The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid (also known as The Tired Sounds Of) is the sixth and penultimate[1]studio album by ambient music group Stars of the Lid. It was released on October 29, 2001 via Kranky, and was met with positive reviews from critics. Recorded through sending tapes to other members of the group, it is a piece of electronic and ambient music likened by Drowned in Sound to minimalistic music.[2] Kranky would later repress vinyl copies in 2015, because it was out of print.
Stars of the Lid, which was composed of Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride, mainly recorded the album by sending DAT Tapes to each other, since they lived far apart. McBride later said that this was an improvement, as it let them think more carefully on production. Around two recording sessions took place where they worked in the same studio.[3] The samplers used for the record were the Akai MPC 2000, used by Wiltzie and the Ensoniq ASR-10, used by McBride.[4]
The Tired Sounds Of was released on October 29, 2001 through Kranky, and was distributed through double CD and triple vinyl.[5] According to Wiltzie, it sold around five thousand copies in its first years, but would be sold around ten thousand times after three years, in the span of six to eight months.[3] On August 14, 2015, Kranky issued new vinyl presses of the album and their following album, And Their Refinement of the Decline (2007) for CAD$52, as both were out of print. Around the time of the repressing, marketplaces such as Discogs sold original copies of The Tired Sounds Of for $70.[6]
Composition
The Tired Sounds Of is an electronic[7] and ambient[8] album that heavily uses drones, string instruments, and horns.[7]Tape loops were additionally used, described as subtle and monotonous.[9] It includes eleven unique tracks[10] with five suites, despite "the entire album [feeling] like one whole piece".[11] Reviewers noted the subtle changes in sound as a primary aspect of the album.[a] The length of it, around two hours, was planned by Stars of the Lid; McBride said in an interview from Rolling Stone that the length was aiming to create an album that would offer something more substantial.[3] The use of silence, crackles, and the addition of instruments were seen by Stylus as enhancing the album.[11]Drowned in Sound described the difference between their previous records and the album as "subtly shifted from the somambulent but cinematic guitar drone of SOTL's past, [...] to a firm commitment to the world of Neo-Classicalminimalism".[2]
The Tired Sounds Of received positive reviews from critics for its sound. Pitchfork praised it for its composition, as Mark Richardson wrote: "dissonance is doled out in small portions, perfectly coloring the sculpted fields of sound."[7] Todd Burns of Stylus named it as "the full fruition" of Stars of the Lid's work for its structure.[11]AllMusic's Thom Jurek described it as "something unspeakably beautiful and determinedly unmentionable" and the group's most "ambitious" album.[10]
Critics also praised and criticized the album for how it stands in its genre. Tom Eyers from Drowned in Sound gave it a perfect score out of ten, for it "succeeds in liberating Ambient from it's often undeserved status as aural wallpaper".[2] A Dusted review from Tom Roberts regarded it as "a record committed to the present experience of its own duration, but moves beyond this moment with the atmosphere it establishes."[15] A PopMatters writer negatively criticized the album for its length, and named it as "the most boring album I've ever heard in my life".[13]
The Tired Sounds Of would be featured in multiple rankings. Pitchfork would call the album the sixth best ambient album of all time and the 187th best album of the 2000s.[16][17]Fort Worth Star-Telegram ranked it as the eighth best album of 2001.[8]
Track listing
Disc one of The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Requiem for Dying Mothers, Part 1"
6:36
2.
"Requiem for Dying Mothers, Part 2"
7:37
3.
"Down 3"
5:46
4.
"Austin Texas Mental Hospital, Part 1"
2:48
5.
"Austin Texas Mental Hospital, Part 2"
12:18
6.
"Austin Texas Mental Hospital, Part 3"
5:47
7.
"Broken Harbors, Part 1"
3:31
8.
"Broken Harbors, Part 2"
6:47
9.
"Broken Harbors, Part 3"
9:16
Total length:
60:26
Disc two of The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Mullholland"
6:48
2.
"The Lonely People (Are Getting Lonelier)"
10:07
3.
"Gasfarming"
3:20
4.
"Piano Aquieu"
10:54
5.
"Fac 21"
3:08
6.
"Ballad of Distances, Part 1"
3:36
7.
"Ballad of Distances, Part 2"
3:00
8.
"A Lovesong (For Cubs) +, Part 1"
6:45
9.
"A Lovesong (For Cubs) +, Part 2"
8:05
10.
"A Lovesong (For Cubs) +, Part 3"
7:45
Total length:
63:28
Personnel
The album's notes only list the following as contributors:[18]
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