Artist: Lights
Release: Siberia Acoustic EP
Release Date: Out Now
‘Siberia’ is the second album from Lights and was released worldwide in October 2011. The singer’s new EP ‘Siberia Acoustic’ takes ten songs from this album and turns them, as the name suggests, acoustic. The EP swaps her signature synth pop beats and dubstep sounds for a completely stripped back record. This is her second acoustic style EP to date and builds on its success.
From the very first note, this record feels extremely chilled out and much more personal than its original. Each song has been altered to reveal more meaning than ever. ‘Cactus in the Valley’, featuring the special addition of Owl City’s Adam Young, creates a whole new dimension with his distinctive voice paired with her soft vocals and piano transforming the track into a sentimental love song. The same can be said for title track ‘Siberia’, which features vocals from Max Kerman.
Without the production that surrounds the songs on ‘Siberia’, this acoustic EP reveals just how great a songwriter she really is. These simplified songs force the attention to her emotional, heartfelt lyrics, almost as if her usual electronics have been hiding these real gems underneath. With just an acoustic guitar to accompany her, you get a real sense of her impressive vocal range, from soft and sombre whispers to powerful high notes.
If you were to listen to ‘Siberia Acoustic’ without having heard any previous works from Lights, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that this is her normal style of music. She has transformed songs usually so full of fast beats and loud drums into peaceful pieces of music that sound like they were made to be sung in such a simple way. With her endearing voice and an acoustic guitar she lays her talents bare and proves that she is not a one trick pony. Releasing such a different version of her extremely popular album is a brave decision that has certainly paid off.
8/10
Reviewer: Claire Rollins
