| The Earth Is Blue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2005 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:56 | |||
| Label | 20/20/20 | |||
| Damon & Naomi chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Earth Is Blue is an album by the American musical duo Damon & Naomi, released in 2005 on their newly formed label, 20/20/20 (an homage to the board game Careers ). [1] [2] [3] The duo supported the album with a North American tour. [4]
The album was recorded over 18 months at Damon & Naomi's home studio, in Cambridge, Massachusetts; they had to rebuild it during the sessions to accommodate the scope of the album. [5] [1] The duo recorded deliberately, instead of trying to find the sound in the moment, so as not to annoy their neighbors. [6] They were joined by the Ghost guitarist Michio Kurihara. The horn group Nmperign played on a few of the tracks. [7] The duo initially intended to make a more political album, before again turning toward autobiographical lyrics. [8] "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a cover of the George Harrison song, which uses only part of the structure and melody. [9] "Araçá Azul" is a version of the title track to Caetano Veloso's 1972 album. [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Birmingham Post |   [11] |
| Chicago Sun-Times |  [12] |
| The Hamilton Spectator | [13] |
| Philadelphia Daily News | C+ [14] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10 [15] |
| The Province | C+ [16] |
| The Republican | [5] |
| Uncut | [17] |
| Winnipeg Sun | [18] |
The Boston Globe labeled the album a "gorgeous, lush disc." [8] The Republican said that "dream-weaving psychedelia, late-night jazz and traces of shimmering chamber pop float throughout". [5] The Philadelphia Daily News opined that the duo "crank up the low-fi atmospherics ... There's not much musically to hold onto, except a cover of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'." [14] The Sunday Times noted that the Harrison cover "takes the translucent form of a medieval folk song." [19] The Columbus Dispatch panned Damon's "colorless, midrange moan." [20]
The Capital Times concluded that Damon & Naomi "have a penchant for gorgeous melodies and wistful lyrics that can lull the unwary listener into a pleasant trance." [21] The Toronto Star stated that the duo "weaves together strands of Fairport Convention, Low and trip/hop". [22] The Hamilton Spectator called the songs "more clearly defined this time". [13] The Chicago Tribune stated that the duo "have fashioned a remarkably gentle, ethereal brand of psychedelia that fuses the evanescent shimmer of their former bank Galaxie 500 with the opiate-induced dreaminess of Country Joe and the Fish, or Love at their most introspective." [23] Jim DeRogatis, in the Chicago Sun-Times , wrote that he would "hold their catalog up against former partner Dean Wareham's output with his post-Galaxie band Luna any day"; he later listed The Earth Is Blue as the 15th best album of 2005. [12] [24]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beautiful Close Double" | 4:37 |
| 2. | "A Second Life" | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Malibran" | 4:39 |
| 4. | "House of Glass" | 6:23 |
| 5. | "Sometimes" | 4:42 |
| 6. | "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" | 5:36 |
| 7. | "Ueno Station" | 5:16 |
| 8. | "The Robot Speaks" | 4:27 |
| 9. | "Araçá Azul" | 2:43 |
| 10. | "The Earth Is Blue" | 6:47 |
| Total length: | 49:56 | |
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