sweet lights aka shai halperin is a musical polymath, and his debut album is a resounding testament to his visionary songwriting, strongly rooted in the pop rock tradition. shai cut his teeth in the original lineup of the war on drugs, whose members included the now infamous kurt vile. in addition, shai was shaping his own music vision in his previous band, the capitol years, who quickly became critics' picks mainstays with accolades including a radcliffe and maconie single of the week for their track 'revolutions', a live session from devoted fan bob harris and a barnstorming set at the glastonbury festival. the band toured the us and uk extensively alongside the likes of the walkmen, the brian jonestown massacre, dr dog, lilys, and daniel johnston, with whom they also performed backing band duties. with more songs than bandmates to learn them, shai began recording all of his instruments himself, and sweet lights was born.