, switching the previously sugary sounding keytar for crunchy synths, however prior to that we had the LIGHTS Acoustic EP where - stripped of all distractions - Lights' voice truly had a chance to shine on delicate reinterpretations of her debut album (plus a cheeky cover of Rancid's 'Fall Back Down' to boot!).

Now, Lights is back with Siberia Acoustic, a project she has been working on since the inception of Siberia itself - one which many of her many fans had been anticipating, myself included - and which was finally exposed to the world in late April. Whilst LIGHTS Acoustic was merely an EP, Siberia Acoustic is a full album of re-compositions which show the songs in an entirely different, er, light. It highlights the potential diversity of the songs, indeed, there are a number which sound superior to the originals in their new guises, instead of merely 'different' in their new interpretations.

My favourite just so happens to be 'Suspension' - a song that also happened to be my favourite from the original album (listen to the original here)! So, here's some Lights at 30,000 feet :)

Enjoy!

Are you a LIGHTS fan? Do you prefer her electronic or acoustic music? What did you think of her cover of Rancid's 'Fall Back Down'?

PS. Here's the making of Siberia Acoustic.

Lights is currently doing an acoustic tour through the US and Canada.
Siberia Acoustic is out now.


http://music.iamlights.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lights
https://twitter.com/lights

New Waves.. LIGHTS - 'Timing Is Everything'

And now, a bit of LIGHTS to perk up these dark days!

For some reason, this video isn't listed on a YouTube search and can only be found with a direct link (CONFUSED!), but it's on LIGHTS' own YouTube channel, so it must be official.

You may be unaware, but I adore LIGHTS, she's a talented and cute soul! The next single, taken from her second album, Siberia, is 'Timing Is Everything', lyrically concerning how unpredictable life and love can be. She is probably also the only artist that I've come across who has managed to put the phrase 'different trajectories' successfully into a song (There I was, none the wiser/ Both of us/ Different trajectories).

The video itself is pretty weird; lots of gym exercising, dancing and shiny spandex, which I suppose is meant to highlight the song's theme's of love springing from unexpected places. My favourite LIGHTS video will most likely always be the one for 'Second Go', the attack of Coloured Paint VS. White House! You could tell it was a one take job, they would have been totally screwed if it had gone wrong!

LIGHTS is currently on her final 2012 US tour for Siberia.

http://music.iamlights.com/
https://twitter.com/lights
http://www.facebook.com/lights

Rapid Review.. Ellie Goulding - 'Halcyon'

Again, not so rapid! Apologies, apologies! It's my own fault, recently I've just been trying to keep on top of reading and seeing family and friends and the boyf and generally pondering the point of my own existence to really commit to on here, or writing and drawing or anything of purpose in general.

I know, I know, by my own admission, my excuses are getting old, and now I appear to be rambling, but a combination of all of these little things led me to not keeping up to date with music in general, procrastination for the nation!

(Deeeeep breath!) To la review!

Ellie Goulding's woken up!

Her second album, Halcyon, far surpasses both her début and extended editions (Lights and Bright Lights - old old review!) which, similarly to Marina and the Diamonds' The Family Jewels and Electra Heart, slips into an unsatisfying mid-tempo slumber a third in. Halcyon, however, is slathered in synths, and as much as Goulding denies boyfriend, Skrillex's influence on her work, it can't be denied, as this is an oddly workable combination of folk-pop and commercial dubstep.

Luckily, there are many songs superior to the aggravatingly repetitive 'Anything Can Happen', and why she chose that as the lead single, I'll never know. 'Figure 8' for example, is far superior and immediate and would sound huge live. That said, this entire album is far more upbeat and memorable; the gems are surprisingly again hidden on the deluxe release, namely 'Ritual', 'In My City' and 'Without Your Love' all being brilliant additions.

A few collaborations are snuck in here too, the Calvin Harris song 'I Believe Your Love', as well as the teaser track that Goulding released a few months back, 'Hanging On' (feat. Tinie Tempah (review here!), is also on here, as well as an alternate, albeit un-extended version of the track minus his cliché rap efforts.

Forgetting those, it is worth a second to state that Halcyon appears a far more mature and experimental effort than the first; at times it is dark and haunting in sound ('Don't Say A Word'), whilst lyrically it seems less naive, but always always with pop sentiments close at heart. It's say to say that Halcyon was the surprise of my week; a die hard fan of Goulding's first album, I doubted that it's successor would live up to the recent hype surrounding Goulding, but it did, and for that I'm glad!

Goulding tours the UK in December!

O2 Academy Bristol (December 7)
O2 Academy Liverpool (8)
Nottingham Rock City (11)
O2 Brixton Academy (12)
O2 Academy Glasgow (13)
O2 Academy Leeds (15)
O2 Academy Birmingham (16)
Manchester Academy (17)
Southampton Guildhall (18)

http://elliegoulding.com/
https://twitter.com/elliegoulding
http://www.facebook.com/elliegoulding

Flux and Flow

ALEXISONFIRE TICKETS ARE HEEEEERRRRRREEEEEEE!!

Ahem.. excuse me... but apart from that!

Been a quiet one this week - apologies apologies! I finished work at the factory last Friday, and since then I've just had a bit of a laze and seen some friends and spent some quality time with my nan and grandad :) I have a ton of reading to do for uni that I need to get on top of too (about 12 books!), plus job search, and I'd like to try paint/draw some more too. Also, upkeeping this blog (because all writing is practice!) and getting back into writing fiction and fan-fiction - yes, I was one of those in a former life! - is something to keep me busy too.

I'm currently catching up on Reading & Leeds 2012 highlights, and watching The Maccabees, The Cure and Florence and the Machine atm, although I'll probably watch as much as the highlights as I can by later. I'm totally jealous of my friend who spent the entire weekend at Reading, it sounded like it was an absolute blast!  I've often struggled to justify the price of festivals due to the ticket prices compared to the amount of bands that I'd want to see, but my friend said that they saw at least 20-25 bands with only occasional overlaps, and apart from that there was tents with various activities and shopping and things going on, which was more than I'd ever thought was there to be honest, so I think next year I'll definitely have to go! Plus Muse are due for the festival circuit next year (though I have a feeling that they'll opt for Glastonbury) so I'll definitely put some effort into getting down there!

Apart from that, I've not much to say for now, but I think I may leave you with a LIGHTS live set just to give this post some purpose :) She's talented and a total beaut!

Rapid Review.. Ellie Goulding - 'Hanging On' feat. Tinie Tempah

Slightly late on the uptake (again!), this one managed to slip me by! As an Ellie Goulding fan, I'm a tad a shamed to say that I had absolutely no idea that she had a new song/single out.

'Hanging On', a cover of a song by Active Child, enters with a harp and Goulding's ethereal tones, before becoming slightly more electronic, reminding me somewhat of Patrick Wolf's signiature delicate blend of folk and synth, until a deep underlying bass enters and turns the gentle atmosphere on its head. This is especially reinforced by the time Tinie Tempah's contribution comes around. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a person who pans rap/hip hop/pop rap 100% of the time, but there's something predictable about rapper features, it's old game, and this song would have been perfect without his efforts. On the opposite note, the song is at its most ominous during Tinie Tempah's speak/rap, weaving into Goulding's voice which is, as always, is in tip top beautiful condition.

The song, talking about a painful deterioration of a relationship, is also clearly musically influenced by the dubstep sounds of her current boyfriend, Skrillex, whose signiature sound can be heard at times. This could easily have been quite a disaster, but with this fresher new electronic path, I really can't wait for Goulding's album to come out. Alongside fellow Brit and newcomer, Charli XCX, I really feel that she will be defining a female indie/electronic sound that has the potential to cross over to the charts.

The song is currently available as a FREE(!) download via a link on her Soundcloud.

'Anything Could Happen', the first single from her second album, is out 20th September.

Her album, Halcyon, will be released 8th October.

http://elliegoulding.com/
https://twitter.com/elliegoulding/
http://www.facebook.com/elliegoulding