Half-Light (album)

"Don't Let It Get to You" redirects here. For the Jane Child song, see Jane Child (album).

Half-Light
Studio album by Rostam
Released	September 15, 2017 (2017-09-15)
Genre	Art pop indie rock indietronica
Length	52:08
Label	Nonesuch
Producer	Rostam Batmanglij Ariel Rechtshaid Francis Farewell Starlite
Rostam chronology
I Had a Dream That You Were Mine (2016) Half-Light (2017) Changephobia (2021)
Singles from Half-Light
"Wood" Released: September 27, 2011 [1] "Don't Let It Get to You" Released: November 1, 2011 [2] "EOS" Released: January 14, 2016 [3] "Gwan" Released: April 26, 2017 [4] "Bike Dream" Released: June 14, 2017 [5] "Half-Light" Released: September 8, 2017 [6]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10 [7]
Metacritic	77/100 [8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The A.V. Club	B+ [10]
Consequence of Sound	B+ [11]
Exclaim!	7/10 [12]
NME	[13]
Paste	7.4/10 [14]
Pitchfork	7.2/10 [15]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Uncut	6/10 [8]

Half-Light is the debut solo studio album by American musician Rostam, released on September 15, 2017. ^[17] The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, ^[18] and received generally favorable reviews. ^[19]

Background

Half-Light was released a year after his departure from his acclaimed indie-pop band, Vampire Weekend, ^[20] and his successful collaboration with the former The Walkmen singer, Hamilton Leithauser, I Had a Dream That You Were Mine . The album contains several tracks that were written many years before the release of Half-Light, with one song being written ten years prior to the album's release. ^[21]

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Rostam Batmanglij, except where noted.

Half-Light ^[22]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Additional production	Length
1.	"Sumer"		Ariel Rechtshaid	3:36
2.	"Bike Dream"		Rechtshaid	3:22
3.	"Half-Light" (featuring Kelly Zutrau)	Batmanglij Ramesh Srivastava Kelly Zutrau		3:31
4.	"Thatch Snow"			3:04
5.	"Wood"			5:42
6.	"Never Going to Catch Me"			3:10
7.	"Don't Let It Get to You"			5:18
8.	"I Will See You Again"			1:16
9.	"Hold You" (featuring Angel Deradoorian)	Batmanglij Andrew Wyatt Angel Deradoorian	Francis Farewell Starlite	2:34
10.	"When"		Rechtshaid	3:26
11.	"Rudy"		Rechtshaid	3:53
12.	"Warning Intruders"		Rechtshaid	3:31
13.	"EOS"			3:08
14.	"Gwan"	Batmanglij Srivastava [a]		4:46
15.	"Don't Let It Get to You" (Reprise)	Batmanglij Paul Simon		2:01
Total length:				52:08

Vinyl edition (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Welcoming the Betrayers"	2:35
17.	"Another Room"	3:28
18.	"Oh You've Got To"	3:07
19.	"Arc"	1:20
Total length:		62:38

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a lyricist.

Sample credits

• "Sumer" contains samples from "Sumer Is Icumen In" performed by The Revels Chorus.
• "Never Going To Catch Me" contains an interpolation of "Ndini Baba" by Dumisani Maraire.
• "Don't Let It Get To You" contains a sample from "The Obvious Child" as performed by Paul Simon.
• "When" contains excerpts from "You Are All I See" by Active Child.

Personnel

Musicians Rostam Batmanglij – vocals (all tracks), drum programming (tracks 1, 2, 5-13), piano (tracks 2-4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15), synth (tracks 4, 6-10, 12, 13, 15), sampler (tracks 1, 5-7, 9, 10, 15), drums (tracks 1, 3-5, 11), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3, 8, 14), string arrangement (tracks 2, 5, 6, 14), electric guitar (tracks 2, 3, 11), bass (tracks 3, 11, 14), harpsichord (track 1), glasser (track 1), shaker (track 3), 12-string guitar (track 5), hand drums (track 5), double bass (track 6), harmonizer (track 9), horn arrangement (track 11), slide guitar (track 14) Cameron Mesirow – backup vocals (track 1) Garrett Ray – drums (track 2) Hamilton Berry – cello (tracks 2, 5, 6, 14) Tony Flynt – double bass (track 2) Kelly Zutrau – vocals (track 3) Nick Rowe – hand claps (track 4), lap slaps (track 4) Jonathan Chu – violin (track 5) Max Wang – double bass (track 6) Andrew Bulbrook – violin (track 6) Angel Deradoorian – vocals (track 9), choir vocals (track 12) Abhiman Kaushal – tabla (track 10) Binki Shaprio – background vocals (track 11) Adam Schatz – saxophone (track 11) Joe Santa Maria – saxophone (track 11)

Production Rostam Batmanglij – production, mixing (tracks 1, 3-13, 15), engineering (tracks 2, 5-7, 10, 11, 13, 14); design and layout, front cover Polaroid digital pixelation Ariel Rechtshaid – additional production (tracks 1, 2, 10-12), engineering (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 10) Francis Farewell Starlite – additional production (track 9) Dave Fridmann – mixing (track 2) Rob Orton – mixing (track 4) Emily Lazar – mastering Chris Allgood – mastering assistance Nick Rowe – engineering (tracks 1-4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14) Shane Stoneback – engineering (tracks 1-4, 6, 9-14) Chris Rakestraw – engineering (track 1) Justin Gerrish – engineering (track 1) Michael Harris – engineering (tracks 2, 10, 11) John DeBold – engineering (track 9) Chris Kasych – engineering (track 10) Logan Patrick – engineering (track 11) Dave Schiffman – engineering (track 14) Ben Tousley – design and layout Ezra Koenig – front cover Polaroid Jake Longstreth – back cover painting

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [23]	6

References

1. "Rostam – 'Wood'". Stereogum . September 27, 2011.
2. "Rostam – 'Don't Let It Get To You'". Stereogum. November 2011.
3. "Vampire Weekend's Rostam Releases "EOS"". Pitchfork . January 14, 2016.
4. "Rostam Officially Releases "Gwan" As First Single From Forthcoming Solo Debut". Paste .
5. "Rostam Reveals Details Of New Solo Album, Shares 'Bike Dream'". NPR .
6. "Listen to Rostam's New Song 'Half-Light'". Pitchfork. September 6, 2017.
7. "Half-Light by Rostam reviews". AnyDecentMusic? Retrieved March 2, 2018.
8. "Critic Reviews for Half-Light by Rostam". Metacritic. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
9. Phares, Heather. "Half-Light - Rostam". AllMusic . Retrieved September 22, 2017.
10. Modell, Josh (September 14, 2017). "Vampire Weekend's Rostam goes for pop bliss on the fussy, fantastic Half-Light". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
11. David, Sackllah (September 6, 2017). "Rostam – Half-Light". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
12. van den Hoogenband, Corey. "Rostam Half-Light". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
13. Cochrane, Greg (September 13, 2017). "Rostam – 'Half-Light' Review". NME. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
14. Kohn, Daniel. "Rostam: Half-Light Review". Paste. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
15. Dombal, Ryan. "Rostam: Half-Light Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
16. Hermes, Will. "Review: Vampire Weekend Auteur Rostam Batmanglij Channels Worldly Vision". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
17. "Rostam (Vampire Weekend) Announces Debut Album Half-Light, Shares New Song 'Bike Dream': Listen". Pitchfork. June 14, 2017.
18. "Rostam Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
19. Half-Light by Rostam , retrieved February 1, 2018
20. "Rostam Batmanglij Leaves Vampire Weekend | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. January 26, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
21. "Rostam: Half-Light Album Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
22. "Half-Light by Rostam on Apple Music". iTunes Store . September 15, 2017.
23. "Rostam Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2017.