The Blackened Air | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 9, 2002 | |||
Recorded | 2001 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, folk, chamber music | |||
Length | 43:45 | |||
Label | Touch and Go Records | |||
Producer | Steve Albini | |||
Nina Nastasia chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
CMJ New Music Report | (favorable) [2] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [3] |
The Guardian | [4] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10 [5] |
The Village Voice | [6] |
The Blackened Air is the second album by American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia. It was released in 2002 by Touch and Go Records. [7] The album was recorded almost completely live, with the band set up in a semi-circle in one corner of the studio, over a six-day period in 2001 at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago. [8] The final track, "That's All There Is", was held over from sessions for her debut, Dogs .
The album's cover was painted by Nastasia's father Jim, and was inspired by the album track "Ocean". [9]
All songs written by Nina Nastasia.
Shellac is an American noise rock band from Chicago, Illinois, composed of Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer and formed in 1992.
Steve Albini is an American musician, audio engineer and music journalist, whose many recording projects have exerted an important influence on independent music since the 1980s. Most of his projects from 1997 onwards were recorded at the Electrical Audio studios in Chicago. Albini is occasionally credited as a record producer, though he dislikes the term to describe his work, preferring the term "recording engineer" when credited, and refuses to take royalties from bands recording in his studio, as he feels it would be unethical to do so.
Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of Brian McMahan, David Pajo (guitar), Britt Walford, Todd Brashear, and Ethan Buckler. Slint's first album, Tweez, was recorded by engineer Steve Albini in 1987 and released in obscurity on the Jennifer Hartman Records label in 1989. It was followed two years later by the critically acclaimed Spiderland, released on the independent label Touch and Go Records.
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun. In 1985, Pezzati was replaced by Dave Riley, who played on Big Black's two full-length studio albums, Atomizer (1986) and Songs About Fucking (1987).
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial noise, all of which received positive reviews in underground music publications and heavy college-radio play."
Songs About Fucking is the second and final full-length studio album by the punk rock band Big Black, released in 1987 by Touch and Go records, and reissued in 2018. The album includes a rendition of Kraftwerk's "The Model" in a remixed version from that which appeared on Big Black's then-recent single. The compact disc of Songs About Fucking added the other side of that single, a cover of Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore".
Steve Albini is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal engineer of Electrical Audio, a recording studio complex in Chicago. In 2018, Albini estimated that he had worked on several thousand albums over his career. He has worked with acts such as Nirvana, Pixies, the Breeders, PJ Harvey, and former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
Nina Maria Nastasia is an American folk singer-songwriter. A native of Los Angeles, she first came to prominence in New York City in 2000 after Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel began giving her debut album, Dogs, airplay. The album earned Nastasia a cult following, and was re-released in 2004. Her fifth studio album release, You Follow Me (2007), was a collaboration with Australian drummer Jim White of Dirty Three.
Peter Yanowitz, also known as Pedro Yanowitz, is an American musician, songwriter, and visual artist. Yanowitz was the original drummer of The Wallflowers, and for Natalie Merchant on her first three solo records Tigerlily, Ophelia, and Live in Concert. He also played drums for Money Mark, the Black Sabbath tribute band Hand of Doom with Melissa Auf der Maur, and with Nina Nastasia, on her album Dogs. Other artists Yanowitz has played drums with include: Yoko Ono, Allen Ginsberg, and Wilco. Yanowitz was also the bass player, songwriter, and producer for the band Morningwood. Currently, Yanowitz is the drummer of Exclamation Pony with Ryan Jarman. Peter also performed as 'Schlatko', the drummer of The Angry Inch in the Tony award-winning Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall, John Cameron Mitchell, Darren Criss, and Taye Diggs.
The Cape May was a Canadian musical act from Calgary, Alberta. The band's songs are centred on the poetic lyrics of vocalist Clinton St. John, which tell moody stories of urban dystopia and a culture on the brink.
Dogs is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia. It was originally released in 2000 by the New York City-based independent label Socialist Records, and re-released in 2004 by Touch and Go Records. Engineered and produced by Steve Albini, the album gained notoriety after BBC radio disc jockey John Peel championed it, giving it frequent airplay on Radio 1.
Run to Ruin is the third album by American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia. It was recorded by Steve Albini at Black Box studio in Noyant-la-Gravoyère, France and at Looking Glass studio in New York. Released in 2003 by Touch and Go Records, it received universal critical acclaim according to Metacritic with a composite rating of 85, ranking 29th among the best albums of 2003.
On Leaving is the fourth album by American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia. It was released on September 11, 2006, on Fat Cat Records. It was recorded by Steve Albini and produced by Nastasia, Kennan Gudjonsson, and Albini. The album received generally favorable reviews; Allmusic considered the album a "deeply poetic record." Stylus Magazine commented the album was "full bodied and masterful, overshadowing many big-footed leading ladies’ recent folk releases." Pitchfork Media found it "difficult to hear Nastasia pull back to a songwriter-with-guitar style."
You Follow Me is a collaborative studio album between American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia and Australian drummer Jim White. The album was released in Europe and Australia on 28 May 2007, and in the United States and Canada on 14 August 2007 and was the second Nastasia album released by independent British label FatCat Records. This is Nastasia's fifth studio release overall.
Starters Alternators is an album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex. It is the band's 10th studio album and was produced by Steve Albini for a 1998 CD released jointly by Touch and Go Records and the band’s own label, Ex Records.
"What She Doesn't Know" is a 7-inch single by American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia, released on February 25, 2008 by Fat Cat Records. The vinyl was limited to 500 copies worldwide.
Outlaster is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia. It was released by FatCat Records internationally on June 7, 2010, and in the United States on June 22. The album was recorded in four days at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. Los Angeles-based arranger Paul Bryan conducted score for a small orchestra, with Nastasia and her manager Kennan Gudjonsson assembling string and woodwind quartets. The record also features contributions from drummer Jay Bellerose and guitarist Jeff Parker.
Over and Out is the fourth and final studio album by American post-hardcore band Tar, released in 1995 through Touch and Go Records.
Riderless Horse is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia. It was released by Temporary Residence Limited digitally and on CD on July 22, 2022, with the vinyl version following on November 4.
Jolie Laide is the debut album by American–Canadian rock duo Jolie Laide, which consists of American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia and Canadian musician Jeff MacLeod. The album was released on vinyl and digital download by Oscar St. Records on November 17, 2023.