Speak to Me (Julian Lage album)

Last updated

Speak to Me
Julian Lage - Speak to Me.png
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1, 2024 (2024-03-01)
Genre Jazz
Length59:00
Label Blue Note
Producer Joe Henry
Julian Lage chronology
The Layers
(2023)
Speak to Me
(2024)

Speak to Me is an album by American jazz guitarist Julian Lage, released on March 1, 2024, through Blue Note Records. It received acclaim from critics.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 91/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Uncut 8/10 [3]

Speak to Me received a score of 91 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on four critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [1] Uncut felt that Lage "also plays an agreeably skronky, Jeff Beck-style electric on several tracks, but it's when unplugged that [he] is at his most extraordinary". [3] Timothy Monger of AllMusic wrote that the album "takes a more varied approach with lyrical arrangements that expand and contract depending on the songs' needs. It also features some of the most relaxed and inspired playing of his career". [2]

Doug Collette of Glide Magazine stated that Lage "appears here in a variety of settings, each instance of expansive exploration clarifying the broad overall approach Henry helped bring to fruition". [4] Spin 's Steve Hochman opined that "the pieces are compact, tight, engaging, and, indeed, in many ways song-like. Some are sparklingly electric, some dazzlingly acoustic, some fairly straight [...] But as impressive as his prodigious skills may be, more so is the range of expression and emotion in the playing." [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Julian Lage.

Speak to Me track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Hymnal"2:22
2."Northern Shuffle"6:05
3."Omission"3:26
4."Serenade"5:20
5."Myself Around You"6:00
6."South Mountain"5:14
7."Speak to Me"4:14
8."Two and One"4:19
9."Vanishing Points"4:26
10."Tiburon"4:25
11."As It Were"5:07
12."76"4:38
13."Nothing Happens Here"4:14
Total length:59:00

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Speak to Me
Chart (2024)Peak
position
Croatian International Albums (HDU) [6] 21

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References

  1. 1 2 "Speak to Me by Julian Lage Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Monger, Timothy. "Speak to Me – Julian Lage Album Review". AllMusic . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Julian Lage – Speak to Me". Uncut . April 2024. p. 38.
  4. Collette, Doug (February 29, 2024). "Julian Lage Balances Intimate Tone & Vast Musical Exploration With Speak to Me (Album Review)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  5. Hochman, Steve (March 8, 2024). "Jazz-Guitar Phenom Julian Lage Forges His Own Paths on Speak to Me". Spin . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  6. "Lista prodaje 11. tjedan 2024" (in Croatian). HDU. March 4, 2024. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.