The Listening (Lights album)

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	Synthpop electropop new wave indie pop
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

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Billboard	positive[2]
Blogcritics	positive[3]
CHARTattack	4/5[4]
NME	2/10[5]
PopMatters	8/10[6]
Sputnikmusic	3.5/5[7]
Toronto Star	[8]

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 October 2010, the album was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), denoting sales in excess of 40,000 copies.^[9][10]

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[11]
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

• 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 Towndrown – photography

Charts

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

Release history

Country	Date	Label
Canada	September 22, 2009[14]	Universal Music, Lights Music
United States	October 6, 2009[1]	Sire Records, Lights Music
United Kingdom	May 17, 2010[15]	Warner Bros. Records

References

1. Collar, Matt. "The Listening – Lights". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
2. Sutherland, Mark (October 9, 2009). "Lights, "The Listening"". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
3. Richardson, Jordan (October 5, 2009). "Music Review: Lights – The Listening". Blogcritics. Technorati. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
4. Harper, Kate (October 7, 2009). "LIGHTS – The Listening". CHARTattack. Chart Communications. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
5. Pia, Camilla (March 24, 2010). "Album review: Lights – 'The Listening' (Warners)". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
6. Fairall, Jer (January 29, 2010). "Lights: The Listening". PopMatters. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
7. Driver, David (September 29, 2009). "Lights – The Listening". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
8. Rayner, Ben (September 22, 2009). "Lights: The Listening". Toronto Star (Torstar). Retrieved October 23, 2009.
9. "Gold & Platinum Certification". Canadian Recording Industry Association. October 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
10. Felgueiras, Tony (November 19, 2010). "LIGHTS Golden". Toro. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
11. "The Listening (Bonus Track Version) by Lights". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
12. "The Listening – Lights". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
13. "Lights – The Listening". IFPI Greece. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
14. "LISTENING by LIGHTS". HMV Canada. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
15. "Lights: Listening". HMV. Retrieved January 25, 2011.