''Siberia Acoustic'' (alternately stylized as ''Siberia (Acoustic)'') is the second acoustic album recorded by Canadian

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

artist

Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian singer-son ...

, featuring acoustic reworkings of songs off her second studio album, ''

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

'' (2011). It was released April 30, 2013 through

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and

Last Gang Records Last Gang Records is a record label formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival. Last Gang was nominated as Independent Record Label of the ...

. The album was preceded on March 15 by the release of its first and only single, "Cactus in the Valley", which was re-recorded as a duet with American

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

project

Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...

. Upon its release, ''Siberia Acoustic'' debuted at number seven on the ''Billboard''

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...

and at number 86 on the ''Billboard'' 200, her second-highest peak on either chart at the time. The album received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who found that the acoustic production put emphasis on Lights's songwriting talents but also made the songs less compelling than in their studio renditions.

Critical reception

''Siberia Acoustic'' received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics for showcasing her abilities as a singer-songwriter. At

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, reviewer Matt Collar wrote that "although Lights normally makes electronic pop that often features electric guitars, keyboards, and dance-influenced beats, she is at her core a melodic singer-songwriter. Not surprisingly, many of the songs on Siberia lend themselves to these intimate re-recordings." He rated the album 4 stars out of 5. Brent Faulkner of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

responded positively to Lights' vocals on the album ("Lights sounds superb throughout," he writes) but ultimately felt the acoustic soundscape "fails to compel as much" as ''Siberia''′s original production. "All in all," he summarized before delivering a 6/10 rating, "''Siberia Acoustic'' is enjoyable if sometimes bland." Claire Louise Sheridan of ''Alter the Press!'' gave a particularly complimentary review in which she highlights Lights's vocal range and interpretive abilities. "No matter what your previous impressions of Lights may be," writes Sheridan, "cast them aside. ''Siberia Acoustic'' is a truly different experience which allows appreciation of the overwhelming beauty of her talent and thus the true basis of her appeal."

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits for ''Siberia Acoustic'' adapted from

. ;Performance credits * All vocals – Lights ** Featured vocals –

(Adam Young),

Max Kerman Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Records Canada and Last Gang Records. They are managed by Last Gang Management. They have released ...

Coeur de Pirate Cœur is the French word for heart, and may refer to: * ''Cœurs'', a 2006 French film by Alain Resnais * Coeur (playing cards), a brand of playing card produced by VEB Altenburg in East Germany People with the surname * Jacques Cœur ( – 1456 ...

;Instruments * Cello – Kevin Fox * Guitar – Lights * Piano – Lights ;Production *

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

– Jason Dufour, Stephen Koszler ** Assistant engineers – Arthur Bastos, Jack Clow * Mastering – João Carvalho * Mixer – Jason Dufour *

Producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

– Lights * Songwriters –

Brian Borcherdt Brian Borcherdt (born August 31, 1976) is a Canadian musician who has been both a solo artist and a member of Burnt Black, Trephines, Hot Carl, By Divine Right, Holy Fuck, Lids, and Dusted. As a teenager growing up in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, ...

, Jason Parsons, Lights Poxleitner, Thomas "Tawgs" Salter, Dave Thomson, Graham Walsh ;Packaging * Creative director – Lights * Designer – Simon Paul * Photographers – Tina Lok, Katie Rodriguez

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Lights (musician) albums Universal Music Group albums Last Gang Records albums