[2][3] During promotion for the band's album, the music video for "Lights and Sounds" was featured in a Verizon Wireless V-cast commercial.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in June 2005, Yellowcard vocalist Ryan Key revealed that the song was written "really late in the process" when development of the album began.
[1] Key also talked about the sound featured in the song, saying: "...it's got such an amazing, driving, rock-&-roll vibe to it, with none of that frickin' pop-punk and alternative rock stigma.
"[5] The band explained that the lyrics, "Make it new but stay in the lines / Just let go but keep it inside / Smile big for everyone / Even when you know what they've done / They gave you the end but not where to start / Not how to build, how to tear it apart", were written because of that particular reason.
[5] Key also revealed that the lyrics, "They gave you the end / But not where to start / Not how to build / But how to tear it apart", were references to bands Nofx and Bad Religion.
[6] Key also explained that when he was preoccupied by distractions, in which he referred to them as "lights and sounds", which ultimately resulted in the band naming the album and track title just that.
[10][11] Internationally, the song was released in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2006, and appeared on the UK Singles Chart at number 56 for one week.
In the Blender magazine review of the album, critic Andy Greenwald, wrote: "The title track [Lights and Sounds], bursting with buzzing distortion, builds into a satisfying anti-glitz rant.
"[17] Tom Beajour of Entertainment Weekly reported that the song "crams all of the genre's essential tropes — distorted power chords, abrupt dynamic shifts, and singsong melodies — into three and a half minutes of radio-friendly fire.
"[18] Chris Saunders of MusicOMH noted that the song is laden with "memorable hooks, quiet/loud dynamics and emotive lyrics which will no doubt cut through to many a disenchanted youth: 'They gave you the end but not the where to start / not how to build, how to tear it apart.'"
"[20] Bart Gottula of The Clarion wrote: "The album's single and title cut, 'Light's and Sounds', follows with an amazing performance by every band member.
The song provides a quick, hard-hitting beat that brings back Yellowcard's hybrid punk and emo music that the band explored in its previous single, 'Way Away'.
[25] The song is also featured in the 2010 video game Tony Hawk: Shred, and an episode of the teen drama One Tree Hill.
[26] The video opens with a scene of the band in a stage room with a tunnel light, which is accompanied by the song playing in the background.