Acetone (album)

Last updated
Acetone
Acetone album cover.png
Studio album by
Acetone
Released1997
Length56:58
Label Vapor [1]
Producer Acetone, Scott Campbell
Acetone chronology
If You Only Knew
(1996)		Acetone
(1997)		 York Blvd.
(2000)

Acetone is an album by the American band Acetone, released in 1997. [2] [3] It was the band's first album for Neil Young's Vapor Records; Acetone's previous label, Vernon Yard, had declared bankruptcy. [4]

Contents

The band supported the album by opening for Spiritualized on its North American tour. [5]

Production

The album was produced by Scott Campbell and Acetone. [6] The band already had songs worked out prior to the recordings sessions, concluding that trying to write songs in the studio had been a mistake during the sessions for their previous album, If You Only Knew. [7] The band was chiefly influenced by jazz and country, and realized that the album's songs would be performed at a faster tempo in a live setting; they also rejected "sadcore" and "slowcore" labels. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Pitchfork 9.2/10 [12]
The Times 8/10 [13]

Stuart Berman of Pitchfork wrote that "[Richie] Lee's lyric sheet may have been filled with dejection ... but he always sang as if he was looking you in the eyes." [14] A later review by the website's Grayson Haver Currin called the album "focused and intentional in a way the band had never been, sorting through the suffering of survival with tenderness and intensity." [12] The Times declared that "Mark Lightcap's country-tinged guitars are simply gorgeous." [13] The Manchester Evening News dubbed the band "so laid-back they make JJ Cale seem uptight by comparison." [15]

Noting that Acetone "belong somewhere in the slowcore/sadcore area," The Sunday Times thought that "their music isn't just unhurried, it's completely indifferent to the passing of time." [16] The Guardian praised the "homespun, half-speed ballads." [11] The San Antonio Express-News deemed the album "atmospheric pop with a hint of guitar twang and the feeling of a slow-motion undertow". [17]

AllMusic thought that the album "finds the trio sinking deeper into a well of despair, with nothing but sparse guitar pickings, cracked vocals, and shambling rock figures to help." [9] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide wrote: "Alternately draining and invigorating, the sheer listlessness of songs such as 'Might as Well' and 'Good Life' is resuscitated by the drunk and confident stare of jazz-bar reflection." [6]

Track listing

Acetone track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Every Kiss"3:58
2."All the Time"3:46
3."Germs"4:44
4."Might as Well"4:14
5."Shobud"6:46
6."All You Know"5:37
7."Good Life"3:52
8."Dee"4:30
9."Waltz"5:37
10."Another Minute"3:55
11."So Slow"3:45
12."Chew"6:14
Total length:56:58

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Acetone – 1992–2001". Uncut . September 18, 2017. Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Acetone Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  3. ↑ Saraceno, Christina (August 3, 2001). "Acetone's Richie Lee Dies at 34". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  4. ↑ Mehle, Michael (April 24, 1998). "Sleep Rockers California's Acetone Makes Waves with Hushed, Unhurried Sound". Rocky Mountain News . p. 18D.
  5. ↑ Beckley, Fred (December 8, 1997). "It Was a Lulled House at the Trocadero". The Philadelphia Inquirer . p. C7.
  6. 1 2 3 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 7.
  7. ↑ "Acetone". The Charlotte Observer. 5 Dec 1997. p. 16E.
  8. ↑ Lambert, Yon (27 Feb 1998). "L.A. trio Acetone loves lazy paces". Weekend. The State. Columbia. p. 13.
  9. 1 2 "Acetone". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. Muze. p. 33.
  11. 1 2 Cox, Tom (February 20, 1998). "Acetone Acetone". The Guardian. p. T18.
  12. 1 2 Currin, Grayson Haver (November 18, 2023). "Acetone Acetone". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Connolly, Paul (February 28, 1998). "New album releases". Metro. The Times. p. 11.
  14. ↑ "Acetone: 1992-2001". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Paul (27 Feb 1998). "Acetone Acetone". Manchester Evening News. p. 21.
  16. ↑ Edwards, Mark (February 22, 1998). "Acetone". Culture. The Sunday Times . p. 20.
  17. ↑ Beal Jr., Jim (May 15, 1998). "Crunch time". San Antonio Express-News . p. 20H.
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