Crush Songs

Last updated
Crush Songs
Karen O - Crush Songs.png
Studio album by
Karen O
ReleasedSeptember 5, 2014 (2014-09-05)
Recorded2006–2010
Genre
Length25:25
Label Cult
Karen O chronology
Where the Wild Things Are: Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2009)		Crush Songs
(2014)		Live from Crush Palace
(2015)
Singles from Crush Songs
  1. "Rapt"
    Released: July 29, 2014
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 65/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The A.V. Club C+ [4]
Clash 6/10 [5]
DIY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Entertainment Weekly B [7]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
NME 7/10 [8]
Pitchfork 5.8/10 [9]
PopMatters 8/10 [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]

Crush Songs is the debut solo studio album by Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead vocalist Karen O. It was released on September 5, 2014, by Cult Records. "Rapt" was released as the album's lead single on July 29, 2014. [12]

Contents

Background and recording

The songs were written at a time of emotional discomfort for Karen O. "When I was 27 I crushed a lot. I wasn't sure I'd ever fall in love again. These songs were written + recorded in private around this time. They are the soundtrack to what was an ever continuing love crusade", she explained in a statement posted on her website. [13]

Reception

Crush Songs received modest praise upon release. Drowned in Sound called it a collection of "sketches for finished songs that never quite were," and noting if it had "come out in 2007, you'd probably call it an anti-folk record." Nevertheless, there was praise from the magazine who acknowledged while this was essentially "a collection of seven-year-old demos that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs leader had been sitting on," it also is "more of a record to crush on than fall in love with, but free it from expectations and it'll take a small part of your heart." [14] The Line of Best Fit called the album "cute, quaint even," but stated "unless you're president of her fanclub, utterly throwaway." [15] Pitchfork gave the album a score of 5.8 saying, "perhaps it’s too modest: these are all very short songs, with only three out of fourteen surpassing two minutes." [16]

Commercial performance

Crush Songs debuted at number 61 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 1,336 copies. [17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Karen O, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Ooo"1:28
2."Rapt"1:47
3."Visits"1:33
4."Beast"2:57
5."Comes the Night"1:06
6."NYC Baby"0:56
7."Other Side"1:11
8."So Far"1:33
9."Day Go By"2:16
10."Body"2:27
11."King"1:23
12."Indian Summer" (writer: The Doors)1:03
13."Sunset Sun"1:12
14."Native Korean Rock"2:27
15."Singalong" (writers: O, Jack Lawrence, Dean Fertita)2:06

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crush Songs. [18]

Charts

Chart (2014)Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA) [19] 6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [20] 81
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [21] 184
Irish Albums (IRMA) [22] 72
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA) [23] 11
UK Albums (OCC) [24] 61
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [25] 11
US Billboard 200 [26] 44
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [27] 10
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [28] 8
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [29] 14

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
AustraliaSeptember 5, 2014 Cult [30] [31]
Germany
  • CD
  • LP
  • digital download
 [32] [33] [34]
Ireland
  • CD
  • digital download
 [35] [36]
United KingdomSeptember 8, 2014
  • CD
  • LP
  • digital download
 [37] [38] [39]
United StatesSeptember 9, 2014 [40] [41] [42]

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References

  1. 1 2 MacInnes, Paul (September 4, 2014). "Karen O: Crush Songs review – low-fi sketches on love and loneliness". The Guardian . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Reviews for Crush Songs by Karen O". Metacritic . Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Crush Songs – Karen O". AllMusic . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  4. ↑ Saraiya, Sonia (September 9, 2014). "Karen O's solo album lacks Yeah Yeah Yeahs' punch". The A.V. Club . Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  5. ↑ Taylor, Benji (August 26, 2014). "Karen O – Crush Songs". Clash . Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  6. ↑ Swann, Emma (September 3, 2014). "Karen O – Crush Songs". DIY . Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Kyle (September 12, 2014). "Albums: Sept. 12, 2014". Entertainment Weekly . No. 1328. p. 62. ISSN   1049-0434 . Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  8. ↑ Beaumont, Mark (September 7, 2014). "Karen O – 'Crush Songs'". NME . Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  9. ↑ Stephen M., Deusner (September 10, 2014). "Karen O: Crush Songs". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  10. ↑ Austin, Logan (January 30, 2015). "Karen O: Crush Songs". PopMatters . Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  11. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (September 9, 2014). "Karen O: Crush Songs". Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Rapt [Explicit]: Karen O: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  13. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy (June 25, 2014). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O Announces First Solo Record, Crush Songs". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Karen O". Drowned in Sound. Drowned in Sound. 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  15. ↑ "Karen O - Crush Songs". The Line of Best Fit. The Line of Best Fit. 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  16. ↑ "Crush Songs". Pitchfork. Pitchfork. 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  17. ↑ Jones, Alan (September 15, 2014). "Official Charts Analysis: Sam Smith retains No.1 album slot in busiest week of the year" . Music Week . Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  18. ↑ Crush Songs (liner notes). Karen O. Cult Records. 2014. CLT0162.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ↑ "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 15th September 2014" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (1281): 21. September 15, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-23. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Karen O – Crush Songs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Karen O – Crush Songs" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  22. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 37, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Top 20 Indie Individual Artist Albums". Irish Recorded Music Association. September 11, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Karen O Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Karen O Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Karen O Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Karen O Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Crush Songs". JB Hi-Fi . Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Crush Songs (Explicit) by Karen O". zdigital (AU). Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Crush Songs" (in German). Amazon.de . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Crush Songs ('blue' vinyl+36pg booklet+Mp3) [Vinyl LP]" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Crush Songs [Explicit]: Karen O: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon.de. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Karen O[yeah Yeah Yeahs] – Crush Songs". Tower Records Ireland. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Crush Songs (Explicit) by Karen O". 7digital (IE). Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Crush Songs". Amazon.co.uk . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Crush Songs [VINYL]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Crush Songs [Explicit]: Karen O: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Crush Songs". Amazon. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Crush Songs (Vinyl)". Amazon. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Crush Songs [Explicit]: Karen O: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
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