An Entire Experience
Lights created her own universe through her new album Skin&Earth, which goes hand-in-hand with her comic as well. From start to finish, it’s easy to get lost in the world of Lights, and even easier to listen to her on repeat.
The album starts off strong with the intro leading perfectly into the second track on the album titled “Skydiving.” This track has a vibe to it that is best described as her old sound revamped. It feels like a Lights song, but the vocals and beat have a certain maturity to them that is hard to ignore. It definitely stands out early in the album.
“Until the Light” is the next track on the album and Lights’ airy vocals on it are the type that can cause chills. The lyrics on this track do a great job of painting a picture, which seems to be the end goal for Lights with this album and comic book combo. This was another track that showcased a more mature feeling to her vocals, making for another outstanding track on the album.
The lyrics in “New Fears” take the cake on Skin&Earth. From the beginning of this track, it is easy to feel the emotions that are meant to be felt while listening to this track. The chorus is entirely beautiful, with one of the best lyrics in the entire song being, “I will back you up, I will show you love, I will give you all I got ‘til I cannot / hold on tight, I’m breathing, breathing for you.” Lights goes about singing this song with such a passion, it’s hard not to love the idea of someone taking on all of their fears so they can succeed. This track feels like the perfect fit for an epic scene in a comic book, which might be exactly what Lights was going for.
The next track that really stands out on Skin&Earth is “We Were Here.” This one stands out mainly for the musical aspect of it. It starts off with a chill vibe to it, where the lyrics feel very rhythmic and then when the chorus hits it has the feeling of an instant dance party. It continues to change back and forth between these two vibes, which makes for a fresh and interesting track throughout.
The next track, “Kicks,” is very reminiscent of some of Lights older work. The upbeat feel in the music along with the subtle yell-singing in the chorus brings up memories of “Up We Go” off of Little Machines in 2014. It’s definitely less dramatic than other tracks on the album, but makes for a great feel-good anthem on the album. This is a track that would make for a great time at a live show.
“Magnetic Field” flips this idea of a feel-good anthem on its head. It seems like such a simple track with there not being much to the beat and it featuring the soft vocals of Lights; however, it is more than that. This is a track that begs for the listeners to completely surrender themselves to the song and pay close attention to every little piece of it. It is a beautiful track that really shows the raw talent of Lights in all capacities with the music, vocals and lyrics.
The fun and quirky personality of Lights is fully encompassed in the second to last song on the album, “Fight Club.” Right off the bat, it is a song that is sure to get people moving and once the chorus starts this feeling is double fold. There is a line in the chorus, “come and show me what you’re made of” that stands out due to Lights’ unique voice. In that split second, it is easy to understand why so many people have loved her music for so long. There are so many layers to this song that it never gets old to listen to – not even on the 30th listen in one day.
Skin&Earth ends on a strong note, just as it had started, with the last track, “Almost Had Me.” This is the second track on the album that Josh Dun from Twenty One Pilots did drums for, and it was the perfect addition to an already strong track. This track takes everything great about a Lights song and turns it up to 11, making for one of the strongest tracks to end an amazing album on.
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