Silhouettes (Aquilo album)

Last updated

Silhouettes
Silhouettes Aquilo.jpg
Studio album by
Aquilo
Released27 January 2017
Recorded2014–16
Genre
Label Island
Producer
Aquilo chronology
Midnight (Live) EP
(2016)		Silhouettes
(2017)		 ii
(2018)
Singles from Silhouettes
  1. "Sorry"
    Released: 10 November 2016
  2. "You Won't Know Where You Stand"
    Released: 11 January 2017
  3. "Silhouette"
    Released: 18 January 2017
  4. "Almost Over"
    Released: 25 January 2017

Silhouettes is the debut studio album by British indie band Aquilo. It was released on 27 January 2017 through Island Records. The album includes songs from previous extended play releases, including "Human", "You Won't Know Where You Stand", "I Gave It All", "Never Seen You Get So Low" and "Waiting". The lead single from the album, entitled "Sorry", was released on 10 November 2016.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 75/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash 8/10 [2]
Exclaim! 7/10 [3]
The 405 7/10 [4]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Mixmag Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Pigeons & Planes Very positive [7]
PressPlayOKStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The VLM7/10 [9]
VultureHoundStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]

Silhouettes received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on five professional reviews. [1] Clash writer Shannon Cotton said that "crafted to perfection, ‘Silhouettes’ is outstanding in its audible beauty". [2] Bernadette McNulty of The Guardian gave the album three stars out of five, calling it "melancholy but slit", and saying that "vocalist Tom Higham deploys his requisite falsetto sparingly, but the surfeit of emotion and tranquillity [sic] flattens their musical landscape". [5] Anna Alger from Exclaim! noted that "Aquilo captivate most when they vary the tempo and instrumentation within their songs, and they do it often enough to make Silhouettes a strong debut overall". [3] Will Fisher wrote a positive review for The VLM, saying that "Aquilo occasionally fall foul to the cliches that saturate this genre", but "as a debut however, Silhouettes is a refreshing introduction to a compelling new band who just have the occasional beige moment". [9]

Another positive review was written by Jessie Morris of Pigeons & Planes , who compared Silhouettes' music to the sound of artists like The xx, Sigur Rós and Radiohead, praising the "well-established electronics vein windswept and tender pop bleeding with a broken heart". [7] A positive review came by Hannah Mylrea from the magazine The 405 : "Silhouettes is a journey through the duo’s expansive sound. Although sometimes the journey gets bumpy, and Aquilo lose their way to sleepy filler, they always manage to find their way back to the dreamy, lush pop and rich electronic tapestries that makes part of this record such a triumph". [4] Mixmag crew gave to the album an average of eight out of ten and wrote that "Lancaster duo Ben Fletcher and Tom Higham create spellbinding and atmospheric pop that’s perfect for wintry church concerts. Like a warm embrace on an icy morning, the pair's captivating harmonies come together effortlessly on debut album ‘Silhouette’". [6]

Accolades

PublicationAccoladeYearRankRef.
Mixmag 18 albums you need to hear this February2017
n/a
 [6]

Track listing

Silhouettes [11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Silhouette"
3:50
2."Blindside"
3:15
3."Human"
3:56
4."Never Hurt Again"
  • AQUILO
  • Joseph
3:00
5."Almost Over"
  • AQUILO
  • Arnalds
3:16
6."You Won't Know Where You Stand"
  • Higham
  • Fletcher
  • Edward Thomas
  • AQUILO
  • Lexxx
2:52
7."I Gave It All"
  • Higham
  • Fletcher
  • AQUILO
3:51
8."All I Ever Wanted"
  • Higham
  • Fletcher
  • AQUILO
2:30
9."Sorry"
  • AQUILO
  • McDaid
4:15
10."Complication"
  • AQUILO
3:13
11."Never Seen You Get So Low"
  • Higham
  • Fletcher
  • AQUILO
3:00
12."Low Light"
  • Higham
  • Fletcher
  • AQUILO
  • Jay Heigl [a]
  • Ben Hayes [a]
3:33
13."Always Done What You Say"
  • Higham
  • Fletcher
  • AQUILO
  • Joseph
3:39
14."Waiting"
  • Higham
  • Fletcher
  • Taylor
  • AQUILO
3:46
Total length:47:00

Note

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
UK Update Albums (OCC) [12] 64

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References

  1. 1 2 "Silhouette by Aquilo". Metacritic . Metacritic. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 Shannon, Cotton (26 January 2017). "Aquilo - Silhouettes". Clash . Music Republic Ltd. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 Anna, Alger (25 January 2017). "Aquilo Silhouettes". Exclaim! . Anna Alger. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Aquilo - Silhouettes". The 405. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 Bernadette, McNulty (29 January 2017). "Aquilo: Silhouettes review – melancholy but slick". The Guardian . Bernadette McNulty. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 "February: 18 albums you need to hear this month". Mixmag . Mixmag Crew. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 Jessie, Morris (29 January 2017). "Aquilo - Silhouettes". Pigeons & Planes . Jessie Morris. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "REVIEW: Aquilo - Silhouettes". PressPlayOK. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  9. 1 2 Will, Fisher (23 January 2017). "Aquilo - Silhouettes". TheVLM. Will Fisher. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Aquilo – Silhouettes (Album Review)". VultureHound. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "Silhouettes by Aquilo on iTunes". iTunes . 27 January 2017.
  12. ↑ UK Official Album Chart, Update (30 January 2017). "Official Albums Chart Update Top 100 30 January 2017 - 05 February 2017". Official Charts Company . OCC. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
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