Canadian singer-songwriter Lights once again claims her title as a genre-bending powerhouse with the release of her two newest tracks, “WHITE PAPER PALM TREES” and “SURFACE TENSION.” Also serving as a double feature for her forthcoming sixth studio album, “A6,” set to release May 2, 2025, these tracks are more than a sneak peek. They’re a statement.
Written, produced, and even visually directed by Lights herself, these two cuts find the artist at her most polished and daring. “WHITE PAPER PALM TREES” begins like a hazy dreamscape, a synthetic mirage where clean beats meet atmospheric textures. The lyrics have an undercurrent of escapism, of a longing for paradise that may or may not exist, and Lights gives them a voice with her trademark openness covered in glossy production. It’s syrupy sadness, and it hangs around.
“SURFACE TENSION” switches the vibe, plunging into darker, grittier waters. It throbs with urgency, anxious, bold, and rhythmically tight. If “PALM TREES” is buoyant, “SURFACE TENSION” is taut. The song digs into the internal rift between desire and reality, draping glitchy beats and haunting synths over emotional strife. Lights’s vocals elongate and twist as if they’re shape-shifting with the song itself, and the combination is exhilarating and profoundly introspective.
What makes this dual release so special is how the two songs seem to converse with each other, different and alike spiritually, yin and yang from the same creative storm. It’s a smart move that underscores how deliberate and purposeful Lights is with her craft. With “A6” featuring 13 self-produced, self-written tracks, this era is Lights’s new peak. She’s establishing worlds, creating experiences, and taking back every inch of her creative territory. These two songs are parts of a bigger story we’re eager to keep reading. If “WHITE PAPER PALM TREES” and “SURFACE TENSION” indicate, “A6” could be Lights’s most emotionally attuned and adventurous project yet.
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