| Inner Song | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 August 2020 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:56 | |||
| Label | Smalltown Supersound | |||
| Producer |
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| Kelly Lee Owens chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Inner Song | ||||
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Inner Song is the second studio album by the Welsh electronic musician Kelly Lee Owens. It was released through Smalltown Supersound on 28 August 2020. [1] It features a collaboration with Welsh musician John Cale. [2]
Inner Song was first announced on 25 February 2020 alongside a release of the album's lead single, "Melt!". [3] Owens wrote and recorded the album after what she considered to be the hardest three years of her life. [4] Originally, the album was scheduled to be released on 1 May 2020, [5] but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the release date was pushed back to 28 August 2020. [1] The album's name is borrowed from a 1974 album by Alan Silva. [4]
The single "Corner of My Sky" features vocals from John Cale in both English and Welsh. [6] Owens explained her collaboration with Cale and the inclusion of the Welsh language was a means to connect with her Welsh heritage. [6] Cale noted that his ability to conjure Welsh phrases was a "surprise since I hadn't written in Welsh for decades". [7]
The album also features a cover of the song "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" from the 2007 Radiohead album In Rainbows . [8]
Some vinyl editions of the album include a hidden bonus track, titled "My Own", which was released as a Bandcamp exclusive track in March 2021. [9]
Inner Song is a techno-pop, [10] dream pop, [11] ambient techno, [12] tech house, [13] downtempo, [14] ethereal pop, [12] electronic pop, [15] and progressive house [16] album with elements of trip hop, [14] bedroom pop, [17] industrial techno, [17] R&B, [18] electro, [19] experimental, [20] psychedelic, [20] minimalism [21] and avant-garde. [22]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.1/10 [23] |
| Metacritic | 84/100 [24] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [14] |
| Clash | 8/10 [20] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 [25] |
| The Independent | [26] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 8.5/10 [18] |
| NME | [10] |
| Paste | 8.6/10 [11] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10 [8] |
| Q | [27] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [28] |
The album was released to critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84 based on fourteen reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [29]
Critics praised Owens for her ability to combine multiple genres in a single album. Paul Simpson of AllMusic noted how Owens "flip[s] from downtempo dream pop to spacy techno with ease," and compared her multi-genre approach to her debut album, Kelly Lee Owens . [14] Nathan Smith for Pitchfork writes that Owens is able to utilize multiple styles in the album as a result of "her unusual ability to join the physical with the emotional." [8] Writing for NME , Ben Jolley lauded the album as "perfectly-arranged" and described it as "an emotive-yet-euphoric collection that's made for late-night reflection, Kelly Lee Owens has made one of the most beautiful records of the year." [10]
Critics also praised Owens' vocals. Smith writes, "her vocals are as confident and captivating as her beats." [8] Greg Cochrane of Uncut praised the development and use of Owens' voice: "this time, when deployed, it's positioned centrally." [28]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 27 | |
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 21 | |
| Under the Radar | Top 100 Albums of 2020 | 26 |
All lyrics and vocal melodies written by Kelly Lee Owens; all music written by Kelly Lee Owens & James Greenwood, unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Arpeggi" | 4:45 | ||
| 2. | "On" | 5:57 | ||
| 3. | "Melt!" | 3:34 | ||
| 4. | "Re-Wild" | 3:42 | ||
| 5. | "Jeanette" | 6:14 | ||
| 6. | "L.I.N.E." | James Greenwood | 3:47 | |
| 7. | "Corner of My Sky" (featuring John Cale) | John Cale | 7:27 | |
| 8. | "Night" | 5:10 | ||
| 9. | "Flow" | 4:54 | ||
| 10. | "Wake-Up" | 4:26 | ||
| Total length: | 49:56 | |||
Vinyl hidden track
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "My Own" | 3:11 |
| Total length: | 53:07 | |
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [33] | 44 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [34] | 80 |
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