Two years on from the release of his last album, indie/alternative/pop singer Francis and the Lights has returned with the title track for his upcoming album ‘Take Me to the Light‘. The track features guest vocals from indie-all star Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and rap-heavyweight Kanye West and whilst it’s quite a pleasant song, it feels a bit messy and there isn’t much depth to it.

The three musicians have collaborated once before on the 2016 single ‘Friends‘, which was an upbeat R&B style track with great synths, a guest verse and chorus from Justin Vernon and then unusually just one line in sung by Kanye in the chorus. It was a well crafted tune, with Francis and Vernon’s vocals working great together.

‘Take Me to the Light‘ gives off a real 80s feel through the synth usage and catchy bassline, but it sadly feel a bit all over the place, as the three musicians each bring their own styles to the track. I can see what they were trying to do with the song, but Francis’ verses are overshadowed by West’s brutish singing in the chorus, with Vernon melodically echoing around in the background.

Given that Vernon has made a number of remarks critiquing Kanye of late, it was a shock to see the two artists together on a track. My guess is that Francis knew a collaboration with the pair would garner a lot of press for his upcoming release, particularly given the collaboration is set to be the title-track of his album.

The cluttered feel of the song hasn’t exactly got me that excited for the upcoming album, but we’ll have to see what other information comes out, as at the moment there are few details other than the project’s title and this song.