Major Arcana (album)

Major Arcana
Studio album by Speedy Ortiz
Released	July 9, 2013 (2013-07-09)
Genre	Indie rock, noise pop, alternative rock, grunge
Length	34:30
Label	Carpark Records
Producer	Justin Pizzoferrato
Speedy Ortiz chronology
The Death of Speedy Ortiz (2011) Major Arcana (2013) Real Hair EP (2014)

Major Arcana is the debut full-length studio album from the indie rock group Speedy Ortiz. It was released on July 9, 2013, by Carpark Records.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	A- [3]
Consequence of Sound	[4]
Pitchfork Media	(8.4/10) [5]
PopMatters	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]

Major Arcana has received critical acclaim. The album has a score of 81 out of 100 on the review aggregate site Metacritic, based on 16 reviews. ^[1]

Pitchfork Media's Lindsay Zoladz gave the album a Best New Album designation, claiming that frontwoman Sadie Dupuis "writ[es] lyrics that are actually worth poring over". ^[5] David Brusie of The A.V. Club also praised the album, writing "a markedly assured debut, one that makes Speedy Ortiz an act to watch". ^[3] Consequence of Sound's Katherine Flynn called the album "strong, punchy musical concentrate". ^[4] Robin Smith of PopMatters described "its angular, moody ‘90s feel conjures the image of an overgrown punk hanging around a playground at night, drinking, smoking, wasting". ^[6]

Pitchfork Media ranked Major Arcana #48 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2013, writing: "Speedy Ortiz strains the strangled chords and corkscrew interplay of 90s guitar heroes [...] into jaggedly axed anthem". ^[8] The album was listed 31st on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2013. ^[9]

The song "No Below" was featured in the 2017 Square Enix/Deck Nine game Life Is Strange: Before the Storm .

Track listing

All songs by Speedy Ortiz.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pioneer Spine"	3:37
2.	"Tiger Tank"	2:46
3.	"Hitch"	2:35
4.	"Casper (1995)"	2:48
5.	"No Below"	3:44
6.	"Gary"	3:26
7.	"Fun"	2:05
8.	"Cash Cab"	3:35
9.	"Plough"	2:53
10.	"MKVI"	7:08
Total length:		34:30

iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Speedy Ortiz"	2:17

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
US Top Heatseekers [10]	30

References

1. Critic Reviews for Major Arcana. Metacritic. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
2. Lymangrover, Jason. Major Arcana - Speedy Ortiz. Allmusic. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
3. Brusie, David. Speedy Ortiz: Major Arcana. The A.V. Club. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
4. Flynn, Katherine. Speedy Ortiz - Major Arcana. Consequence of Sound. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
5. Zoladz, Lindsay. Speedy Ortiz: Major Arcana. Pitchfork Media. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
6. Smith, Robin. Speedy Ortiz: Major Arcana. PopMatters. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
7. Powell, Mike. Speedy Ortiz, 'Major Arcana'. Rolling Stone. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
8. The Top 50 Albums of 2013. Pitchfork Media. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
9. The 50 Best Albums of 2013 - Stereogum. Stereogum. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
10. "Major Arcana - Speedy Ortiz Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved January 4, 2014.