Lights Out is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, released on April 15, 2014 through Cabin 24 Records under exclusive license to Mom + Pop Music. It debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 37,000 copies in its first week. The lead single from the album, "Girls Chase Boys", was released on February 4, 2014. The second single from the album, "Afterlife", was released on October 2, 2014. The third single, "Time Machine", was released on February 19, 2015.
A deluxe edition with an alternate cover and a bonus disc was released on November 11, 2014.
Critical reception
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. AllMusic's Matt Collar rated the album four stars out of five, stating how the release shows "Michaelson has captured that sound of love." At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff rated the album three stars out of four, writing how the release is "filled with emotional heavy lifting", and the LP 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."
Commercial performance
The album entered the Billboard 200 chart at number 5, with first-week sales of 37,000 copies. It also debuted at number 2 on Top Rock Albums. It has sold 160,000 copies as of August 2016.
Track listing
Personnel
Ian Axel – piano (13), vocals (13) Jeremy Bose – keyboards, programming Leslia Broussard – clapping, background vocals C.J. Camarieri – french horn, trumpet Adam Christgau – percussion Cason Cooley – electric guitar, percussion, piano, programming, synthesizer, background vocals Trent Dabbs – acoustic guitar (9,10), vocals (9,10) Eric Darken – percussion, programming Nathan Dugger – electric guitar Cara Fox – cello Lynn Grossman – clapping, stomping Katie Herzig – celeste, synthesizer, background vocals Felicia J. Hudson – clapping, background vocals Nadim Issa – Wurlitzer Elliot Jacobson – drums, percussion, stomping Mat Kearney – acoustic guitar, programming, synthesizer, vocals (8) Chad King – vocals (13) Jacquire King – clapping, stomping Chris Kuffner – bass guitar, clapping, e-bow, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, tenor guitar, harmonium, omnichord, programming, slide guitar, stomping, synthesizer, synthesizer bass, background vocals Jesse Kuffner – cello, violin Greg Laswell – vocals (3) Brian Lee – bass guitar, background vocals, whistle Stephen Leiweke – electric guitar Tony Lucido – bass guitar Jeremy Lutito – drums Mick Lynch – acoustic guitar, background vocals Saul Simon MacWilliams – clapping, organ, piano, stomping, synthesizer, trumpet, background vocals, Wurlitzer Kevin May – background vocals Ingrid Michaelson – clapping, omnichord, piano, stomping, lead vocals, background vocals Allie Moss – clapping, background vocals The Orphanage String Quartet – strings Adam Pallin – programming, keyboards, background vocals Wendy Parr – background vocals Bess Rogers – clapping, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, stomping, background vocals Dan Romer – bass guitar Gabe Scott – acoustic guitar, Hammer dulcimer, lap steel guitar F. Reid Shippen – programming Storyman – vocals (4) Hannah Winkler – clapping, background vocals