Flow Critical Lucidity is the ninth studio album by American musician Thurston Moore. It was released on September 20, 2024[1] and was produced by Thurston and Eva Marie Moore.
Five singles were taken from the album, Moore's first following the publication of his book Sonic Life: A Memoir. It was subject to critical acclaim upon release and peaked on the UK Independent Albums Chart at no. 12.[11]
Background and singles
In February 2023, Moore released a single entitled "Hypnogram" alongside the announcement of a new album.[6] The following month, Moore released another song, "Isadora", on Bandcamp with an accompanying music video starring Sky Ferreira, directed by Radieux Radio.[12] Radio is an alias for Thurston Moore's wife Eva Marie Moore[13] who has often written lyrics for him as early as The Best Day (2014).[14] Although the song was marketed as a track from the forthcoming album,[15] it was ultimately left off the standard track listing.[8]
In October, Moore's book Sonic Life: A Memoir was published.[16] He would have to cancel the book tour due to atrial fibrillation, a health issue that he said he suffered from "for a number of years",[17] and Moore would ultimately not release more music from Flow Critical Lucidity until Earth Day of the following year with the single "Rewilding".[7] On June 20, 2024, the title, artwork, and release date were revealed with the single "Sans Limites", a song featuring Lætitia Sadier of Stereolab on backing vocals.[8] He would release two more singles prior to the album, "New in Town" and "The Diver", the former of which coincided with his 66th birthday.[9][10]
Release
Flow Critical Lucidity peaked on the UK Independent and Scottish album charts at no. 12 and 46, respectively.[11] Limited editions included a flexi disc containing "Isadora (Bedazzled Mix)".[9]
The artwork is derived from the 1988 painting Samurai Walkman by Jamie Nares.[13] which is featured on the back cover of the album.[18]
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Flow Critical Lucidity received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 from seven critic scores.[19]
Jon Buckland of The Quietus wrote "The whole record feels hauled from a dream space where you’re laid on your back letting the sky sink down to you."[13] Reviewing for AllMusic, Fred Thomas said that while "Moore doesn't do much to change his established sound... the substantial contributions from both [Radieux] Radio and his band allow for the entire crew to go deeper and linger longer in both moments of no wave clatter and the heavy, transcendent bliss that Moore has made his calling card."[4] Christopher J. Lee of PopMatters believed that although it "may not supersede Thurston Moore’s past career peaks", the album demonstrates "the unbounded possibilities of transformation available to [him]".[1]
Grayson Haver Currin of Mojo considered it to be Moore's best album since Sonic Youth'sThe Eternal (2009), saying "this is the closest he's been to tapping back into the feeling in a long time.... Moore sounds interested in his future again".[5]Uncut Magazine said the album "stands among his best solo works."[21]
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