Inventions (Inventions album)

Last updated

Inventions
Inventions (Inventions album).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 1, 2014 (2014-04-01)
Length44:20
Label Temporary Residence
Producer
  • Matthew Cooper
  • Mark T. Smith
Inventions chronology
Inventions
(2014)
Maze of Woods
(2015)

Inventions is the debut studio album by Inventions, a collaborative project between Matthew Cooper and Mark T. Smith. It was released on April 1, 2014, through Temporary Residence Limited. It received generally favorable reviews from critics. [1]

Contents

Background

Inventions consists of Matthew Cooper, also known as Eluvium, and Mark T. Smith of Explosions in the Sky. [2] They became friends when Eluvium and Explosions in the Sky toured together. [3] They first collaborated on the song "Envenom Mettle" for Eluvium's album Nightmare Ending (2013). [4] Inventions is the duo's debut studio album. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 72/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Consequence C+ [7]
The Line of Best Fit 8/10 [8]
Pitchfork 7.5/10 [9]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Spin 7/10 [12]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Inventions received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 from 9 critic scores. [1]

Benjamin Hedge Olson of PopMatters stated, "Inventions places Cooper's lush, electronic ambience alongside Explosions in the Sky's sense of space and tension." [10] He added, "The results are quite satisfying and not too syrupy." [10] Garrett Kamps of Spin commented that "Inventions works for all the reasons post-rock ambient experimental noise-scape music is supposed to work." [12] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork stated, "Lack of variety aside, Eluvium and Smith couldn't be a better match, and the record as a whole possesses an uncommon beauty." [9] John Skibeat of The Line of Best Fit described Inventions as "an instrumental album of the most beautiful, minimalist, ambient rock music that resonates at a completely different frequency from all that has gone before." [8]

Accolades

Year-end lists for Inventions
PublicationListRankRef.
Drowned in Sound 50 Favourite Albums of 2014
40
MusicOMH Top 100 Albums of 2014
60

Track listing

All tracks are written by Matthew Cooper and Mark T. Smith.

Inventions track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Echo Tropism"2:53
2."Flood Poems"7:28
3."Entity"6:33
4."Luminous Insects"4:47
5."Peacable Child"7:29
6."Sun Locations / Sun Coda"6:01
7."Recipient"5:10
8."Psychic Automation"3:59
Total length:44:20

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. [15]

Charts

Chart performance for Inventions
Chart (2014)Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums ( Billboard ) [16] 22

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Inventions by Inventions". Metacritic . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  2. Geslani, Michelle (January 29, 2014). "Explosions in the Sky and Eluvium members team up as Inventions, listen to "Entity"". Consequence . Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. Beta, Andy (March 6, 2014). "How Explosions in the Sky and Eluvium Became Inventions". Spin . Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  4. Adams, Sean (May 1, 2014). "Album Stream + Inventions' (Explosions in the Sky + Eluvium) track by track guide". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  5. Britton, Luke Morgan (January 14, 2014). "Explosions In The Sky and Eluvium members announce new album as "Inventions"". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  6. Heaney, Gregory. "Inventions - Inventions". AllMusic . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  7. Roffman, Michael (April 10, 2014). "Album Review: Inventions – Inventions". Consequence . Archived from the original on June 13, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Skibeat, John (April 2, 2014). "Inventions". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Richardson, Mark (April 2, 2014). "Inventions: Inventions". Pitchfork . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Olson, Benjamin Hedge (April 10, 2014). "Inventions: Inventions". PopMatters . Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  11. Watson, Ross (April 30, 2014). "Inventions – Inventions". The Skinny . Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Kamps, Garrett (April 1, 2014). "Post-Rock Supergroup Inventions Conjure Transfixing Debut". Spin . Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  13. "Drowned in Sound's 50 Favourite Albums of 2014". Drowned in Sound . December 16, 2014. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  14. "musicOMH's Top 100 Albums Of 2014". MusicOMH . December 6, 2014. Archived from the original on March 30, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Inventions (2014). Inventions (CD booklet). Temporary Residence Limited.
  16. "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard . April 19, 2014. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2025.