It’s also a record with more swagger and thump than anything she’s done previously. It’s tempting to say that Lights might have been hanging out too much with people like Deadmaus, but she credits the beat evolution to Drake. Lights recorded a cover album of the entire B-side of Drake’s “Scorpion,” a record that sadly lasted only a few weeks online before licensing issues made it disappear, likely for good. The recordings may be gone, but the things she learned made their way into “Pep.
“It was a masterclass in his flow, and it taught me a lot about how to work lyrical content into a melodic, catchy line,” she says. “I’m more conscious about the flow and the cadence. I’ve got a new understanding.” The look of “Pep” is both bizarre and striking. Lights was initially inspired by a photo she had taken of her young daughter, Rocket, wearing an oversized hoodie and standing in front of a yawning cave mouth. From there, Lights began collecting bizarre pictures, such as a woman voguing while on fire and another woman crying jewels. She combined those together into a parade of primary colors that makes her cover, tour trappings and accompanying zines look like a big pill bottle.
It may be what concertgoers need right now. Like a lot of us, Lights has spent most of the past two years stuck in her house in Canada going slightly crazy. The “Pep” tour is a chance for her to leave the world of imagination and bring it to the stage. She’s keen to share all these worlds with people in person again.
“Ten years ago, I was cripplingly nervous being on all the time,” she says. “When the pandemic happened, it put things in perspective, how much fun I had with hugging people and conversations. Now that we’re back, it’s less overwhelming.”Your weekly guide to Houston arts & entertainment.