Lights
by Ellie Goulding
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Boston Globe
    Mar 14, 2011
    80
    Goulding's crackling voice is capable of affecting a prostrate pose in the midst of the swirl that suggests the latter's folk-tinged vulnerability.
  2. BBC Music
    80
    Good news: Lights is an expectations-passing collection that should see fans of the singer's material to date elevating her to superstar status.
  3. Uncut
    80
    Lights feels like the product of a distinctive personality, following a peculiar vision rather than ticking genre boxes. [Apr 2010, p.90]
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  5. Q Magazine
    80
    Goulding is packed with intriguing contradictions and you can sense most of them on Lights.[Apr 2010, p.107]
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  6. AllMusic
    Dec 19, 2011
    70
    Goulding is able to take the best parts of all of her contemporaries' styles and make them her own, coating everything in the breathy flutter of her voice.
  7. Spin
    Mar 7, 2011
    70
    On this debut full-length, already a U.K. No. 1, she glides through blippy anthems ("Starry Eyed"), pumping disco ("Animal"), and delicate grooves ("Lights") with a pixie-ish voice that's one notch sweeter than Metric's Emily Haines.
  8. Sputnikmusic
    70
    Aspiring to find a middle ground between her folk background and the burgeoning success of electro-pop is an enterprising objective, but it is one which Goulding predominantly succeeds in through her genuine sincerity.
  9. Pitchfork
    68
    Outside of its immediate context, Lights is a sometimes great, always promising debut. It's an album about leaving home, and it works best when the contrast between the folk singer and the pop production chimes with the tensions between the pull of home and the allure of the city.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Mar 8, 2011
    67
    Warbling like a sanitized Bjork over coffeehouse-ready club beats, she pulls her weight on the first half before lights grows dim. [11 Mar 2011, p.76]
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Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Most Discussed Album of 2011
85
#85 Most Shared Album of 2011

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 193 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 171 out of 193
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 193
  3. Negative: 12 out of 193
  1. tarekmallo
    Apr 27, 2012
    10
    Ellie Goulding's debut album is strong in it's own way. The lyrics are as charming as her tender voice and the production is also consistent.Ellie Goulding's debut album is strong in it's own way. The lyrics are as charming as her tender voice and the production is also consistent. Strong recommendations for Starry Eyed, The Writer, This Love and Everytime You Go.… Full Review »
  2. leogarcia132002
    Nov 25, 2022
    8
    This was one of those albums that started indie music, Ellie's career today is so versatile but Lights has sounds that we hear today inThis was one of those albums that started indie music, Ellie's career today is so versatile but Lights has sounds that we hear today in singers like Tove Lo, Dua Lipa or Bebe Rexha.… Full Review »
  3. All_ButTrU4
    Aug 24, 2022
    0
    Unremarkable euro pop that plays like consistent shots in the dark with the hope to hit something good,which i guess happens however brieflyUnremarkable euro pop that plays like consistent shots in the dark with the hope to hit something good,which i guess happens however briefly on "lights"… Full Review »
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