Mothertongue (album)

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Mothertongue
Mothertongue (album).jpg
Studio album by
Nico Muhly
ReleasedMay 26, 2008 (2008-05-26)
Studio
  • Looking Glass (New York City)
  • Greenhouse (Reykjavík) [1]
Length49:01
Label Bedroom Community
Producer Valgeir Sigurðsson
Nico Muhly chronology
Speaks Volumes
(2006)		Mothertongue
(2008)		I Drink the Air Before Me
(2010)

Mothertongue is a studio album by American composer and musician Nico Muhly. [2] It was released on May 26, 2008, through Bedroom Community. [3] It received generally favorable reviews from critics. [4]

Contents

Background

Mothertongue is Nico Muhly's second solo studio album, following Speaks Volumes (2006). [2] It contains three suites: "Mothertongue", "Wonders", and "The Only Tune". [5] It features contributions from vocalists Abigail Fischer (on "Mothertongue"), Helgi Hrafn Jónsson (on "Wonders"), and Sam Amidon (on "The Only Tune"). [6]

The album was originally released on May 26, 2008, through Valgeir Sigurðsson's Icelandic record label Bedroom Community. [3] [7] In the United States, it was released on July 22, 2008, through Brassland Records. [8] [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 78/100 [4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The A.V. Club B+ [11]
Cokemachineglow 82% [12]
Now 4/5 [13]
The Phoenix Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [14]
Pitchfork 5.1/10 [6]
PopMatters 7/10 [5]
Spin 6/10 [15]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Mothertongue received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 from 10 critic scores. [4]

Dan Raper of PopMatters stated, "The three suites on the album do have a fidgety motion, but there are also moments of spare beauty." [5] He added, "But these works aren't large-scale in the way that Philip Glass' work is, and each idea is dealt with in a mode that shares more with indie pop than classical music." [5] Alexandra Savvides of Cyclic Defrost stated, "Mothertongue is an incredibly ambitious work, and its beauty is able to shine through from Muhly's meticulous layering of complex voices, instrumentation and context." [16] Michael Patrick Brady of The Phoenix commented that "Muhly is a perfect ambassador for a new generation of classical composers — his love of music knows no bounds or limitations." [14] Conrad Amenta of Cokemachineglow stated, "Mothertongue oscillates between the comfort/terror of singularities and excitement/terror of potentialities, but the possibilities this duality affords for Muhly's future work are frankly exhilarating." [12]

Accolades

Year-end lists for Mothertongue
PublicationListRankRef.
Pitchfork Albums of the Year: Honorable Mention
—

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nico Muhly.

Mothertongue track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Mothertongue: I. Archive"5:49
2."Mothertongue: II. Shower"4:18
3."Mothertongue: III. Hress"3:53
4."Mothertongue: IV. Monster"4:43
5."Wonders: I. New Things & New Tidings"5:56
6."Wonders: II. The Devil Appear'd in the Shape of a Man"5:33
7."Wonders: III. A Complaint Against Thomas Weelkes"3:18
8."The Only Tune: I. Two Sisters"4:30
9."The Only Tune: II. The Old Mill Pond"6:24
10."The Only Tune: III. The Only Tune"4:47
Total length:49:01

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Nico Muhly (2008). Mothertongue (CD booklet). Bedroom Community.
  2. 1 2 True, Chris. "Nico Muhly". AllMusic . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Muhly, Nico (May 2, 2008). "God only knows". The Guardian . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Mothertongue by Nico Muhly". Metacritic . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Raper, Dan (July 20, 2008). "Nico Muhly: Mothertongue". PopMatters . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Greene, Jayson (August 19, 2008). "Nico Muhly: Mothertongue". Pitchfork . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  7. ↑ Michaels, Sean (October 1, 2008). "An Interview with Nico Muhly". The Believer . Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Nico Muhly is releasing an album on Brassland". BrooklynVegan . April 17, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Nico Muhly Signs to Brassland for the United States". Brassland Records . April 17, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  10. ↑ Couture, François. "Mothertongue - Nico Muhly". AllMusic . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  11. ↑ Battaglia, Andy (July 29, 2008). "Nico Muhly: Mothertongue". The A.V. Club . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Amenta, Conrad (July 26, 2008). "Nico Muhly: Mothertongue". Cokemachineglow . Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  13. ↑ Davies, Lucie (August 20, 2008). "Nico Muhly". Now . Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Brady, Michael Patrick (July 22, 2008). "Nico Muhly". The Phoenix . Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  15. ↑ Beta, Andy (August 21, 2008). "Nico Muhly, 'Mothertongue' (Brassland)". Spin . Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  16. ↑ Savvides, Alexandra (August 19, 2008). "Nico Muhly – Mothertongue (Bedroom Community)". Cyclic Defrost . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Albums of the Year: Honorable Mention". Pitchfork . December 16, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
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