Distant Lights (song)

After the release of In the Clear (2005), Ivy embarked on an extended hiatus to focus their time on their children and solo careers.[1] Member Adam Schlesinger was busy with his side project Fountains of Wayne, while Andy Chase was working on a new band named Brookville. In 2008, they worked on a new record, even completing most of the project.[2] However, after listening to the completed material, they found it to be "awful"; Chase stated that "it was the first time [they] doubted whether [they] even had another Ivy album left in [them]".[2]

Afraid that Ivy would become "unrecognizable" and "boring", Durand stated that "[she] really can't stand when [she sees] musicians, great songwriters, and after having kids they become so boring, [she talks] about that all day. [She doesn't] need to talk about that in [her] songs", concluding that she needed "escape".[3] Durand was determined to create "the best album yet", and set up dates and recording sessions with Chase and Schlesinger to work on what would become All Hours.[2] The album explored new genres for Ivy, including EDM and electronic music, something Chase stated "seem[ed] natural and ma[de] sense".[2]

"Distant Lights" was written and produced by Schlesinger and Chase. According to Nettwerk, the single "is a slow-building, hypnotic and danceable track", yet manages to sound like Ivy.[1] In a review by Lauren Stern of Pop Break, she called the single "completely different" compared to Ivy's previous material.[2] In an interview with Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone, Durand stated that "'Distant Lights' is, in a sense, the most important song on All Hours. It's the song that created and led to the direction of this record"; in the same interview, Rosen claimed that the track had a "sleek beat" and "wistful melody" that served as the background for Durand's vocals that come off "halfway between a coo and a sigh".[4]

The single was released on June 7, 2011 on iTunes, where it came with B-side single "Lost in the Sun".[5] It became Ivy's first single release since the 2005 recording "Thinking About You". In September of the same year, Nettwerk made the single temporarily available as a free download to promote All Hours.[4] A remix EP was released on January 20, 2012 in the United States and France and featured the original composition, a Douze remix and a Douze dub version of the single.[6]

"Distant Lights" received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone praised the single for being "seductive",[4] while Frank Mojica of Consequence of Sound called the "essential" track the "perfect choice for a lead single", further stating that "'Distant Lights' is the most danceable work from Ivy yet".[7] PopMatters writer John Bergstrom was impressed by the single, stating that "it sounds deceptively effortless".[8] Kaitlyn Henaghan of Buzz Weekly found it to be "the obvious choice for a single, as it is extraordinarily catchy with a great, upbeat melody".[9] Dorian S. Ham, writing for The Agit Reader, had mixed feelings towards the single, calling it "slightly worrying" and panning the "clubby beat" as being foreign to Ivy's catalog.[10] Shawn Connelly of SecretSoundShop found the track "boring" and "outdated".[11]

Credits and personnel adapted from All Hours liner notes and Ivy's AllMusic discography.[12][13]

Personnel

• Ivy – "Distant Lights" (Audio) on YouTube