''Farewell, Starlite!'' is the debut studio album by American pop project Francis and the Lights, self-released on September 24, 2016, as a free stream. It is a follow-up to the 2013 EP, ''Like a Dream''. Music videos were created for "See Her Out", " Friends", and "May I Have This Dance (remix featuring Chance the Rapper)". The album features appearances from

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, as well as production by

BJ Burton BJ Burton is an American record producer, songwriter, engineer, and mixer. He is known for his work with Bon Iver, Francis and the Lights, Low, Charli XCX, and The Japanese House, and has also worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, ...

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is als ...

Cashmere Cat Magnus August Høiberg (born 29 November 1987), known professionally as Cashmere Cat, is a Norwegian DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. He is best known for producing songs for artists including Kanye West, The Kid Laroi, Selena Gomez ...

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

, Aaron Lammer, Rostam Batmanglij,

Ariel Rechtshaid Ariel Rechtshaid ( ;) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. His accolades include three Grammy Awards for music production. Rechtshaid was the lead singer and guitarist of the sk ...

, Nate Fox, and Jerome Hadey.

Critical reception

Ben Beaumont-Thomas of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and called it "fleet-footed modern pop with just the right amount of whimsy." Cameron Cook of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' gave the album a 6.4 out of 10, writing, "While ''Farewell, Starlite!'' has its share of engaging moments, it's a shame that under all its technical flairs, its overall mood isn't gripping enough to do justice to its creator's vision." ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' named it one of the "24 Albums That Made Albums Matter Again in 2016". ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' named it one of the albums of the year.

Track listing

Track list adapted from the Francis and the Lights website.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2016 debut albums Albums produced by BJ Burton Albums produced by Benny Blanco Albums produced by Kanye West Albums produced by Cashmere Cat Albums produced by Rostam Batmanglij Albums produced by Justin Vernon Albums produced by Ariel Rechtshaid Francis and the Lights albums