Sheath (album)

Last updated

Sheath
Lfo sheath.jpg
Studio album by
LFO
Released22 September 2003 (2003-09-22) [1]
Genre IDM
Length46:47
Label Warp
Producer Mark Bell
LFO chronology
Advance
(1996)
Sheath
(2003)
Singles from Sheath
  1. "Freak"
    Released: 25 August 2003 [2]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 73/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Alternative Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
BBC favorable [6]
Billboard favorable [7]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
Pitchfork 7.3/10 [10]
Playlouder Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Stylus Magazine B [13]

Sheath is the third and final studio album by British IDM project LFO. It was released by Warp on 22 September 2003. It peaked at number 27 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. [14]

Contents

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Sheath received an average score of 73% based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [3]

John Bush of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and called Mark Bell "the most imaginative producer in British techno." [4] Dominique Leone of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.3 out of 10, writing, "Bell's strength seems to reside in his softer sides that fools me into thinking his more extroverted outings are lacking." [10]

Paul Sullivan of BBC wrote, "the album manages to re-capture some of the original pioneering spirit that made Frequencies such a tour-de-force." [6] Joshua Klein of Billboard said, "The drum machines sound delightfully (if deceptively) rinky-dink, and the absence of vocalists keeps the focus on the beats and occasionally cacophonous sonic clutter." [7]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Blown"6:02
2."Mum-Man"3:40
3."Mokeylips"4:02
4."Snot"2:55
5."Moistly"4:12
6."Unafraid to Linger"4:35
7."Sleepy Chicken"3:58
8."Freak"4:13
9."Mummy, I've Had an Accident..."5:02
10."Nevertheless"3:50
11."Premacy"3:22
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Millionaire Dogs"1:53
13."Butterslut"5:00

Charts

ChartPeak
position
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [14] 27

Related Research Articles

<i>Maggot Brain</i> 1971 studio album by Funkadelic

Maggot Brain is the third studio album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released by Westbound Records in July 1971. It was produced by band leader George Clinton and recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit during late 1970 and early 1971. It was the final album recorded by the original Funkadelic lineup; after its release, original members Tawl Ross (guitar), Billy Nelson (bass), and Tiki Fulwood (drums) left the band for various reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFO (British band)</span> British electronic band

LFO was a British electronic music act formed in 1988 consisting of Mark Bell and Gez Varley. They released their acclaimed debut LP Frequencies in 1991 on Sheffield label Warp. After Varley left the group in 1996, Bell continued solo to release Advance (1996) and Sheath (2003). Bell died in October 2014, effectively ending the project.

<i>Geogaddi</i> 2002 studio album by Boards of Canada

Geogaddi is the second studio album by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada. It was released on 13 February 2002 in Japan, then five days later in Europe, by Warp. The album is aesthetically and stylistically darker than the approach established on their previous studio album Music Has the Right to Children (1998), and it has subsequently been praised as a standout album in the duo's discography.

<i>Drukqs</i> 2001 studio album by Aphex Twin

Drukqs is the fifth studio album by Aphex Twin, the alias of British electronic musician Richard D. James, released in 2001 on Warp. It is a double album alternating primarily between tracks of meticulously programmed drum and bass-inspired beats and computer-controlled classical piano pieces. It features the piano composition "Avril 14th," one of James's best-known recordings.

<i>Draft 7.30</i> 2003 studio album by Autechre

Draft 7.30 is the seventh album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 7 April 2003 by Warp Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Bell (British musician)</span> British DJ, record producer

Mark Bell was a British DJ, record producer, and member of the pioneering techno group LFO. He recorded on Warp Records, and also collaborated with artists such as Björk and Depeche Mode.

<i>Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives</i> 2001 studio album by Prefuse 73

Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives is a 2001 studio album by Guillermo Scott Herren, the first released under the name Prefuse 73. The album was released on June 11, 2001 on Warp. The music was created by Herren alone, with some tracks featuring guest vocals from MCs Mikah 9, MF Doom and Aesop Rock as well as vocalist Sam Prekop from The Sea and Cake. Inspired by Miami bass and early 90s hip hop, Herren had been recording music with his Music Production Center (MPC) for Schematic Records, a label known primarily for intelligent dance music (IDM). After working with various local hip hop artists making what he described as "very boring rap beats", Herren was inspired to take his music in a more left-field direction.

<i>One Word Extinguisher</i> 2003 studio album by Prefuse 73

One Word Extinguisher is the second studio album by American electronic music producer Prefuse 73. It was released on Warp on May 6, 2003. It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.

<i>Silence Is Easy</i> 2003 studio album by Starsailor

Silence Is Easy is the second studio album by English indie rock group Starsailor, released in September 2003 on EMI Records. The album cover is loosely based on Echo & the Bunnymen's Heaven Up Here. The song "Some of Us" was featured in an episode of Bones titled "A Boy in a Bush" and in the closing credits of the Belgian film The Memory of a Killer. The album contains some of the last productions by Phil Spector before his murder conviction and imprisonment in 2009, and before his death in 2021. The album sold 54,296 copies in its opening week of release, charting at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified gold in the UK in 2003.

<i>Rounds</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Four Tet

Rounds is the third solo album by British electronic musician Kieran Hebden, released under his alias Four Tet on 5 May 2003 by Domino Recording Company. Wanting to make a more personal record, Hebden recorded and produced the album in his North London flat over ten months using a desktop computer and a home hi-fi system. Its ten tracks feature elements of hip hop, jazz and folk; apart from a guitar part recorded for "Slow Jam", the music is composed from between 200 and 300 samples, many processed beyond recognition.

<i>LCD Soundsystem</i> (album) 2005 studio album by LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem is the debut studio album by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. It was released on January 24, 2005, jointly through DFA and Capitol Records in the United States and EMI elsewhere. The album encompasses genres that range from dance-punk to electronica to indie rock to dance music. The album was critically acclaimed upon release and was nominated for the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Many singles were released to promote the album, including the band's breakout "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House", which reached number one on the UK Dance Chart in March, 2005.

<i>Go Plastic</i> 2001 studio album by Squarepusher

Go Plastic is the fifth studio album by British electronic musician Squarepusher, released on Warp in 2001. It peaked at number 100 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Margerine Eclipse</i> 2004 studio album by Stereolab

Margerine Eclipse is the eighth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 27 January 2004 in the United States by Elektra Records and on 2 February 2004 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records. The album is in large part a eulogy to former band member Mary Hansen, who died in 2002.

<i>Do You Know Squarepusher</i> 2002 studio album by Squarepusher

Do You Know Squarepusher is the sixth studio album by Squarepusher, released on Warp in 2002. It peaked at number 35 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. It includes a cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". The CD version of the album comes with an additional disc of live recordings, titled Alive in Japan.

<i>Sung Tongs</i> 2004 studio album by Animal Collective

Sung Tongs is the fifth studio album by American experimental pop band Animal Collective, released on May 3, 2004 by FatCat Records. The album, newly exploring freak folk, received high critical reception upon its release and was featured in best-of lists at the end of 2004 and the decade of the 2000s. Only two of the band's four members play on the album, Avey Tare and Panda Bear, a first since Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished (2000), which was originally credited to the duo and only later retroactively classified as part of the band's discography.

<i>In a Space Outta Sound</i> 2006 studio album by Nightmares on Wax

In a Space Outta Sound is the fifth studio album by Nightmares on Wax. It was released in 2006 on Warp. It peaked at number 93 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Frequencies</i> (album) 1991 studio album by LFO

Frequencies is the debut studio album by British electronic music duo LFO, released on 22 July 1991 by Warp. It peaked at No. 42 on the UK Albums Chart and was released to universal acclaim.

<i>Advance</i> (album) 1996 studio album by LFO

Advance is the second studio album by British electronic music duo LFO, released 29 January 1996 by Warp. The album peaked at number 44 on the UK Albums charts and was the final album to feature Gez Varley before he left the group shortly after its release. Advance was followed up with Sheath in 2003 with only contributions from Bell.

"Pluto" is a song by Icelandic musician Björk. The song was written and produced by Björk and British producer Mark Bell for Björk's third studio album, Homogenic (1997).

<i>A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter</i> 1991 studio album by Nightmares on Wax

A Word of Science is the debut studio album by British electronic producers Nightmares on Wax. Released by Warp Records in September 1991, it is the act's only album as a group before it became a solo vehicle for George Evelyn. Evelyn nonetheless recorded and produced the album alone, incorporating samples and elements from demo tapes he made in the late 1980s. Although Nightmares on Wax debuted with two well-received techno singles in 1989-1990, A Word of Science is eclectic and largely moves the act towards a more mellow style influenced by funk, soul and hip hop, while still incorporating techno and house styles.

References

  1. "Sheath". Warp . Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  2. "Freak". Warp . Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Sheath by LFO". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 Bush, John. "Sheath - LFO". AllMusic . Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  5. LFO executes these retro moves with flamboyance and subtlety, so we can forgive Bell his derivativeness. [Nov 2003, p.118]
  6. 1 2 Sullivan, Paul (2003). "LFO - Sheath - Review". BBC . Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 Klein, Joshua (3 September 2003). "LFO, "Sheath"". Billboard . Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. Some of it hisses and gurgles like early Future Sound Of London. [Oct 2003, p.118]
  9. Reynolds, Simon (21 September 2003). "LFO, Sheath". The Observer . Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  10. 1 2 Leone, Dominique (12 November 2003). "LFO: Sheath". Pitchfork . Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  11. Moffat, Iain (18 September 2003). "LFO: Sheath (2003)". Playlouder . Archived from the original on 20 November 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  12. Bell has an instinctive feel for sound but, as Freak's teeth-grinding acid house nostalgia underlines, he won't find a new audience with this. [Oct 2003, p.108]
  13. D'Cruz, Matt (2 October 2003). "LFO - Sheath". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50: 28 September 2003 - 04 October 2003". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 4 March 2018.