The Listening (Lights album)

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The Listening
Studio album by
Lights
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2009 (2009-09-22)
Recorded2006–09
The Salt Room Studios
The Red Room Studios
(St. Catharines, Ontario)
Sony ATV Launch Pad Studios
(Toronto, Ontario)
Chalice Recording Studios
(Hollywood, Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length43:18
Label
Producer
  • Lights
  • Thomas "Tawgs" Salter
  • Dave "Dwave" Thomson
Lights chronology
Lights
(2008) 		The Listening
(2009) 		Acoustic
(2010)
Singles from The Listening
  1. "Saviour"
    Released: July 13, 2009
  2. "Ice"
    Released: October 12, 2009
  3. "Second Go"
    Released: February 16, 2010

The Listening is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic recording artist Lights. It was released on September 22, 2009, by Sire Records, with global distribution handled by parent Warner Music Group, although in Lights' native Canada the album is released instead by Universal Music Canada under licence. By July 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), denoting sales in excess of 80,000 copies.[2][3] The liner notes for The Listening thank, among others: "Jesus for giving me everything I have" as well as Skate4Cancer and Wonder Woman.[4]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blogcriticspositive[5]
CHARTattack[6]
NME1/5[7]
PopMatters8/10[8]
Toronto Star[9]

The Listening received generally positive reviews from music critics. Billboard contributor Mark Sutherland called the album a more accessible take on UK electronic music artists like Little Boots and La Roux.[10] Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star said that people who can get past the saccharine preciousness, overuse of the vocoder and its "decidedly sleepy tone" will find an album that "actually proves itself a lot more inventive and unpredictable than its trappings initially betray."[9] Camilla Pia from NME panned the record for Lights' vocals being "overproduced" and containing "dreadful" songwriting with rote melodies and instrumentation, calling it a "painfully saccharine" cross between Owl City and Ashlee Simpson.[7]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Saviour"
  • Lights Poxleitner
  • Thomas "Tawgs" Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
3:29
2."Drive My Soul"
  • Poxleitner
  • Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
3:21
3."River"
  • Poxleitner
  • Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
3:04
4."The Listening"
  • Poxleitner
  • Dave "Dwave" Thomson
  • Lights
  • Thomson
3:36
5."Ice"
  • Poxleitner
  • Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
2:56
6."Pretend"Poxleitner
  • Lights
  • Salter
3:23
7."The Last Thing on Your Mind"Poxleitner
  • Lights
  • Thomson
3:20
8."Second Go"Poxleitner
  • Lights
  • Thomson
3:16
9."February Air"
  • Poxleitner
  • Thomson
  • Lights
  • Thomson
3:49
10."Face Up"
  • Poxleitner
  • Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
3:26
11."Lions!"
  • Poxleitner
  • Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
3:18
12."Quiet"
  • Poxleitner
  • Thomson
  • Lights
  • Thomson
3:15
13."Pretend (Reprise)"PoxleitnerLights3:05
Total length:43:18
iTunes bonus tracks[11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Saviour" (Colin Munroe's Unsung Mix)
  • Poxleitner
  • Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
  • Munroe
3:21
15."Saviour" (The Angry Kids FM Mix)
  • Poxleitner
  • Salter
  • Lights
  • Salter
  • The Angry Kids
3:45
16."Up Up and Away"Poxleitner
  • Lights
  • Thomson
4:20
Total length:54:42

Personnel[edit]

Adapted credits from the liner notes of The Listening.[12]

  • Lights – vocals, production (all tracks); mixing (track 13); layout, design
  • The Angry Kids – additional production, remixing (track 15)
  • Garnet Armstrong – layout, design
  • João Carvalho – mastering
  • Caitlin Cronenberg – photography
  • Matt Green – engineering
  • Colin Munroe – remixing (track 14)
  • Thomas "Tawgs" Salter – production (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15); mixing (tracks 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (tracks 1, 5)
  • Dave "Dwave" Thomson – production, mixing (tracks 4, 7–9, 12, 16)
  • Lee Towndrow – photography

Charts[edit]

Chart (2009–10) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 7
Greek Albums (IFPI)[14] 34
US Billboard 200[15] 129
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[16] 4

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[17] Platinum 80,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Country Date Label
Canada September 22, 2009[18] Universal Music, Lights Music
United States October 6, 2009[1] Sire Records, Lights Music
United Kingdom May 17, 2010[19] Warner Bros. Records

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Collar, Matt. "The Listening – Lights". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  2. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification". Canadian Recording Industry Association. October 2010. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  3. ^ Felgueiras, Tony (November 19, 2010). "LIGHTS Golden". Toro. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  4. ^ The Listening (liner notes). Lights. Universal Music Canada. 2009. 0252712881.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Richardson, Jordan (October 5, 2009). "Music Review: Lights – The Listening". Blogcritics. Technorati. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Harper, Kate (October 7, 2009). "LIGHTS – The Listening". CHARTattack. Chart Communications. Archived from the original on October 20, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ a b Pia, Camilla (March 24, 2010). "Album review: Lights – 'The Listening' (Warners)". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Fairall, Jer (January 29, 2010). "Lights: The Listening". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Rayner, Ben (September 22, 2009). "Lights: The Listening". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  10. ^ Sutherland, Mark (October 9, 2009). "Lights, "The Listening"". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  11. ^ "The Listening (Bonus Track Version) by Lights". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  12. ^ The Listening (liner notes). Lights. Universal Music Canada. 2009. 0252712881.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Lights Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  14. ^ "Greekcharts.com – Lights – The Listening". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  15. ^ "Lights Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  16. ^ "Lights Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  17. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Lights – The Listening". Music Canada.
  18. ^ "LISTENING by LIGHTS". HMV Canada. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  19. ^ "Lights: Listening". HMV. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
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