Born Valerie Anne Poxleitner-Bokan, and best known as Lights, is a singer-songwriter who has been making music professionally for well over two decades now. A long time ago, those less in tune with the modern music scene might ask: Who is Lights? Born in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, she chose her stage name as a nickname combining her surname to reflect her mission to uplift moods through music. Fitting her well, Lights’ first album, The Listening (featuring singles like “Drive My Soul” and “Saviour”), arrived in 2009, and since then, it has been a journey full of twists and turns.
While many know Lights for her Electropop sound, she was once in a Metal band in high school and has shown a love for Rock and Metal music, among other genres. Going on to release Siberia in 2011 and Little Machines in 2014 (which won Pop Album of the Year at the Juno Awards), before 2017’s Skin&Earth (which was paired with a graphic novel she wrote). Continuing to challenge herself, PƎP emerged in 2022 with influences that include Björk (whom she admires for her experimental approach and emotional vulnerability), Phil Collins, and ABBA, whose songwriting craftsmanship and European production sensibilities she appreciates.
A brief history of the open-minded artist, Lights returns in 2025 with her sixth album, A6. Released on May 2, 2025, through Virgin Music, A6 has a surprisingly ’80s, maybe ’90s vibe. Written and produced by Lights, this new album reflects her most personal work to date and has spawned nine music videos, forming a complete visual album experience. The creativity definitely flowed with this offering, and many kudos for not only pouring her heart into soundbytes but also visually putting herself out there to enact those soundbytes. It’s easier to hide in a sound booth with a handful of people than to physically show those feelings and recite the words. Yes, you wrote them, but getting them to go from the head out to the ether takes guts.
Thematically, A6’s thirteen tracks explore grief, sensuality, personal growth, and the tension between change and stasis. Beginning with an intro track, it sets the stage, while tracks like “Piranha” call out emotional predators with an aggressive beat that follows the words, serving as an affirmation in itself. Furthermore, the last track, “Day Two,” ends on a dark note if the words are taken at face value. There is a tiredness to the delivery, like she has exorcised everything. These, in particular, show Lights experimenting musically.
In any event, “Damage” gets us started, as Lights professes she is not a victim but owns her damage. This is while “Surface Tension” rephrases that she is not okay with an edge and a disc-centric beat, and “White Paper Palm Trees” sings of a disconnect from a breakup through imagining she is on a tropical island. Here, Lights is at a crossroads.
Moving on, “Alive Again” is a statement of emotional resurrection. In other words, Lights is no longer just the kid to be pushed around, both personally and professionally. “Surface Tension” could also join this theme as Lights sings about the pressure of reclaiming that independence, and” The Other Side of the Door” is crossing that boundary, pushing back. Then there is “You’re Killing Me,” which fully commits to confronting the emotional toxicity.
“Ghost Girl On First” continues down the rabbit hole, using the metaphor to describe being emotionally sidelined or replaced. There is crossover with “White Paper Palm Trees” as she decides whether to go back or burn that bridge. At the same time, “Clingy” is the tipping point where Lights satirically takes jabs at obsessive attachment and relational imbalance.
“Drinks On the Coast” and “Take It Easy” are emotional retreats, but not of supplication, but of ownership of the Lights’ feelings and reclaiming peace. “Day Two”, even with his perceived darkness, there’s a feeling of looking to the future, which is interesting, because there is A6EXTENDED that has an additional eight tracks dropping January 30, 2026.
It will be interesting to hear where it goes, considering “Day Two” wrapped up A6 nicely and is a bit of a cliffhanger, and the recent new single “EDUCATION” leaves you curious. The forthcoming companion release precedes her Come Get Your Girl Tour, which kicks off on February 13, 2026, across North America, featuring a setlist from both A6 and A6EXTENDED. All worth checking out, Cryptic Rock gives Lights’ A6 5 out of 5 stars.
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