Distant Lights (song)
| "Distant Lights" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Ivy | ||||
| from the album All Hours | ||||
| B-side | "Lost in the Sun" | |||
| Released | June 7, 2011 | |||
| Format | ||||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:23 | |||
| Label | Nettwerk | |||
| Writer(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Ivy singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Distant Lights" is a song recorded by American indie rock band Ivy. It was released as the lead single from their sixth studio album, All Hours (2011). It was issued in the United States on June 7, 2011 as a CD single and digital download by Nettwerk. The single was written and produced by Adam Schlesinger and Andy Chase.
After its release, "Distant Lights" received highly positive reviews from music critics who noted the track for being "completely different" compared to Ivy's previous material; however, some reviewers found the track to be "boring" and "outdated". The track was made available as a free download for a short amount of time in support of the release of All Hours.
Background
After the release of In the Clear (2005), Ivy embarked on an extended hiatus to focus their time on their children and solo careers.[1] Members Adam Schlesinger was busy with his side projects Fountains of Wayne, while Andy Chase was working on a new band named Brookville; they worked on a new record briefly in 2008, even completing eighty-percent of the project.[2] However, after listening to the completed material, they found it to be "awful"; Chase stated that "it was the first time we doubted whether we even had another Ivy album left in us."[2]
Afraid that Ivy would become "unrecognizable" and "boring", Durand stated "I really can't stand when I see musicians, great songwriters, and after having kids they become so boring, I talk about that all day. I don't need to talk about that in my songs," concluding, "I need escape."[3] Durand was determined to create "the best album yet" and set up dates and recording sessions with Chase and Schlesinger to work on what would become All Hours.[2] The new album explores new genres for Ivy, including EDM and electronic music, something Chase stated "seem[ed] natural and makes sense."[2]
Composition and release
"Distant Lights" was written and produced by Adam Schlesinger and Andy Chase. According to Nettwerk, the single "is a slow-building, hypnotic and danceable track that manages to sound simultaneously like classic Iby and nothing they've ever done before."[1] In a review by Lauren Stern of Pop Break, she called the single "completely different" compared to Ivy's previous material.[2] In an interview with Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone, Durand stated that "'Distant Lights' is, in a sense, the most important song on All Hours. It's the song that created and led to the direction of this record"; in the same interview, Rosen claimed that the track had a "sleek beat, wistful melody and a vaguely noirish scene in a voice pitched halfway between a coo and a sigh".[4]
The single was released on June 7, 2011 via the iTunes Store and as a CD single; the track came with B-side single "Lost in the Sun".[5] It became Ivy's first single release since 2005's "Feel So Free". A remix EP was released on January 20, 2012 in the United States and France and featured the original composition, a Douze remix, and a Douze dub of the single.[6]
Critical reception
"Distant Lights" received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone praised the single for being "seductive",[4] while Frank Mojica of Consequence of Sound called the "essential" track the "perfect choice for a lead single," further stating "'Distant Lights' is the most danceable work from Ivy yet".[7] John Bergstrom, writing for PopMatters, was impressed by the single, stating that "it sounds deceptively effortless".[8] Kaitlyn Henaghan of Buzz Weekly found it to be "the obvious choice for a single, as it is extraordinarily catchy with a great, upbeat melody".[9] In a negative review, Shawn Connelly of SecretSoundShop found the track "boring" and "outdated".[10]
Track listings and formats
| United States digital download[5] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Distant Lights" | 5:23 |
| 2. | "Lost in the Sun" | 3:27 |
| United States & France Remix EP[6] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Distant Lights" | 5:23 |
| 2. | "Distant Lights (Douze Remix)" | 5:43 |
| 3. | "Distant Lights (Douze Dub)" | 5:56 |
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from All Hours liner notes and Ivy's AllMusic discography.[11][12]
- Personnel
|
|
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States[5] | June 7, 2011 | CD single, digital download | Nettwerk |
| United States[6] | January 30, 2012 | Remix EP | |
| France[6] | |||
References
- 1 2 "News". Ivy. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Stern, Lauren (3 October 2011). "Interview: Ivy". Pop Break. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ↑ NPR Staff (24 September 2011). "Ivy: Speaking The Shared Language Of Pop". NPR Music. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- 1 2 Rosen, Jody (27 September 2011). "Free Download: Ivy's Seductive Single 'Distant Lights'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Lost in the Sun - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "Ivy – Distant Lights (Douze Remixes)". Discogs. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ↑ Mojica, Frank (16 September 2011). "Ivy All Hours". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ↑ Bergstrom, John (28 September 2011). "Ivy – All Hours". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ↑ Benaghan, Kaitlyn (20 October 2011). "Ivy – All Hours". Buzz Weekly. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ↑ Connelly, Shawn (13 October 2011). "Album Review: Ivy – All Hours". Secret Sound Shop. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ↑ All Hours (Liner notes). Ivy (band). New York City, New York: Nettwerk. 2011.
- ↑ "Ivy – All Hours: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||