Pep (album)
2022 studio album by Lights
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Pep (stylized as PƎP) is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Lights. It was released on April 1, 2022, on Fueled by Ramen and is her first studio album under the label (not counting Skin & Earth Acoustic). Like her previous album, Skin & Earth, the album was accompanied by a comic, titled The Clinic, which is a side story to the Skin & Earth comic.
- Starry Night (Mission)
- NYG (Vancouver)
- Studio America (Los Angeles)
- Hideaway (Studio City)
- Rancho Pagzilla (North Hollywood)
- Tyler's apartment (Los Angeles)
- Calimali (Los Angeles)[1]
| Pep | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1, 2022 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 43:10 | |||
| Label | Fueled by Ramen | |||
| Producer |
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| Lights chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pep | ||||
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The album debuted at number 32 on the Canadian Albums Chart,[2] being her first album not to break the top 10, as well as her first album to not enter the Billboard 200, but it did peak at number 25 on the Top Album Sales chart.[3]
Background
In an interview with AltPress, Lights stated she started writing the songs around 2019, but once the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she wanted the album to be more positive, which was inspired by her mental health worsening during that time.[4][5] Because it was her first album released through Fueled by Ramen, she revealed being on the label influenced her to make the album with less of a pop sound like her previous albums and have more of a rock and alt style.[4]
Lights said tying this album in with a comic book was because she wanted to continue the story of Skin & Earth, which she claimed was still not finished.[4] When talking about The Clinic, she claimed the comic is "a metaphor for music. We use music to get away, to escape from our realities. The Clinic is a big metaphor for an album."[5]
Promotion
Lights released the single "Prodigal Daughter" on October 20, 2021, along with the first part of an accompanying comic book, The Clinic, which is a side story to her previous comic Skin & Earth.[6] Not too long after, she announced the Baby I'm Back tour in North America.[7] The second single, "Real Thing", which featured Los Angeles-based musician Elohim, was released on December 24, 2021.[8] On February 4, 2022, the third single, "Salt and Vinegar", was released as well as the official announcement of the album.[9] On March 17, 2022, the fourth single, "In My Head", featuring Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun was released.[10]
Reception
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beside Myself" | Lights Poxleitner-Bokan | Lights | 4:11 |
| 2. | "In My Head" (featuring Josh Dun) |
|
| 3:08 |
| 3. | "Prodigal Daughter" | Poxleitner-Bokan |
| 2:55 |
| 4. | "Salt and Vinegar" | Poxleitner-Bokan |
| 3:15 |
| 5. | "Money in the Bag" (featuring Kiesza) |
| Lights | 2:44 |
| 6. | "Jaws" | Poxleitner-Bokan | Lights | 3:17 |
| 7. | "Rent" | Poxleitner-Bokan | Lights | 3:26 |
| 8. | "Sparky" | Poxleitner-Bokan |
| 3:27 |
| 9. | "Real Thing" (featuring Elohim) |
|
| 3:05 |
| 10. | "Easy Money" |
|
| 3:26 |
| 11. | "Okay Okay" |
| Bauld | 3:20 |
| 12. | "Voices Carry" |
|
| 3:39 |
| 13. | "Grip" |
| Bauld | 3:10 |
| Total length: | 43:10 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Prodigal Daughter (Chill Version)" | 4:00 |
| Total length: | 47:10 | |
Notes
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[14]
- Lights – performance, creative direction, layout, illustrations
- Nick Rad – mixing (tracks 1–10, 12)
- Dylan Bauld – mixing (11–13), performance (10–13)
- Emily Lazar – mastering
- Elsa Paengsang – engineering (1, 6)
- Jess Bowen – performance (1)
- Josh Dun – performance (2)
- Kiesza – performance (5)
- Elohim – performance (9)
- Jaco Caraco – performance (9)
- Matt Barnes – photos
- Lindsey Blane – additional photography
- Virgilio Tzaj – layout
Charts
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Ded
| Ded | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 7, 2023 | |||
| Genre | Chillwave | |||
| Length | 55:40 | |||
| Label | Fueled by Ramen | |||
| Lights chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ded | ||||
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In March 2023, Lights announced a slowed-down version of the album, titled Ded (stylized as dEd), which was released on April 7. It includes all the songs from Pep in reverse order.[15][16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Grip (Ded Version)" |
| 3:45 |
| 2. | "Voices Carry (Ded Version)" |
| 4:27 |
| 3. | "Okay Okay (Ded Version)" |
| 5:10 |
| 4. | "Easy Money (Ded Version)" |
| 4:14 |
| 5. | "Real Thing (Ded Version)" (featuring Elohim) |
| 3:52 |
| 6. | "Sparky (Ded Version)" | Lights | 4:45 |
| 7. | "Rent (Ded Version)" | Lights | 3:54 |
| 8. | "Jaws (Ded Version)" | Lights | 4:01 |
| 9. | "Money in the Bag (Ded Version)" (featuring Kiesza) |
| 4:39 |
| 10. | "Salt and Vinegar (Ded Version)" | Lights | 4:12 |
| 11. | "Prodigal Daughter (Ded Version)" | Lights | 4:01 |
| 12. | "In My Head (Ded Version)" |
| 4:22 |
| 13. | "Beside Myself (Ded Version)" | Lights | 4:45 |
| Total length: | 55:40 | ||