Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Aug 19, 2014A power-pop record that’s unfussy in its pursuit of jingle-jangle melodies and circular choruses that linger long after they’re over.
-
Aug 19, 2014While Lights Out is by no means flawless, its success lies in its ability to not only capture that sentiment but to make it so natural and accessible. Strife has never looked brighter.
-
Aug 19, 2014Whatever Bishop Allen's intention, there is a sort of miasma hovering over Lights Out that supports the "sad party album" claim, adhering these clever pop songs together but deflating some of their energy in the process. It's an odd effect making for a pleasurable yet confusing listen.
-
UncutAug 12, 2014It's not earthshaking, but there's nothing wrong with simply being likable. [Sep 2014, p.69]
-
MagnetAug 12, 2014Every song here is perfect, glimmering pop gem--and the lyrics are often brilliant--but they're played with a measured precision and lack of dynamic range that makes it hard to differentiate one from the other as the LP unfolds. [No. 112, p.52]
-
Aug 22, 2014The album drops off a little. It doesn’t falter, but it’s never as inescapable again.
-
Aug 18, 2014Mostly a lot of the same stuff that made you enjoy Grrr...
-
Aug 15, 2014While the songs on Lights Out would certainly suit a fine live atmosphere, their simplicity, repetition and generic nature create a rather weak album that fails to hold its own in today’s complicated indie rock landscape.
-
Aug 12, 2014Lights Out offers plenty of pop nuggets--a few of them punchy and expansive, most others losing steam right out of the gate.
-
Aug 12, 2014It’s simply not striking enough to elicit a stronger response than this, as well polished as it may be.