''Midnight Machines'' is the fifth extended play recorded by Canadian

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

singer-songwriter

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

. It was released April 8, 2016 through

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. The collection serves as a companion to her 2014 album, ''

Little Machines ''Little Machines'' is the third studio album by Canadian electropop singer-songwriter Lights, released on September 19, 2014, through Warner Bros. Records. It was preceded in July 2014 by the release of its lead single " Up We Go", which debuted ...

'', featuring six acoustic versions of tracks from that album alongside two newly-recorded songs. ''Midnight Machines'' received praise from critics for its maturity and earned Lights her sixth top ten album in Canada.

Release and promotion

''Midnight Machines'' was announced and became available for pre-order on March 4, 2016. The acoustic version of "Meteorites" was released to digital retailers that day as the EP's only

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

. An official music video for the song also premiered March 4. The EP was released April 8, 2016 in digital, physical, and vinyl formats.

Critical reception

Matt Collar of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

rated the EP four stars out of five and wrote that the "folky, intimate nature" of ''Midnight Machines'' allows Lights to "wring even more depth and illumination from the songs." He also wrote that the EP "plays less like an acoustic afterthought and more like sincerely crafted work." Sarah Towle of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' rated the EP eight out of ten and wrote that "if ''Little Machines'' made you want dance, its counterpart ''Midnight Machines'' is what you want on at the after party, when the lights go down and shit gets real." Brendon Veevers of ''Renowned for Sound'' gave the EP a perfect five stars out of five review and wrote that the record "marks a new level of skill and craft in the Lights repertoire" with "pristine, precise and perfectly executed re-imaginations."

Commercial performance

''Midnight Machines'' debuted at number nine on the ''Billboard''

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

dated April 30, 2016. This earned Lights her sixth top ten album on the chart. In the United States, the EP entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 104 and the

Vinyl Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

sales chart at number 16.

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

''Midnight Machines''
at

{{Authority control 2016 EPs Lights (musician) albums Warner Records EPs