Lights Out is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. It was released on April 15, 2014 through Cabin 24 Records under exclusive license to Mom + Pop Music. Her first studio album in four years, Lights Out marked a breakaway from previous releases on which Michaelson had been credited as the sole writer. A more collaborative effort, she worked with a variety of songwriters and producers on the album, including Cason Cooley, Katie Herzig, Jacquire King, and Dan Romer.
The album earned generally positive reviews from music critics, some of who declared it her best album yet, though others felt it had too many ballads. Lights Out debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 37,000 copies in its first week.[1] The lead single from the album, "Girls Chase Boys", was released on February 4, 2014.[2] The second single from the album, "Afterlife", was released on October 2, 2014.[3] The third single, "Time Machine", was released on February 19, 2015.[4] A deluxe edition of Lights Out was released on November 11, 2014.[5]
Lights Out received positive reviews from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 74, based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews" feedback.[6] Steven Morse from The Boston Globe found that with Lights Out Michaelson "has made her best album. She lost her voice for several months last year, so she has a new appreciation of her gift. Her voice is deeper and more soulful. And she still employs girlish “ooh-ooh” harmonies, but the result is more adult, at times like an ethereal Kate Bush [...] You might expect a schizoid clusterbomb from Lights Out, but instead it’s an impressively seamless mix."[12]AllMusic editor Matt Collar rated the album four stars out of five. He stated how the release shows "Michaelson has captured that sound of love."[7]
Oakland Press critic Gary Graff rated the album three stars out of four. He found that the release was "filled with emotional heavy lifting" and features "Michaelson's use of choral arrangements throughout is just one of the elements that remind us of what a clever artist she is while also pushing her in fresh directions."[9] Tshepo Mokoena from The Guardian felt that Michaelson's decision to consult co-writers was making "for a mixed bag. When it works, Michaelson sounds enchanting, cooing in chromatic, St. Vincent-like scales on "Handsome Hands". When it doesn’t, she slumps into MOR balladry [...] Unfortunately, she loses her way slightly here, letting overused chord progressions and sweet but uninspired melodies overpower her indie quirk."[8] Similarly, The Independent's Andy Gill wrote: "Michaelson’s most interesting musical strategies occur away from the mainstream, in things like the blending of Omnichord and French horn in "Handsome Hands"; but Lights Out eventually runs out of steam, lapsing into dull piano ballads."[13]
Commercial performance
The album entered the Billboard 200 chart at number 5, with first-week sales of 37,000 copies.[1] It also debuted at number 2 on Top Rock Albums and marked Michaelson's second consecutive album after Human Again (2012) to debut at number one on Billboard's Independent Albums chart.[14] By August, Lights Out had sold 160,000 copies in the United States.[15]
