| Loud City Song | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 20, 2013 | |||
| Genre | Avant-pop [1] | |||
| Length | 44:40 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Julia Holter chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Loud City Song | ||||
Loud City Song is the third studio album by American musician Julia Holter. It was released on August 20, 2013, by Domino Recording Company. The album was co-produced by Holter and Cole M.G.N., marking the second time the pair had worked together. The album was preceded by the singles "World", "In the Green Wild" and "Maxim's I".
The initial concept for Loud City Song arose out of the sessions for Holter's previous album, Ekstasis . The track "Maxim's I" had been written during the sessions but Holter felt the song didn't fit in with the themes of the album. Instead of discarding the song, Holter used the concepts behind it as inspiration for creating her next album. [5]
"Maxim's I" was primarily influenced by the musical, Gigi . In particular, Holter took inspiration from a scene where the titular character enters a bar to find the other patrons gossiping about her. Holter decided to write a collection of songs based around the way such noise and interaction affects those living in cities. In an interview with The Quietus leading up to album's release, Holter stated that, "We live in a very loud world now. I myself am not the child coming of age – I don't think! – and I'm not grumpy about the loudness, but I'm curious about it. And it's very easy to place a character in today's world who is disenchanted with it and running away, because loudness can be claustrophobic". [6]
The songs on the album explore this concept in different ways. Opening track and single, "World" follows a character journeying through a cityscape at night, while quietly observing its inhabitants. Holter has said that the track was inspired by the poems of Frank O'Hara and the films of Rick Bahto. She described it as a "journal of a person looking out into his/her city, thinking about how it relates to them and reflecting on the themes addressed later on in the record. It's kind of personal and intimate". [6]
The third track, "Horns Surrounding Me" explores the media's fascination with celebrity and its more intrusive extremes. Talking about the song with Interview , Holter stated that "it seems like there's always a celebrity culture. Even back then there was a weekly edition of a newspaper that I reference in the liner notes, where each week the cover was an illustration of the latest gossip, intrigue, romance, whatever. Today it's way more extreme and in your face—that's why the record is called Loud City Song. If you've ever seen paparazzi go after a celebrity, it's really freaky. It looks like they're going to kill them... ...That's what "Horns Surrounding Me" is about. It's so gross and scary". [5]
Fourth track and second single, "In the Green Wild" shows Holter's character learning to cope with the stresses of living within the city. She's described the songs as "about escaping one's oppressive world, losing oneself in another world". [6]
The album also includes a cover of Barbara Lewis' song, "Hello Stranger". Holter had initially decided to exclude the track. In an interview with Dummy, she clarified why she had changed her stance on its inclusion: "It wasn't something that I initially thought of but the reason it works is because there's a scene in Gigi where there are two old people reminiscing about a past relationship or affair they had together. And the song is called "I Remember It Well", but the joke is that they don't remember it very well. So it's very mysterious..." [7]
The album concludes with its longest song, "City Appearing". Holter has described it as "this crazy apocalyptic thing where everyone finds truth and love and has this big city orgy. In my mind there's fire and everything – that people are just getting rid of their hats, getting rid of their conventions, no longer conforming". [7]
Holter had previously recorded all of her albums by herself. Loud City Song marked the first time that she had decided to record an album within a studio setting. The songs for the album were still composed at home but once Holter had developed a set of songs ready for recording, she contacted producer Cole M.G.N. to produce the album and bring in session musicians to flesh-out her arrangements. Having previously produced records for Ariel Pink and Beck, Grief-Neill's experience working alongside musicians with a background in home recordings made him ideal for the role. Holter has stated that she also chose to work with him due to his ability with handling EQ levels and balancing the mix between instrumentation and vocals. [5]
The album marked the first time that Holter employed session musicians to record many of instruments heard on the album. Once writing was finished, she prepared the musicians by giving them "loose instructions, verbally instead of notated, so then that would leave them free to improvise a little bit, and that was something I'd never be able to do". [7] Holter has publicly stated how the experience moulded her understanding of the process: "I was really used to working alone and felt really self-conscious, but then it blossomed and was amazing. I think working with this many people will be more exciting in some ways, because there's so many rich timbres with the saxophone added to the group. It really blends into the synthesizer and acoustic instruments well." [5]
Holter also used open-air recordings throughout the album. The track "Horns Surrounding Me" opens with "The noise of a running, panting man", which was caught using an open-air microphone. It was recorded by Holter while playing a game of tag with a friend, on a building where she lived in Echo Park. [8]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.2/10 [9] |
| Metacritic | 88/100 [10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Fact | 4.5/5 [12] |
| The Guardian |  [13] |
| The Irish Times | [14] |
| Mojo | [15] |
| NME | 9/10 [16] |
| Pitchfork | 8.6/10 [17] |
| Q | [18] |
| Spin | 8/10 [1] |
| Uncut | 9/10 [19] |
Loud City Song was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 30 reviews. [10] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.2 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [9]
Heather Phares of AllMusic stated, "Loud City Song is Holter's most polished work to date, and another example of how she upholds and redefines what it means to be an avant-garde singer/songwriter". [11] Rob Hakimian of Beats Per Minute said, "Loud City Song is a true achievement from Julia Holter. Nary is there a hook on the album, but the richness and vividness that she brings to the songs musically and lyrically will hook you more effectively anyway". [20] Alex Robertson of Sputnikmusic stated, "This album is the sound of an excellent singer, songwriter, arranger, and, I'd argue, thinker translating those strengths into some of the most stirring music you'll hear this year. Loud City Song may not be loud, but the echo it makes is unforgettable". [21] Robin Smith of PopMatters stated, "It's an impressive record to listen to—the compositions are even more beautiful than Ekstasis, even though they're often more fragmented—but it's also a frightening depiction of what it feels like to have a whole population making you up in its head". [22] Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork stated, "Though it draws upon the distant past, Julia Holter's made a timeless people-watching soundtrack: an acutely felt ode to the mysteries of a million passersby, all the stars of their own silent musicals". [17]
Adam Kivel of Consequence stated, "Loud City Song is a sightseeing trip with a person fully able to portray the objective beauty of the sights, as well as her own take on them". [23] Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian stated, "Barbara Lewis's soul classic "Hello Stranger" gets a chillout makeover, which doesn't quite work; but any faults are obliterated by the album's closer, "City Appearing"". [13] Laura Snapes of NME said, "This is wild music, a celestial cabaret that absorbs and unsettles". [16] Philip Sherburne of Spin stated, "Like Gigi herself, it is a work of perpetual self-invention, an extended state of becoming. Have pity on the inquisitory birds, because it's impossible to look away". [1]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consequence | Top 50 Albums of 2013 | 12 | |
| The Guardian | Best albums of 2013 | 30 | |
| Mojo | Top 50 Albums of 2013 | 47 | |
| Pitchfork | The Top 50 Albums of 2013 | 49 | |
| Sputnikmusic | Top 50 Albums of 2013 | 1 | |
| The Wire | Top 50 Releases of 2013 | 1 |
All songs written by Julia Holter, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "World" | 4:52 | |
| 2. | "Maxim's I" | 6:07 | |
| 3. | "Horns Surrounding Me" | 4:46 | |
| 4. | "In the Green Wild" | 4:07 | |
| 5. | "Hello Stranger" | Barbara Lewis | 6:16 |
| 6. | "Maxim's II" | 5:28 | |
| 7. | "He's Running Through My Eyes" | 2:18 | |
| 8. | "This Is a True Heart" | 3:30 | |
| 9. | "City Appearing" | 7:16 | |
| Total length: | 44:40 | ||
Musicians
| Production and design
|
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [30] | 60 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [31] | 140 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [32] | 91 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [33] | 20 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [34] | 88 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [35] | 19 |
Songs for the Deaf is the third studio album by the American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on August 27, 2002, by Interscope Records. It features guest musicians including Dave Grohl on drums, and was the last Queens of the Stone Age album to feature Nick Oliveri on bass. Songs for the Deaf is a loose concept album, taking the listener on a drive through the California desert from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree, tuning into radio stations from towns along the way such as Banning and Chino Hills.
Last Splash is the second album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primary recording outlet. Last Splash peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and by June 1994, the album had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million units.
I Am a Bird Now is the second album by New York City band Antony and the Johnsons. It won the Mercury Prize on September 6, 2005. After winning the prize, the album shot up the UK albums chart from #135 to #16 in one week, the biggest jump in the history of the Mercury Music Prize. As of September 2011, UK sales stood at 220,000 copies.
Angus & Julia Stone are an Australian folk and indie pop group, formed in 2006 by brother and sister Angus and Julia Stone. Angus & Julia Stone have released five studio albums: A Book Like This (2007), Down the Way (2010), Angus & Julia Stone (2014), Snow (2017) and Life Is Strange (2021). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010, they won five awards from nine nominations: Album of the Year, Best Adult Alternative Album, Best Cover Art and Producer of the Year for Down the Way, and Single of the Year for "Big Jet Plane". The siblings have also issued solo albums.
Wounded Rhymes is the second studio album by Swedish singer and songwriter Lykke Li. It was released on 25 February 2011 by LL Recordings and Atlantic Records. Written in Los Angeles and recorded in Stockholm, the album was produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, who also handled production for Li's debut album, Youth Novels (2008).
James Thomas Smith, known professionally as Jamie xx, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, and remixer. He is known for both his solo work and as a member of the English indie pop band the xx.
Loud is the fifth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 12, 2010, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. The album was recorded between February and August 2010, during the singer's Last Girl on Earth tour and the filming of her first feature film Battleship (2012). Rihanna and L.A. Reid were the executive producers of Loud and worked with various record producers, including Stargate, Sandy Vee, The Runners, Tricky Stewart and Alex da Kid. The album features several guest vocalists, including rappers Drake, Nicki Minaj and Eminem, who is featured on the sequel to "Love the Way You Lie", titled "Love the Way You Lie ".
Talk That Talk is the sixth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna, released on November 18, 2011, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded while traveling for the Loud Tour between February and November 2011, and was originally planned to be a reissue of her previous studio album Loud (2010). As executive producer, Rihanna enlisted a wide range of producers including Alex da Kid, Calvin Harris, Chase & Status, No I.D., and Stargate to achieve her desired sound. Following in the same vein as Loud, Talk That Talk is a dance-oriented pop/R&B crossover album that incorporates elements of hip hop, dubstep, electronic and house music. The album also contains subtle dancehall influences, whilst its lyrical content and themes revolve around a nihilistic, romantic and lascivious lover.
Julia Shammas Holter is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist, and academic, based in Los Angeles. Following three independent album productions, Holter released Tragedy as her first official studio album in 2011. Ekstasis followed in 2012. After signing with Domino Records in 2013, she released the albums Loud City Song (2013), Have You in My Wilderness (2015) and the live-in-the-studio album In the Same Room (2017). Most recently, her double album Aviary was released in 2018.
Hesitation Marks is the eighth studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on August 30, 2013, by The Null Corporation and distributed by Columbia Records in the United States and Polydor Records elsewhere. It was the band's first release in five years, following The Slip (2008), as well as their only release on Columbia. Like previous albums, the album was produced by frontman Trent Reznor alongside longtime collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder. To date, this is the most recent band's album to be co-produced by Moulder.
Sonic Highways is the eighth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on November 10, 2014, through Roswell and RCA Records. Similar to their previous album, Wasting Light (2011), it was produced by the band with Butch Vig. In writing the album's eight songs, singer and guitarist Dave Grohl traveled to eight cities across the United States to conduct interviews with musicians, recording engineers, record producers, and other individuals discussing each city's musical history, which he used as inspiration for the songs' lyrics. The band and Vig then traveled to a different recording location in each city to record the songs. Each track features contributions from one or more musicians with ties to that city's musical history. The process was filmed for a companion television series, Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways, which was broadcast on HBO in the months surrounding the album's release.
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit is the debut studio album by Australian indie rock musician Courtney Barnett, released on 20 March 2015. The album received wide acclaim and was ranked as one of the best albums of 2015 by numerous publications.
In Colour is the debut studio album by English producer Jamie xx, released on 29 May 2015 by Young Turks. The album was composed during a five-year period while a member of the indie pop band the xx, starting with his production on xx in 2009. After starting his solo career with the remix album We're New Here (2011) and singles like "All Under One Roof Raving" (2014), he was intent on making the album something of a departure from his previous work and genre. The album features guest vocals from fellow the xx members Romy and Oliver Sim, as well as from Young Thug and Popcaan. The album produced five singles: "Girl" and "Sleep Sound" as a double-single on 5 May 2014, "Loud Places" on 27 March 2015, "Gosh" on 4 May, and "I Know There's Gonna Be " on 22 May.
Confident is the fifth studio album by American singer Demi Lovato. It was released on October 16, 2015, by Hollywood, Island and Safehouse Records. The album features guest appearances from Australian rapper Iggy Azalea and American rapper Sirah. While Lovato co-wrote most of the songs on the album, she worked with writers and producers such as Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, Steve Mac, Rami and Stargate, among others. Musically, Confident is primarily a pop, dance and electropop record with influences of R&B, soul, EDM and urban.
Have You in My Wilderness is the fourth studio album by American musician Julia Holter, released on September 25, 2015, by Domino Recording Company. Co-produced by Holter and Cole M.G.N., the album was preceded by the singles "Feel You" and "Sea Calls Me Home". Two further videos followed its release, for the tracks "Silhouette" and "Everytime Boots".
1989 is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, released digitally through his own PAX AM record label on September 21, 2015. The album is a track-by-track cover of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's album of the same name. It debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200 chart, one position ahead of Swift's own 1989, which was in its 48th week on the chart.
Hopelessness is the debut solo album by British-American artist Anohni, frontwoman of Anohni and the Johnsons, released on 6 May 2016 on Secretly Canadian, Rough Trade, and Hostess. Featuring co-production by Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never, the album departs from the chamber pop style of her previous work, instead exploring an electronic sound and engaging directly with political and environmental themes in the form of protest songs.
AIM is the fifth studio album by English rapper and record producer M.I.A. It was released on 9 September 2016 by Interscope and Polydor Records in the UK.
Aviary is the fifth studio album by American musician Julia Holter, released on October 26, 2018, by Domino. It was preceded by the singles "I Shall Love 2" and "Words I Heard". The album title is derived from a line in poet Etel Adnan's 2009 collection Master of the Eclipse.
Lady Wood is the second studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo, released on 28 October 2016 by Island Records. Lady Wood is considered the first half of a two-piece concept album that describe "highs, lows and ultimate demise of a relationship." Its chapters "Fairy Dust" and "Fire Fade" precede the chapters "Light Beams" and "Pitch Black" from her following album Blue Lips (2017). It was recorded between July 2015 and May 2016, which Lo commented was a quicker turnaround than the "whole life" she was afforded when creating her previous record Queen of the Clouds (2014).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)