The Listening (Lights album)

The Listening is the debut studio album by Canadian 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 Listening
Studio album by Lights
Released	September 22, 2009
Recorded	2006–09 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	Indietronica alternative rock[1]
Length	43:18
Label	Universal Sire
Producer	Lights Thomas "Tawgs" Salter Dave "Dwave" Thomson
Lights chronology
Lights (2008) The Listening (2009) Acoustic (2010)
Singles from The Listening
"Saviour" Released: July 13, 2009 "Ice" Released: October 12, 2009 "Second Go" Released: February 16, 2010

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blogcritics	positive[4]
CHARTattack	4/5[5]
NME	2/10[6]
PopMatters	8/10[7]
Toronto Star	[8]

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.[9] 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."[8] 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.[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(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)"	Poxleitner	Lights	3:05
Total length:				43:18

iTunes bonus tracks[10]

No.	Title	Writer(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

Adapted credits from the liner notes of The Listening.[11]

• 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

Chart (2009–10)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12]	7
Greek Albums (IFPI)[13]	34
US Billboard 200[14]	129
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[15]	4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16]	Platinum	80,000
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

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

References

1. 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. Richardson, Jordan (October 5, 2009). "Music Review: Lights – The Listening". Blogcritics. Technorati. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
5. Harper, Kate (October 7, 2009). "LIGHTS – The Listening". CHARTattack. Chart Communications. Archived from the original on October 20, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
6. Pia, Camilla (March 24, 2010). "Album review: Lights – 'The Listening' (Warners)". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
7. Fairall, Jer (January 29, 2010). "Lights: The Listening". PopMatters. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
8. Rayner, Ben (September 22, 2009). "Lights: The Listening". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
9. Sutherland, Mark (October 9, 2009). "Lights, "The Listening"". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
10. "The Listening (Bonus Track Version) by Lights". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
11. The Listening (liner notes). Lights. Universal Music Canada. 2009. 0252712881.CS1 maint: others (link)
12. "Lights Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
13. "Greekcharts.com – Lights – The Listening". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
14. "Lights Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
15. "Lights Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
16. "Canadian album certifications – Lights – The Listening". Music Canada.
17. "LISTENING by LIGHTS". HMV Canada. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
18. "Lights: Listening". HMV. Retrieved January 25, 2011.