I first discovered Lights circa 2008 after hearing her music featured in an Old Navy commercial campaign. Something about her synth-pop sound and the simplistic, but meaningful lyrics really resonated with me. However, the commercials gave no indication as to who the singer was or what songs were being played. Social media and song recognition apps weren’t as prevalent as they are today, so I had to dig deep into Google search results until I miraculously stumbled upon her MySpace page. She quickly became one of my favorite musical artists, as well as one of my favorite human beings. I even featured her in my Top 8!
Lights was an independent artist with a prominent and dedicated MySpace following. I appreciated her equal devotion to her fans and her efforts to communicate with her fanbase via social media. But not only did she make supercute music, she also had rad tattoos and was interested in nerdy things like comics and video games and had absolutely no shame about it. She was the inspiration my geek girl heart needed at the time. Suffice it to say, Lights is my personal heroine.
Skin & Earth (2017) is Lights’ 4th full-length album which consists of 14 tracks with a runtime of 44 minutes. Skin & Earth is a concept album, but more than that, it’s a companion piece and direct tie-in to the comic of the same name which is also written and illustrated by Lights herself! The album/comic were released in tandem and there are currently 5 music videos from the album/comic that further bring the world of Skin & Earth to life.
Skin & Earth is set in a post-apocalyptic world overruled by the Tempest corporation, where Enaia, the comic’s heroine, is “looking for hope in a hopeless world”. The comic consists of themes of hope, loneliness, romance, and self discovery. Each track on the album corresponds with a chapter of the comic and each chapter of the comic reflects the mood/vibe and color palette of each song. Lights says that the album and comic can be enjoyed separately and standalone, but in a world built on layers of music, video, and art, it would be impossible to ignore these other mediums.
Madison Oasis is divided by the rich who live in luxury in the Pink Sector, and the poor who reside in the desolate Red sector where toxins from Tempest’s industrial efforts continue to pollute the environment. En is a resident of the Red Sector who we learn is involved in a relationship with Priest, a resident of the Pink sector. Priest is En’s last sliver of hope in this toxic world. However, their differences in status ultimately lead to a messy break up that leaves En angry, lost, and confused. But this is not a mere love story. From here, the story takes a turn and delves deeper into the lore and mythos of this world. En befriends a mysterious stranger that starts to lead her down a dark path, and En must decide who she wants to be and make choices that will shake the world around her.
According to Lights, “This is based on internal, emotional stress and turmoil – stuff that I’ve dealt with and stuff that a lot of people have dealt with. I’ve always believed that all those battles can be fought and you come out of this stronger. And that was the foundation of the story. At the end of the day, if nothing else, I want people, especially young women, to see in this character a little bit of themselves – see that an ordinary person can do amazing things and fight battles nobody else can see, and there’s no shame in that. In fact, there’s a lot of beauty in it.”
Musicians writing comics isn’t an entirely new concept (e.g. Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance), but this is the most notable occasion of a woman taking on such an endeavor. Songwriters are storytellers by nature, and while En may look much like the artist herself, her character isn’t so much a direct reflection of the artist, but more of an alter-ego in which the artist can use as a conduit to provide a new and different perspective.
En’s bright red hair stands out among the dreary setting of the wastelands, and although she may live in squalor, that doesn’t stop her from dressing in badass dystopian attire. En and the world of Skin & Earth is a sight to behold and it’s been a pleasure discovering this world through different mediums. If you’ve never heard of Lights or Skin & Earth, I encourage everyone to listen to her music and/or read the comic.
To start you off, here are my favorite tracks from the album: Kicks, Savage, and We Were Here
More recommendations from her discography: The Last Thing On Your Mind, Drive My Soul, Saviour, Speeding, Toes, and Frame and Focus
Dynamite Entertainment just released Volume 1 of the comic which collects issues #1-6 and will include variant art and more bonus content.
The Intro issue is available for free here.
If you’re looking to pick up a copy of Skin & Earth for yourself, consider shopping our Amazon affiliate link here!
2 Comments
Great read! I love that you included a quote directly from Lights about the comic and song recommendations! Just a suggestion, maybe take out the part about En and Priest being from different sectors. *spoiler* That’s a major bomb drop in issue 4 that shakes Ens world.
Thanks for reading! And that’s a great note. I’ll be sure to let the author know but in the meantime I’ll edit the title to include a note about spoilers. Thanks again! 🙂