| Girl in the Half Pearl | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 10, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | October 2021 to 2022 [1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:47 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | In Real Life | |||
| Producer |
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| Liv.e chronology | ||||
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Girl in the Half Pearl is the second full-length studio album by American alternative R&B and neo-soul singer Liv.e. It has received positive reviews from critics and has been included on several 2023 best of lists.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.4⁄10 (5 reviews) [6] |
| Metacritic | 85⁄100 (7 reviews) [7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| HipHopDX |  [9] |
| Loud and Quiet | 7⁄10 [10] |
| Pitchfork | 8.3⁄10 [11] |
| Under the Radar | 8⁄10 [3] |
Editors at AnyDecentMusic? rated this release a 7.4 out of 10, based on five reviews. [6] According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Girl in the Half Pearl received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 from 7 critic scores. [7]
Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Paul Simpson writing that this album is "both more introspective and more expansive than [Liv.e]'s previous work, drawing from a wider range of stylistic influences and containing lyrics that are more upfront about the artist's desires and conflicts". [8] Editors at Bandcamp chose this for Album of the Day, with Mercy Kassa characterizing it as "a psychedelic collection of jazz-infused, soulful tracks that tackle themes of Black womanhood, self-determination, and liberation, giving listeners a front row experience to the struggle to find personal and creative freedom". [5] HipHopDX 's Lauren Floyd scored this album a 4.5 out of 5, calling it a "beautiful expression of self" that "thematically weaves the concepts of womanhood and honest expression in a world that prioritizes neat, clean and easily understood motifs". [9] In Loud and Quiet , Tom Critten gave this album 7 out of 10, for the "effortlessness" of Liv.e's songwriting. [10] NPR's Teresa Xie summed up her review, "Liv.e's meditative concoction of sounds, which pull from many genres but can never be attributed to one in particular, like many great mixes, reveal the ways that growth and disorientation oscillate between each other like a pendulum". [12]
Editors at Pitchfork chose this as Best New Music of the week and shortlisted it one of the best albums of February 2023, [13] with critic Phillipe Roberts writing that it "cuts to the scene after the diary slams shut, when your face crashes into the pillow before a long and sleepless night". [11] Marc Hogan of that site proposed Grammy Award nominees and chose this to contend for Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album. [14] Writing for The Quietus , Arusa Qureshi finished her review calling this "an album that is hard to categorise but its methodical beats, otherworldly production, intriguingly chaotic clashes of melody and hazy vocals all inexplicably mesh together, with Liv.e leaning further and further towards that vital point of breakthrough". [4] In a profile for Rolling Stone , Matthew Ritchie writing that this release "captures the feeling of your world breaking down, then trying to sort through the rubble to rebuild a new reality" and that the diverse music is comparable to Erykah Badu. [1] Spin 's Julian Towers wrote that this album is "more jagged and sharp-edged in its sonic architecture" than Liv.e's 2020 effort Couldn't Wait to Tell You . [2] Writing for Stereogum Yousef Srour calls this release "more direct" than Liv.e's last full-length. [15] Michelle Dalarossa of Under the Radar rated this release an 8 out of 10, summing up "to contain this many sounds and probe this many emotional episodes—from the breathlessness of blooming love to the deception of a failed relationship, the insecurity of missing someone to the confidence of letting go—is no easy feat, but one of Liv.e's greatest strengths lies in her fluidity and bold instincts". [3] Craig Jenkins of Vulture stated that the "album's confident mind-set and musicality are defenses against the unpleasantness of the decade, during which patriarchal power structures persist in spite of a universal outcry and a casual rudeness has infected countless facets of public life". [16]
This album was included on several "best of the year (so far)" midyear lists. It was highlighted by Billboard in an unranked list, with Andrew Unterberger calling it a "float down the winding path of Lake Psilocybin, where beats, lyrics, instruments and ideas flit in and out seemingly on their own whims, intriguing, tantalizing and frustrating before making way for the next turn". [17] The staff of Okayplayer published individual picks for the year on July 12, with two editors choosing Liv.e's album for their top five. [18] Another unranked list from Rolling Stone featured Jon Dolan's assessment that Liv.e "uses her wide-open inner space to map out messy romantic states and multileveled internal crisis, luxuriating in a self-discovery that seems to be eternally unfolding". [19] Slant Magazine 's unranked listing has Thomas Bedenbaugh noting the album's unique blend of genres, continuing that "eclectic influences alone don't make an album worthwhile, and Williams fills hers with gorgeous, occasionally haunting melodies that are as infectious as they are ephemeral". [20] Editors of Stereogum ranked the album the 41st best album of 2023's first half, with critic Chris DeVille writing that the album "get[s] weirder, wilder, and more impassioned as Liv.e grafts R&B to IDM with a singular, emphatic touch". [21] In a mid-year review, Rolling Stone India included this release in their best albums of 2023. [22]
| Outlet | Listing | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| AllMusic [23] | AllMusic Best of 2023 | — |
| AllMusic [24] | Favorite R&B Albums | — |
| Bandcamp [25] | The Best Albums of 2023 | — |
| Clash Music [26] | Albums of the Year 2023 | 31 |
| Pitchfork [27] | The 50 Best Albums of 2023 | 39 |
| Pitchfork [28] | The Best Pop Music of 2023 | — |
| Slant Magazine [29] | The 50 Best Albums of 2023 | 50 |
| Stereogum [30] | The 50 Best Albums of 2023 | 38 |
| World Cafe [31] | The John Morrison's Favorite Albums of 2023 | — |
"I feel like it's the most wide-open I've been... I'm feeling a little exposed."
All songs written by Liv.e. [1]
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