Valerie Poxleitner has been a very busy girl. The 21-year-old Canadian singer, who goes by the stage name Lights, is popular amongst synth-pop listeners and is busily gathering more fans.
Synth-pop is being heard more and more often by radio listeners especially from the new influx of female singers like Katy Perry. Those who do not know her by name at least know her music. In 2008, Old Navy featured numerous commercials, mostly in spring, which used her music.
That same year Lights released an EP of six of her most popular songs. Her self-titled EP includes songs like “Drive My Soul,” “February Air,” and “The Last Thing on Your Mind.” Her breathy, helium infused voice is almost drowned out by the thin, dissonant beat.
The beat drowns out all thought processes by the incessant chaos that is sythn-pop. Her voice is so high pitched that it causes headaches if you are trying to hear the lyrics of her songs. It sounds like she is perpetually sucking on helium. Her voice never lowers to give the listener a respite. She uses synthetic sounds and forgets about adding in more bass. The result is “muzak,” music that might be good playing in an elevator and not in a dance club.
Her lyrics are unoriginal and bland. Her lyrics are memorable, just not in a good way. They burrow in the brain because they are endlessly repeated throughout the song. “February Air” is a prime example of this. The phrase “My arms get cold/In February air” is repeated at least five times. Her music does not grab people’s attention like the music of peers like Katy Perry. But she does have a group of loyal fans.
While her music leaves a lot to be desired, her dedication to her fans is commendable. In addition to her Web site, which is garishly designed in pink and purple, she has a MySpace page that she regularly updates with information on performances. She also has a YouTube account that has numerous video diary entries that keep the fans in touch with Lights. The weird thing about her YouTube account is that she does not have any music videos on it. She actually looks at fan videos of her songs and picks her favorite ones to put on her site.
This year she started on a tour of the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. She was here in Chicago during Valentine’s Day. Lights is also working on releasing a full album this year. With any luck, the album will not be a total disappointment and pleasing to the ears.