A Billion Little Lights

Last updated
A Billion Little Lights
Wild Pink - A Billion Little Lights.png
Studio album by
Wild Pink
ReleasedFebruary 19, 2021 (2021-02-19)
Length41:19
Label Royal Mountain
Producer David Greenbaum
Wild Pink chronology
Yolk in the Fur
(2018)		A Billion Little Lights
(2021)
Singles from A Billion Little Lights
  1. "The Shining But Tropical"
    Released: October 7, 2020
  2. "You Can Have It Back"
    Released: November 20, 2020
  3. "Oversharers Anonymous"
    Released: January 14, 2021
  4. "Pacific City"
    Released: February 16, 2021
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 6.6/10 [1]
Metacritic 71/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute 82% [3]
Exclaim! 7/10 [4]
The Line of Best Fit 6/10 [5]
Loud and Quiet 7/10 [6]
MusicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Pitchfork 7.6/10 [8]

A Billion Little Lights is the third studio album by American indie rock band Wild Pink. It was released on February 19, 2021 under Royal Mountain Records. [9]

Contents

Release

On October 7, 2020, Wild Pink announced the release of their third studio album, along with the first single "The Shining But Tropical". [9] In a press release, the band's lead vocalist John Ross explained the single: "It was inspired by Carl Sagan’s Cosmos as well as "If I Needed You" by Townes Van Zandt, this song is named for a grim retirement home in Florida. It’s about somebody who was born sheltered realising how large the world is and how unimportant they are." [10]

The second single "You Can Have It Back" was released on November 20, 2020, which also features Ratboys' lead vocalist Julia Steiner. [11] Ross noted the single was the last song written for the album, explaining the single was inspired by Fleetwood Mac. [12]

The third single "Oversharers Anonymous" was released on January 14, 2021. [13] Of the single, John Ross said: "This is one of the first songs I wrote for A Billion Little Lights and was inspired, among many things, by Ken Burns’ The West and the book The Earth Is Weeping by Peter Cozzens. Also inspired by a drive on the Taconic Parkway. Recording everyone’s parts on the outro was one of my favorite parts of making this album." [14]

On February 16, 2021, Wild Pink released the fourth single "Pacific City". [15]

Critical reception

A Billion Little Lights was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 71 based on 8 reviews. [2] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the release 6.6 out of 10 based on a critical consensus of 7 reviews. [1]

Writing for Beats Per Minute , John Amen wrote "Brimful of elegant melodies and John Ross’s euphonic vocals, the album’s 10 tracks also feature riveting instrumental undergirds – alternately minimal and lush, succinct and sprawling, earthy and psychedelic. Wild Pink’s third full length sees them at their most fluent, achieving a compositional and performative apex." [3] Chris Gee of Exclaim! wrote "While A Billion Little Lights as a whole is not as elegantly cohesive as Wild Pink's past work, the starry-eyed melodies shine stronger and more confidently than ever. The band's dreamy sentimental detailing and lustrous guitar work is as easily digestible as it is thought-provoking as the layers peel back into both nothing and everything at once." [4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Ross

A Billion Little Lights track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The Wind Was Like a Train"2:38
2."Bigger Than Christmas"5:04
3."The Shining but Tropical"4:52
4."Amalfi"4:17
5."Oversharers Anonymous"4:50
6."You Can Have It Back"3:23
7."Family Friends"3:53
8."Track Mud"4:23
9."Pacific City"3:58
10."Die Outside"4:01
Total length:41:19

Personnel

Wild Pink

Additional personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Metacritic Review". Metacritic . Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Amen, John (February 19, 2021). "Beats Per Minute Review". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Gee, Chris (February 17, 2020). "Wild Pink Capture the Sheet Vastness of Life on 'A Billion Little Lights'". Exclaim! . Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  5. ↑ Hughes, Mia (February 18, 2021). "Every speck of A Billion Little Lights is infused with Wild Pink's intricate craft". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ Butchard, Skye (February 16, 2021). "Loud and Quiet Review". Loud and Quiet . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  7. ↑ Horton, Ross (February 19, 2021). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ Rytlewski, Evan (February 22, 2021). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  9. 1 2 H, Rob (October 7, 2020). "Wild Pink Announces New Album with wide-eyed anthem 'The Shining But Tropical'". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (October 7, 2020). "Wild Pink announce third album with lead single "The Shining But Tropical"". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  11. ↑ H, Rob (November 20, 2020). "Wild Pink Shrugs Off Lost Love on the Earworm 'You Can Have It Back'". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  12. ↑ Lane, Lexi (November 19, 2020). "Wild Pink Share New Single Featuring Ratboys' Julia Steiner, "You Can Have It Back"". Paste . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (January 14, 2021). "Wild Pink release new cut "Oversharers Anonymous"". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  14. ↑ Deville, Chris (January 14, 2021). "Wild Pink - Oversharers Anonymous". Stereogum . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  15. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (February 16, 2021). "Wild Pink share uplifting new single "Pacific City"". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
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