A more collaborative effort, she worked with a variety of songwriters and producers on the album, including Cason Cooley, Katie Herzig, Jacquire King, and Dan Romer.

And she still employs girlish “ooh-ooh” harmonies, but the result is more adult, at times like an ethereal Kate Bush [...] You might expect a schizoid clusterbomb from Lights Out, but instead it’s an impressively seamless mix.

He found that the release was "filled with emotional heavy lifting" and features "Michaelson's use of choral arrangements throughout is just one of the elements that remind us of what a clever artist she is while also pushing her in fresh directions.

When it doesn’t, she slumps into MOR balladry [...] Unfortunately, she loses her way slightly here, letting overused chord progressions and sweet but uninspired melodies overpower her indie quirk.

"[8] Similarly, The Independent's Andy Gill wrote: "Michaelson’s most interesting musical strategies occur away from the mainstream, in things like the blending of Omnichord and French horn in "Handsome Hands"; but Lights Out eventually runs out of steam, lapsing into dull piano ballads.