| Noir | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 26, 2011 [1] | |||
| Genre | Instrumental hip hop | |||
| Length | 62:48 | |||
| Label | Fake Four Inc. | |||
| Producer | Blue Sky Black Death | |||
| Blue Sky Black Death chronology | ||||
| ||||
Noir (stylized as NOIR) is a studio album by American hip hop production duo Blue Sky Black Death. It was released on Fake Four Inc. in 2011. [1]
Noir was originally released on Fake Four Inc. on April 26, 2011. [1] Screwed versions of several of the tracks were released on Blue Sky Black Death's Bandcamp, as Noir + Violet. [2] Later, the group also released a deluxe digital reissue of the album, titled Noir Dlxe, which includes the screwed versions, four alternate tracks from the original Noir release, and three more tracks, for a total of 29 tracks at a length of more than 2 hours. [3]
In 2013, a limited-run two-disc vinyl pressing was done, featuring the original track listing, two alternates, as well as a previously unreleased track, "Thirteen", which does not appear on the deluxe digital release. It also features a new album cover. It was followed by a later re-pressing in 2014. A 10-year vinyl reissue was announced in March 2021. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Alarm | favorable [5] |
| Beats Per Minute | 81/100 [6] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10 [7] |
| URB |   [8] |
Brett Uddenberg of URB gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a brilliant culmination of reverb-coated keys and lush string arrangements". [8] Marc Hogan of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, writing: "Using an impressively nuanced deployment of strings, piano, and guitar as well as drum loops and hazy synths, the album has a patient, steady beauty, ranging from glowing panoramas evoking M83 to the classical-informed abstraction of Anticon acts like Dosh and Son Lux." [7] Tom Harrison of Alarm described it as "an album of hazy instrumental beats that skirt the boundary between hip hop and electronica." [5] Will Ryan of Beats Per Minute said, "they set out on another scratchy, emotionally momentous odyssey of gigantic synth melodies with a deluge of shape-shifting samples ranging from mournful vocal washes to chirping orchestral arrangements backed by stomping mid-tempo drum programming." [6]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Our Hearts of Ruin" | 5:32 |
| 2. | "Sleeping Children Are Still Flying" | 6:00 |
| 3. | "And Stars, Ringed" | 5:10 |
| 4. | "To the Ends of the Earth" | 3:54 |
| 5. | "Farewell to the Former World" | 5:34 |
| 6. | "Falling Short" | 1:46 |
| 7. | "Gold In Gold Out" | 5:20 |
| 8. | "Where Do We Go" | 4:37 |
| 9. | "In the Quiet Absence of God" | 2:05 |
| 10. | "Where the Sun Beats" | 4:45 |
| 11. | "Starry" | 4:39 |
| 12. | "Fire for Light" | 3:53 |
| 13. | "Swords from Driftwood" | 2:46 |
| 14. | "Sky with Hand" | 6:40 |
| Total length: | 62:48 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Our Hearts of Ruin (Screwed Up)" | 6:59 |
| 2. | "Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Screwed Up)" | 7:35 |
| 3. | "And Stars, Ringed (Screwed Up)" | 6:32 |
| 4. | "Farewell to the Former World (Screwed Up)" | 7:01 |
| 5. | "Gold In, Gold Out (Screwed Up)" | 6:44 |
| 6. | "Where the Sun Beats (Screwed Up)" | 6:00 |
| 7. | "Swords from Driftwood (Screwed Up)" | 3:30 |
| 8. | "Sky with Hand (Screwed Up)" | 8:25 |
| Total length: | 52:46 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Our Hearts of Ruin" | 5:32 |
| 2. | "Sleeping Children Are Still Flying" | 6:00 |
| 3. | "And Stars, Ringed" | 5:10 |
| 4. | "To the Ends of the Earth" | 3:54 |
| 5. | "Farewell to the Former World" | 5:34 |
| 6. | "Falling Short" | 1:46 |
| 7. | "Gold In Gold Out" | 5:20 |
| 8. | "Where Do We Go" | 4:37 |
| 9. | "In the Quiet Absence of God" | 2:05 |
| 10. | "Where the Sun Beats" | 4:45 |
| 11. | "Starry" | 4:39 |
| 12. | "Fire for Light" | 3:53 |
| 13. | "Swords from Driftwood" | 2:46 |
| 14. | "Sky with Hand" | 6:40 |
| 15. | "Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Alternate)" | 3:50 |
| 16. | "Gold In Gold Out (Alternate)" | 5:17 |
| 17. | "Our Hearts of Ruin (Alternate)" | 4:00 |
| 18. | "And Stars, Ringed (Alternate)" | 1:16 |
| 19. | "Our Hearts of Ruin (Screwed Up)" | 6:59 |
| 20. | "Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Screwed Up)" | 7:35 |
| 21. | "And Stars, Ringed (Screwed Up)" | 6:32 |
| 22. | "Farewell to the Former World (Screwed Up)" | 7:01 |
| 23. | "Gold In, Gold Out (Screwed Up)" | 6:44 |
| 24. | "Where the Sun Beats (Screwed Up)" | 6:00 |
| 25. | "Swords from Driftwood (Screwed Up)" | 3:30 |
| 26. | "Sky with Hand (Screwed Up)" | 8:25 |
| 27. | "Small Moment" | 3:59 |
| 28. | "To Hold and Hope" | 3:58 |
| 29. | "Waters Clear as Heave" | 2:17 |
| Total length: | 140:11 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Our Hearts of Ruin" | 5:32 |
| 2. | "Sleeping Children Are Still Flying" | 6:00 |
| 3. | "And Stars, Ringed" | 5:10 |
| 4. | "To the Ends of the Earth" | 3:54 |
| 5. | "Farewell to the Former World" | 5:34 |
| 6. | "Falling Short" | 1:46 |
| 7. | "Gold In Gold Out" | 5:20 |
| 8. | "Where Do We Go" | 4:37 |
| 9. | "In the Quiet Absence of God" | 2:05 |
| 10. | "Where the Sun Beats" | 4:45 |
| 11. | "Starry" | 4:39 |
| 12. | "Fire for Light" | 3:53 |
| 13. | "Swords from Driftwood" | 2:46 |
| 14. | "Sky with Hand" | 6:40 |
| 15. | "Thirteen" | 13:00 |
| 16. | "To Hold and Hope" | 3:58 |
| 17. | "Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Alternate)" | 3:50 |
| 18. | "Gold In Gold Out (Alternate)" | 5:17 |
| Total length: | 88:53 | |
Credits adapted from liner notes.
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