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

New Waves.. Kate Nash - 'Under-Estimate the Girl'

Kate Nash dropped this song unexpectedly earlier this week. Apparantly it was written, recorded and had a video made in just over 24 hours on Wednesday 13th.

'Under-estimate the Girl' is very unlike the conventional Nash that we're used to on, witty indie pop songs such as 'Foundations', 'Pumpkin Soup' and 'Do-Wah-Doo'. 'Under-estimate the Girl' is unexpectedly aggressive sounding, channelling New Wave influences such as Blondie but with riot grrrl-esque vocals, which don't really work when sung by Nash. Her growl and screech is no where near a 'Kathleen Hanna'.

However, the actual music in the song is right up my alley! I was surprised, I admit; it's been a while since I've actually enjoyed Kate Nash, for me her vocal style has been somewhat annoying, especially on her earlier songs. If her upcoming third album sounds like this, albeit, minus the dodgy vocal style, I'll be rather interested indeed!

http://www.myignorantyouth.com/

https://twitter.com/#!/katenash

Kate Nash tours the UK:

Edinburgh Electric Circus (June 16)
Glasgow King Tuts (17)
Leeds Brudenell (18)
Liverpool Zanzibar (20)
Manchester Deaf Institute (21)
Nottingham Bodega (22)
Birmingham Glee Club (24)
Bristol Thekla (25)
O2 Academy Oxford 2 (26)
Brighton The Haunt (28)
Guildford Boileroom (29)
Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach (30)