Little Machines

LIGHTS
Little Machines
Warner Bros. Records, Inc., 2014

Upbeat electro pop from Canada indie/electro-alt royalty. High-pitched female vocals and pulsing synth placed front and center, along with some clever sampling, well-mixed filtering/reverb (all the reverb), and strong 80s influence. Slightly reminiscent of CHVRCHES or a more radio-friendly Sky Ferreira.

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***1. (4:29) Starts with solo vox, low drum beats, light guitar strumming and layered harmonization. Subtle build up; ethereal, beautiful. Best on the album.
*2. (4:13) Catchy, poppy—pretty sure this is the single. Supporting guitar has traces of 80s influence. Very throw-your-hands-up, summer-nights inspired.
3. (2:51) Buzzy synth backing, jingly-jangly melody. Slightly echoey, yelling vox. Anthem-y.
4. (4:35) Cool effect from vocal layering that’s worth checking out, but a weiiiird synth on the chorus feels a bit out of place.
*5. (3:27) Night drive vibe. Bouncy melody drives the song, and there’s a nice 80s/90s/Twin Peaks-sounding guitar sampled in there.
*6. (3:36) Synth beeps and boops open the song, prevalent throughout. Nice backing “ooh”s and “aah”s. Head-boppy.
**7. (3:12) Darker and slightly ballad-y. Great vox, nice job with reverb effect. I’m a fan of the way the track builds up—sweeping, smooth harmonizing, lots of interesting layering.
**8. (3:24) The guitar sampling here is a bit subdued, but really great detail/touch. Synth has lots of fun moving with the pace and pitch of lead vox; creates some kind of audible waves.
9. (3:22) More beeps and hoops! Vox reach borderline yelling. Prevalent 80s influence, especially in the chorus. Harmless, solid track.
10. (3:04) Power-rock ballad-esque drums, some fun with keys. Great bridge/build-up two minutes in isolates reverbed vox. Very radio-friendly.
*11. (3:37) Layered on simple/filtered keys, synth beeps and subdued percussion. Vox front and center, dramatic and loud.