Sweet Lights/Sweet Lights [CD]

Part of our Two CDs for £9 offer*

When musical polymath Shai Halperin sat at a creaky piano in his Philadelphia home and began
shaping the chords to what would become the album s most haunting track, Waterwell , he had no
idea his demo would serve as the foundation for a new band, a new vision, and our new favourite
album. But Shai was confident he d captured a spark. He began recording, playing all the instruments
himself, and Sweet Lights was born.
Shai Halperin cut his teeth as the leader of The Capitol Years, enjoying varied critical accolades
including a Radcliffe and Maconie Single of the Week with Revolutions , a live session on BBC
Radio 2 with Bob Harris, a barnstorming set at Glastonbury Festival, and high praise from Rolling
Stone and Pitchfork.
Shai s journey as The Capitol Years morphed from a bedroom pop experiment into a five-piece band
that saw War On Drugs Adam Granduciel and David Hartley spending time as Capitol Years members.
A brief Clapton/Page/Beck-like period even featured Shai playing guitar alongside Kurt Vile and
Granduciel in an early War On Drugs line-up. The Capitol Years toured the US extensively supporting
the likes of The Walkmen, the Pixies and Daniel Johnston. Shai s cover version of Johnston's "True
Love Will Find You in the End" lead to a close working relationship with the legendary outsider artist,
and The Capitol Years were recruited for several tours both supporting Johnston and performing
backing band duties.
Considerable success as The Capitol Years and several beloved releases later - check out the albums
Meet Yr Acres, Dance Away the Terror and more! - Shai began to feel a creative urge to start anew
with a new name and a new identity. Having played every instrument on the first two Capitol Years
albums, it made poetic sense for Sweet Lights to debut with Shai doing so again.
The fruits of his labour are now ours to relish and share. Sweet Lights, Sweet Lights is a masterful
mixture of dynamic, genre-bending song craft, innovative arrangements and surreal, poignant lyricism.
Shai's work has always been that of a shape-shifting pop auteur, so there's no need to set your player
to shuffle. Sweet Lights retains this singular, yet multi-faceted personality, held together with supreme
pop hooks.