The band entered the studio in the autumn of 2010 with Jimmy Robertson to record their debut album, and released the single ‘South Pacific’ in Jan 2011. This second release and first for their new label Kitsuné / Cooperative Music, was mixed by LEXXX. Around this time they toured the UK and Europe as special guests of Klaxons, The Big Pink, Mystery Jets, Good Shoes and also co-headlined a tour with Egyptian Hip Hop.
In June 2011 they released their debut album “Native to”, preceded by the single “The Greeks”. "The Greeks" was accompanied by a video directed by French directors Megaforce, which quickly went viral (almost 3,500,000 plays to date on YouTube, and over 10,000,000 on Chinese YouTube)[citation needed]. The video was critically praised and has won several awards (The Antville Music Video Awards 2011', UK Music Video Awards 2011', D&AD Yellow Pencil Award 2012', Artrocker Award).
After the release of "Native to" and of single "Lies", the band spent rest of 2011 and part of 2012 touring Europe, USA (with Crystal Fighters), Japan, South America and the Far East.
In January 2013, Is Tropical released an EP, titled "Flags", featuring artists Get People, Visions, Drugzndreamz, Goodbye Leopold and Owen Pratt.The band released their second album ‘I’m Leaving’ on 20 May 2013 on Kitsune / Pias. The album was produced by Luke Smith.
The first single taken from the album is "Dancing Anymore", accompanied by a video by previous collaborators Megaforce, which gained notoriety and was removed from YouTube within hours of its release due to its graphic depiction of imagined sexual acts between a young man and naked CG characters. The second single, 'Lover's Cave' was released on August 26. 2013. The video was directed by cult New York photographer Richard Kern.
Lights On
Is Tropical Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She only loves you when you're leaving
Not to concern would be unfair
Only true for us deceiving
Wake up when the day is gone
Make love with the lights on
Wake up when the day is gone
Make love with the lights on
She doesn't care for making friends
Easy to see no one's leaving
Not to concern to make a mess
Says good rhythm switch out grieving
Wake up when the day is gone
Make love with the lights on
Wake up when the day is gone
Make love with the lights on
She doesn't care when you're out there
She only loves you when you're leaving
Not to concern would be unfair
Only true for us deceiving
The song "Lights On" by Is Tropical paints a portrait of a woman who neither cares for nor seeks intimate connections beyond physical pleasure. Her lover is relegated to the role of a passing phase in her life, only seemingly relevant when he's departing. The idea of being left is the only spark of genuine emotion elicited from her; it's the truest form of human connection representative of love she's capable of.
When the day is gone, they indulge in each other's bodies, showing the deference bestowed to light. The intimacy is a pure, unadulterated expression of lust and pleasure. It's devoid of emotional attachment and hides behind physical displays of affection in order to avoid any real connection. The lights on serve as a symbolism for their playacting selves, the façade they've built together to mask their true intentions.
The chorus repeats a few times as if the singer is trying to convince himself of his own narrative that love and attachment need not be a mutually inclusive experience. While he might differ from his lover in these behavioral patterns, he still indulges in this game of pretending to be that dismissive lover. The song ends rather abruptly, letting us linger with the bittersweet illusion of love.
Line by Line Meaning
She doesn't care when you're not there
She is indifferent to your absence.
She only loves you when you're leaving
She has an attachment to people when they are about to leave.
Not to concern would be unfair
It would be unfair not to care about the situation.
Only true for us deceiving
This is only true for those who deceive themselves.
Wake up when the day is gone
To become aware of time passing only after it has passed.
Make love with the lights on
Having sexual relations in a state of illumination.
She doesn't care for making friends
She is unsociable and does not want to make new friends.
Easy to see no one's leaving
It's easy to see that nobody intends to leave.
Not to concern to make a mess
She is not worried about creating a mess.
Says good rhythm switch out grieving
She suggests that changing the beat of the music can help you stop being upset.
She doesn't care when you're out there
She does not care about what you are doing 'out there'.
She only loves you when you're leaving
She only loves you when you are saying goodbye.
Not to concern would be unfair
It would be unfair not to show interest in the matter.
Only true for us deceiving
This is only true for those who deceive themselves.
Contributed by Christian T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.