The Listening (Lights album)

"Lions!" redirects here. For other uses, see Lions (disambiguation).

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]

The Listening
Studio album by Lights
Released	September 22, 2009 (2009-09-22)
Recorded	2006–09
Studio	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 indietronica[1] 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[5]
CHARTattack	[6]
NME	1/5[7]
PopMatters	8/10[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' "overproduced" vocals and "dreadful" songwriting with rote melodies and instrumentation, calling it a "painfully saccharine" cross between Owl City and Ashlee Simpson.^[7]

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

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

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

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[17]	Platinum	80,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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