Lights : "A6EXTENDED"

 Canadian pop songwriter Lights released an extended version of her "A6" album with 8 new songs, which is a whole ass album, so those are the songs I am going to cover for this review. It opens with the vibrant bounce of "Education". Her lilting vocals soar over the choruses, where she sings the verses more in her alto register. It works well for what it is, putting her on the tier of songwriters like Halsey and Billie Eilish who are not on Taylor Swift's level. Lead single "Come Get Your Girl" does show she is capable of punching above her weight class as it's a banger that rivals even that top tier I jsut spoke of. 

There is a weird element in play that feels like a weird element of the industry's Lolita fixation, where we have a 38 year old woman sounding like a teenager. She has some effects on her voice, but the singsong qualities possess a sexualized innocence, for better or worse, but the song works. "The City is Falling" has some Cure influence in the single-note guitar melodies as it cruises along an 80s synth-wave groove. There is a more introspective emotion on" This Time TMRW". Similar sounds are employed as in the previous song.

"Learning to Let Go" carries some of the album's msot perfected grooves with an airtight vocal line gliding between the cracks. "Final Round" relaxes into a smoother 80s chill vibe that sounds like Miami after midnight. "Angelina" is a dramatic breakup ballad. I'll round this up to a 10 as there is only one song that needs to grow, and some songs that go above and beyond enough to tip the balance into top-tier pop excellence. She takes what artists like Halsey do and does it better. 

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