Sextet (A Certain Ratio album)

Last updated

Sextet
Sextet (A Certain Ratio album) cover.jpeg
Studio album by
A Certain Ratio
ReleasedJanuary 1982 (January 1982)
StudioRevolution Studios (Cheadle Hulme, Stockport)
Genre
Length37:13
Label Factory
Producer A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio chronology
To Each...
(1981)		Sextet
(1982)		 I'd Like to See You Again
(1982)
Singles from Sextet
  1. "Knife Slits Water"
    Released: 1982

Sextet is the third studio album by the English post-punk band A Certain Ratio, released in January 1982 by Factory Records. It is the first album by the band not to be produced by Martin Hannett, due to the band wishing for a new sound.

Contents

The album spent eleven weeks in the UK Independent Albums Chart, peaking at number 1. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Pitchfork 8.1/10 [4]
Stylus Magazine A− [2]
Uncut 4/5 [7]

The album generally received critical acclaim. Writing in Smash Hits on the album's release in January 1982, Dave Rimmer noted that the album featured "dense and gloomy pieces", suitable for "the bleak mid-winter". He gave the album an overall 6 out of 10. [8] The Quietus called it "a visionary musical statement" and "arguably their greatest moment [...] Not since PIL's dominant Metal Box had a band so seamlessly traversed such an unexpectedly broad musical landscape." [9] Stylus Magazine called the album "a masterpiece [...] a mesmerizing blend of ethnic rhythms and ghostly production that really sounds like nothing else." [2] Douglas Wolk of Pitchfork thought that the album "still sounds like no other record: either that era's creepiest, boggiest dance album or its funkiest smear of brittle art-noise." [10] Uncut praised the record for its "taut, abrasive swagger," as well as its blend of funk and world music influences. [7] Exclaim! critic Kevin Hainey described it as "a strong ACR album from start to finish", and wrote that Tilson's vocals "give the band a somewhat airier, more soulful feel, and the added attention to African rhythms only slightly relieves their trademark tension." [11]

Nevertheless, Trouser Press gave an unfavourable review to the album, writing: "There's no real focus to the discoid beats and wailing female vocals (Martha Tilson); ACR don't seem especially motivated by the music they're making." [12] AllMusic critic Keith Farley thought that the record "upped the energy of A Certain Ratio's dour minimalist dance." Farley also stated "the electronics and rhythms are still curiously apart from song structure for the most part, making for an oddly distanced record." [3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by A Certain Ratio.

  1. "Lucinda" – 3:56
  2. "Crystal" – 2:55
  3. "Gum" – 2:59
  4. "Knife Slits Water" – 7:34
  5. "Skipscada" – 2:10
  6. "Day One" – 6:12
  7. "Rub Down" – 3:43
  8. "Rialto" – 3:45
  9. "Below the Canal" – 3:59

Personnel

Album personnel as adapted from album liner notes. [13]

Charts

Album

Charts (1982)Peak
position
UK Albums Chart [14] 53

Related Research Articles

<i>Last Splash</i> 1993 studio album by the Breeders

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Certain Ratio</span> English post-punk band

A Certain Ratio are an English post-punk band formed in Flixton, Greater Manchester in 1977 by Peter Terrell and Simon Topping, with Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson (drums), and Martha Tilson (vocals) joining soon after.

<i>XO</i> (Elliott Smith album) 1998 studio album by Elliott Smith

XO is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was recorded from 1997 to 1998 and released on August 25, 1998, by record label DreamWorks; Smith's first solo album on a major record label. Two singles, "Waltz #2 (XO)" and "Baby Britain", were released.

<i>End Hits</i> 1998 studio album by Fugazi

End Hits is the fifth studio album by American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on April 28, 1998, by Dischord Records. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios from March 1997 to September 1997 and produced by the band and Don Zientara, and saw the band continuing with and expanding upon the in-studio experimentation of their previous album Red Medicine (1995). Due to the title, rumors began circulating at the time that it was to be their last release.

<i>The Creek Drank the Cradle</i> 2002 studio album by Iron & Wine

The Creek Drank the Cradle is the first studio album by the American musician Iron & Wine. It was released on September 24, 2002. The vinyl LP release had a bonus 7" vinyl single. The promotional CD for this album was released in a cardboard sleeve with different artwork.

<i>Youre Living All Over Me</i> 1987 studio album by Dinosaur Jr.

You're Living All Over Me is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. It was released on December 14, 1987, through SST Records.

<i>Codename: Dustsucker</i> 2004 album by Bark Psychosis

Codename: Dustsucker, stylised as ///CODENAME: dustsucker, is the second studio album by English post-rock band Bark Psychosis. It was released on 28 July 2004 on Fire Records. The album was recorded at DustSuckerSound, a private studio run by Bark Psychosis member Graham Sutton in east London, between 1999 and 2004. It notably features the contributions of Lee Harris, the drummer and percussionist of early post-rock purveyors Talk Talk.

<i>"No Flashlight": Songs of the Fulfilled Night</i> 2005 studio album by Mount Eerie

"No Flashlight": Songs of the Fulfilled Night is the first studio album released by the band Mount Eerie. It was released on the 9th May 2005 and features appearances by Geneviève Castrée and Jason Wall.

<i>Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the 80s Underground</i> 2004 compilation album by various artists

Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground is a four-disc alternative rock compilation album released by Rhino Records in 2004. Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork notes that "the mandate of Left of the Dial — to showcase anything that fit on college radio in the 80s — means you'll find everything from punk and post-punk to synth-pop and dream-pop". The term "left of the dial", taken from a Replacements song, refers to the college and other non-commercial FM radio stations in the U.S., with frequencies typically in the reserved band on the left end of the FM broadcast band of the radio spectrum.

<i>Chocolate Synthesizer</i> 1994 studio album by Boredoms

Chocolate Synthesizer is the fourth studio album by the Japanese rock band Boredoms. It was originally released via WEA Japan and Reprise Records in 1994. It was recorded in four days and mixed in a week. In 2013, it was re-released on vinyl by the California-based label 1972.

<i>Eccsame the Photon Band</i> 1994 studio album by Lilys

Eccsame the Photon Band is the second full-length 1994 album by the American indie rock band, Lilys, originally released on the spinART label. The album saw the band move towards dream pop. The notoriously nomadic Kurt Heasley refers to this period of Lilys history as EPOCH I, also included is his first seven-inch single " February Fourteenth", the mini LP A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns and Lilys' first full-length album, In The Presence of Nothing. Eccsame the Photon Band was recorded at Mike Deming's Studio 45 in Hartford, Connecticut, largely as duo of Heasley and Harold Evans.

<i>Read & Burn 01</i> 2002 EP by Wire

Read & Burn 01 is an EP by the English rock band Wire. It is the first in a series of three Read & Burn EPs. It was released on 25 June 2002.

<i>Enormous Door</i> 2013 studio album by The Ex & Brass Unbound

Enormous Door is an album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex and Brass Unbound, a quartet of horn players hailing from four different countries. The album was released in 2013 on The Ex's own label, comprising reworked versions of previously released songs and alongside entirely new material.

<i>The Glowing Man</i> 2016 studio album by Swans

The Glowing Man is the fourteenth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans, released on June 17, 2016 on Young God and Mute. It is considered the third and final part of a three-album "trilogy", the other two parts being The Seer and To Be Kind.

<i>The Graveyard and the Ballroom</i> 1980 studio album and live album by A Certain Ratio

The Graveyard and the Ballroom is the debut album by English band A Certain Ratio, released in January 1980 by record label Factory. It was produced by Martin Hannett. It was originally released only as a cassette, designed by Peter Saville. The album has been re-released on CD by Creation Records in 1994 and by Mute Records in 2017. The latter also reissued the album on vinyl, replicating the original PVC pouch of the cassette release.

<i>To Each...</i> 1981 studio album by A Certain Ratio

To Each... is the second album and debut LP by English band A Certain Ratio, released in 1981 by record label Factory. It is sometimes considered the band's official first album. It was produced by A Certain Ratio and Martin Hannett.

<i>Id Like to See You Again</i> 1982 studio album by A Certain Ratio

I'd Like to See You Again is the fourth studio album by the English post-punk band A Certain Ratio, released in 1982 by Factory Records.

<i>Force</i> (A Certain Ratio album) 1986 studio album by A Certain Ratio

Force is the fifth studio album by the English post-punk band A Certain Ratio, released in November 1986 by Factory Records; their final release on the label. Stuart James co-produced the album with the band. It was recorded and mixed between July and August 1986 at Yello 2 Studios in Stockport.

<i>Mind Made Up</i> 2008 studio album by A Certain Ratio

Mind Made Up is the ninth studio album by English post-punk band A Certain Ratio. Released in 2008 through French Le Maquis record label, it is the band's first album since 1997's Change the Station, following a series of re-issues of past material. The band sought to capture a live sound during the recording of the album. The album was reissued by on 2 June 2010 through LTM Recordings with two extra tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunn O))) discography</span> Band discography

The discography of Sunn O))), an American drone metal band, consists of nine studio albums, three collaborative albums, six EPs, four demos, one remix album, eight official live albums, one box set compilation, two stand-alone singles and three compilation contributions.

References

  1. ↑ McFarlane, Dean. "A Certain Ratio - I'd Like to See You Again". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Hutlock, Todd (14 October 2004). "A Certain Ratio – Sextet – Review – Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on 12 November 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Farley, Keith. "Sextet – A Certain Ratio | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 Wolk, Douglas (3 November 2014). "A Certain Ratio - Sextet". Pitchfork . Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997) Indie Hits 1980–1989, Cherry Red Books, ISBN   0-9517206-9-4, p. 1
  6. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 29. ISBN   978-1-84609-856-7.
  7. 1 2 "A Certain Ratio – Sextet". Uncut . 1 September 2004. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Rimmer, Dave (21 January 1982). "Album reviews" . Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ↑ Middles, Mick (26 September 2014). "The Quietus | Reviews | A Certain Ratio". The Quietus . Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Wolk, Douglas. "A Certain Ratio - Sextet". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Hainey, Kevin (30 September 2004). "A Certain Ratio - Sextet". Exclaim! . Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  12. ↑ Flashner, Graham; Sheridan, David. "TrouserPress.com :: A Certain Ratio". TrouserPress.com . Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  13. ↑ A Certain Ratio – Sextet album liner notes
  14. ↑ "A Certain Ratio album charts". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 21 August 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.