Systems/Layers

Systems / Layers
Studio album by Rachel's
Released	October 7, 2003 (U.S.)
Recorded	July 2001 – June 2003
Genre	Chamber music, post-rock
Length	1:02:21
Label	Quarterstick 75 [1]
Rachel's chronology
Selenography (1999) Systems / Layers (2003)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]

Systems/Layers is the final LP by the instrumental group Rachel's. ^[4] It was released on October 7, 2003, on Quarterstick Records. The album is a collaborative dance/theater piece with the New York ensemble SITI Company. ^{[2] [5]}

The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart. ^[6]

Reception

Initial critical response to Systems/Layers was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 81, based on 14 reviews. ^[7] PopMatters called the album "one of the year's finest releases," writing that "its greatest gift ... is its sheer compatibility -- you can take Systems/Layers anywhere and it will speak to you." ^[8] Exclaim! called it "at once touching and haunted, intimate and disturbingly uncomfortable." ^[9] The Times deemed it the band's worst album. ^[10] The East Bay Express labeled it "the soundtrack to your most brilliant, reflective life." ^[11]

Track listing

1. "Moscow Is in the Telephone" – 3:59
2. "Water from the Same Source" – 6:18
3. "Systems/Layers" – 3:11
4. "Expect Delays" – 3:57
5. "Arterial" – 1:45
6. "Even/Odd" – 3:14
7. "Wouldn't Live Anywhere Else" – 2:47
8. "Esperanza" – 5:32
9. "Packet Switching" – 1:09
10. "Where_Have_All_My_Files_Gone?" – 2:49
11. "Reflective Surfaces" – 2:00
12. "Unclear Channel" – 2:47
13. "Last Things Last" – 3:33
14. "Anytime Soon" – 2:18
15. "Air Conditioning / A Closed Feeling" – 3:39
16. "Singing Bridge" – 2:13
17. "And Keep Smiling" – 2:38
18. "4 or 5 Trees" – 6:04
19. "NY Snow Globe" – 2:28

Personnel

Rachel's

• Kyle Crabtree – drums (17)
• Christian Frederickson – viola, keyboards (1, 2, 4–6, 8–10, 14, 15, 17, 18)
• Edward Grimes – drums, keyboards (2, 16, 18)
• Rachel Grimes – piano, keyboards (1–5, 12–14, 18, 19)
• Greg King – films
• Eve Miller – cello (1, 2, 4, 5, 6–8, 10, 13–15)
• Jason Noble – bass, guitar, drums, toolbelt, keyboards (1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19)

Additional players

• Matthew Annin – French horn (1, 2, 8, 10)
• Wendy Doyle – cello (18)
• Doug Elmore – stand-up bass (17)
• Jane Halliday – violin (18)
• Sarah Hill – violin (18)
• Jamie Holman – viola (1, 4, 6, 10, 15)
• Karl Olsen – contrabass (1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15)
• Marcus Ratzenboeck – violin (1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15)
• Jennifer Shackleton – viola (8)
• Frederick Speck – conductor (8)
• Scott Staidle – violin (1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15)
• Shannon Wright – vocals (13)
• Tim Zavadil – clarinet (2, 4, 8)
• SITI Company and their students at Utah State University and Skidmore College – live performances

Voices

• Hibba Abdul-Jabbar (7)
• Dino Bektasevic (7)
• Akiko Aizawa (1, 12)
• Jem Cohen (5, 7, 15, 17)
• Susan Hightower (1, 5)
• Libby King (5, 7, 11)
• Arianna Perez-Rivas (1, 7)
• Barney O'Hanlon (1, 5)
• Tara Schoch (5)
• Stephen Webber (1, 5, 7); spoken word (18)

Footnotes

1. "Systems/Layers". Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
2. "Systems/Layers - Rachel's | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 731.
4. "Rachel's | Biography & History". AllMusic.
5. "Interview: Rachel's". Tiny Mix Tapes.
6. "Rachel's". Billboard.
7. "Systems/Layers Reviews". Metacritic . CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
8. "Rachel's: Systems/Layers". PopMatters. November 5, 2003.
9. "Rachel's Systems/Layers". exclaim.ca.
10. Lee, Stewart (October 3, 2023). "Rachel's: Systems/Layers" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
11. Richard, Eric K. Arnold (November 26, 2003). "The Best Records of 2003 | Holiday Guide | Oakland, Berkeley & Bay Area". East Bay Express.