Music to be tortured to. The first thing that struck me about this album is the god awful cover art. Obviously the sloppy, avant-garde, “an-elephant-could-have-painted-this” look is what Lights were going for, however, it’s just awful. It’s also a pity that because of it I can barely make out the track listings on the back cover.

Nevertheless, I persist in trying to listen to this album. Unfortunately I am not impressed by the self-indulgent, overbearing vocals of Sophia Knapp that ensue, or the deliberate, also self-conscious, mishmash of instrumentation (I found the fuzzed guitar, bass presence and jaw-harp particularly grating). I know the ‘niche’ sound they are going for, too – think 60s experimental, somewhere between early Pink Floyd and Van Morrison. Like a bad acid trip, this music lacks connection and is often all over the place – whether Lights go out of their way to play their instruments poorly is hard to say. Any glimmers of potential, as seen in track "Break, Run, Fly", are soon eroded by bursts of animalistic panting and piercing screams, for instance. The tracks are also over-long and in general, the music seems a bit flat or dead – again, this is probably deliberate but it’s hard to say.

Maybe you’re supposed to either love or hate Lights, but I had a hard time finding anything to like about this one. 3/10 -- Zac Keiller (17 December, 2008)