| Fading Frontier | ||||
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| Released | October 16, 2015 | |||
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| Length | 36:02 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
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| Deerhunter chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fading Frontier | ||||
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Fading Frontier is the seventh studio album by the American indie rock band Deerhunter, released on October 16, 2015 on 4AD. [4] Produced by Ben H. Allen, who had previously worked with the band on Halcyon Digest (2010), and the band itself, the album was preceded by the singles "Snakeskin", "Breaker" and "Living My Life".
In December 2014, Bradford Cox was involved in a car crash which left him "seriously injured, but also provided a perspective-giving jolt". Prior to the release of Fading Frontier, Cox stated that the accident "erased all illusions" and admitted that it was a definite turning point for him. Fading Frontier is Deerhunter's and Cox's first release since the accident. [5] This album saw the departure of Frankie Broyles, who left the band in 2015 to focus on his solo career. [6] The song "Ad Astra" contains a sample from Bascom Lamar Lunsford's "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground". [7] [8]
Fading Frontier was announced via a countdown timer on Deerhunter's website, which ended on 16 August 2015. [9]
The first single released was "Snakeskin" on August 17, [10] followed up with "Breaker" on September 15, of which the video was directed by Cox himself. [11]
The cover art for the album is a photograph titled "Zuma" by the artist John Divola. [12]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.7/10 [13] |
| Metacritic | 81/100 [14] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| The A.V. Club | A− [7] |
| The Guardian | [16] |
| The Irish Times | [17] |
| Mojo | [18] |
| NME | 5/5 [19] |
| Pitchfork | 8.4/10 [3] |
| Q | [20] |
| Rolling Stone |  [21] |
| Spin | 9/10 [22] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 81, based on 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [14]
Consequence critic Sheldon Pearce wrote that the album is "one more gem from a well-traveled band that's still finding new territory to explore." [1] NME critic Barry Nicholson praised the record and gave it a perfect score, describing it as "a remarkable album, one that only grows more awesome with each listen." [19] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork awarded the album with a "Best New Music" tag and wrote: "If there isn't a Deerhunter sound, there's a Deerhunter perspective that runs through their work, best summed up in 'All the Same'—'take your handicaps/ Channel them and feed them back/ Until they become your strengths.' The weird era continues." [3] In The Guardian , Alex Petridis noted the album's more mainstream sound: "there are so many straightforwardly commercial-sounding songs here," he observed, "that Fading Frontier could conceivably be an album that turns Deerhunter from cult concern into mainstream success." [16] Citing a lack of angst and urgency in comparison to previous efforts, Exclaim!'s Anna Alger wrote that "On Fading Frontier, Deerhunter focus on their ability as a band to hypnotize and confound, which make the explosive moments here stand out that much more." [23]
In a less favorable review, Clash critic Sam Walker-Smart wrote that the record "is by no means a poor album, and truth be told really doesn't possess a bad number on it." Nevertheless, he added: "When the oddities on this album ride so high they should have let complete weirdness take over." [24]
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Guardian | The Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 12 [25] |
| NME | NME's Albums of the Year 2015 | 2015 | 14 [26] |
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 30 [27] |
| Readers' Top 50 Albums | 2015 | 14 [28] | |
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 42 [29] |
All tracks are written by Bradford Cox, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All the Same" | 3:05 | |
| 2. | "Living My Life" | 3:49 | |
| 3. | "Breaker" | 3:31 | |
| 4. | "Duplex Planet" | 2:40 | |
| 5. | "Take Care" | 4:12 | |
| 6. | "Leather and Wood" | 5:55 | |
| 7. | "Snakeskin" | 4:20 | |
| 8. | "Ad Astra (*)" | Lockett Pundt | 5:32 |
| 9. | "Carrion" | 2:58 |
Credits for the album were adapted from a press release by 4AD. [4]
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [30] | 74 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [31] | 75 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [32] | 89 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [33] | 54 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) [34] | 45 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [35] | 53 |
| US Billboard 200 [36] | 72 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [37] | 10 |
Last Splash is the second album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primary recording outlet. Last Splash peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and by June 1994, the album had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million units.
Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino and identical twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace that formed in New York City in 1993. The band's earliest albums were noted for their noise rock influences, though their sound evolved by the early 2000s with the releases of Misery is a Butterfly (2004) and 23 (2007), which both incorporated elements of dream pop, shoegaze and other genres. They have released ten studio albums and have toured internationally.
Deerhunter is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2001. The band currently consists of Bradford Cox, Moses Archuleta, Lockett Pundt, Josh McKay (bass) and Javier Morales.
Bradford James Cox is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound.
Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel is the debut album by Atlas Sound, the solo project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox. The album was released in North America by Kranky on February 19, 2008 and in Europe by 4AD on May 5, 2008.
Microcastle is the third studio album by Deerhunter. After the album had been leaked on the internet, it became available on iTunes on August 19, 2008, while physical copies were released on October 27, 2008. In the U.S. the album was released on Kranky and on 4AD in Europe. The album was recorded over the course of one week in April 2008 by Nicolas Vernhes at Rare Book Room Studios in Brooklyn, NY. In the U.S., the album has managed to sell over 50,000 units.
Weird Era Cont. is the fourth album by Deerhunter released concurrently with Microcastle. After Microcastle had leaked months in advance of its planned release date, the band recorded a new album in an attempt to reward those who awaited its street release date although like Microcastle, it also leaked in advance. Weird Era Cont. was officially made available as a bonus disc/12", depending on format, with both the 4AD and Kranky releases.
Lockett James Pundt IV is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist. He is the guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of Atlanta-based indie rock group Deerhunter which he joined in 2005. Pundt also releases solo material under the name Lotus Plaza.
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The discography of Atlanta, Georgia-based ambient and psychedelic band Deerhunter includes eight studio albums, two extended plays, five vinyl singles, three split albums, and nine music videos. The band has also made appearances on a number of compilation albums. Deerhunter was formed in 2001 by vocalist Bradford Cox and drummer Moses Archuleta. Members to later join were guitarists Colin Mee and Lockett Pundt, and bassists Justin Bosworth and Josh Fauver. Bosworth was killed in a skateboarding accident early in the band's career, leading to his replacement by Fauver. Mee left Deerhunter in 2007 after scheduling conflicts preventing him from performing at a number of shows.
The discography of American musician Bradford Cox includes his work with Deerhunter, the band he cofounded with drummer Moses Archuleta in 2001, and his solo efforts as Atlas Sound. With Deerhunter, Cox has released four studio albums and two extended plays, and as Atlas Sound he has released two albums, several vinyl singles and splits, and over fifty individual tracks on his blog. Cox was born in 1982 in Athens, Georgia, and has used the name "Atlas Sound" to refer to his own music since he was a child, when he recorded on a tape player created by the company Atlas Sound. He is known for having the genetic disorder Marfan syndrome and his live performances with Deerhunter during 2007, in which he would come out on stage in dresses and covered in fake blood.
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Parallax is the third studio album from Bradford Cox's solo project Atlas Sound, released November 7, 2011 on 4AD. The album debuted at #97 on the Billboard 200 and has received critical acclaim.
Monomania is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Deerhunter, released on May 7, 2013 on 4AD. Produced by both the band and Nicolas Vernhes, the album is the first to feature bassist Josh McKay, and is the only studio album to feature guitarist Frankie Broyles.
Christopher Michael Taylor, professionally known as Sohn, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Following the release of the 2012 EP The Wheel by Aesop, he was signed by 4AD. He released his first album, Tremors, on 7 April 2014 followed by Rennen in January 2017 and Trust in November 2022.
Art Angels is the fourth studio album by Canadian musician Grimes, pseudonym of Claire Elise Boucher. It was digitally released on November 6, 2015, through 4AD, and in physical formats on December 11. Boucher began planning the record in 2013 as the follow-up to her third studio album, Visions; however, for unknown reasons, she scrapped most of the material from these sessions and began a new set of recordings in 2014. The track "Realiti", which came from the earlier recordings, was released as a demo in early 2015.
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