This Is Our Music (Galaxie 500 album)

This Is Our Music
Studio album by Galaxie 500
Released	September 1990 (1990-09)
Recorded	1990
Studio	Noise New York
Genre	Dream pop slowcore
Length	45:45
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Mark Kramer
Galaxie 500 chronology
On Fire (1989) This Is Our Music (1990) Copenhagen (1997)
Singles from This Is Our Music
"Fourth of July" Released: September 1990

This Is Our Music is the third and final studio album by American indie rock band Galaxie 500, released in 1990 on Rough Trade Records.

The title This Is Our Music was derived from the 1961 album of the same name by Ornette Coleman. ^{[1] [2]}

In 2010, the album was re-issued and peaked at number 18 on the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart. ^[3]

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Chicago Tribune	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B− [6]
Mojo	[7]
NME	7/10 [8]
Pitchfork	8.3/10 [9]
Record Collector	[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]
Select	5/5 [12]
The Village Voice	B− [13]

Select critic Andrew Perry lauded This Is Our Music as a progression from Galaxie 500's previous work, noting its "more brilliant, inspirationally unsophisticated melodies ... allied to an instrumental audacity that is entirely new", and concluded that "Galaxie 500's music is still rooted in the minimalist confines of their soft songs ... but it has come of age." ^[12] Stephen Dalton of NME , while finding certain songs to be overlong, complimented the album's "artful" music and "quiet humour". ^[8]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett called This Is Our Music "arguably the band's most accomplished" album and highlighted the band members' individual performances: "Somehow ... everyone aims higher, Wareham's singing among his finest and his guitar going for the truly epic more than once, Krukowski and Yang even more perfectly in sync than before, often being very bold without losing their intrinsic warmth." ^[4]

Music critic Jim DeRogatis said Galaxy 500 “bowed out in style” with the album. ^[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Galaxie 500, except as noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fourth of July"		5:35
2.	"Hearing Voices"		3:34
3.	"Spook"		4:35
4.	"Summertime"		5:59
5.	"Way Up High"		4:03
6.	"Listen, the Snow Is Falling"	Yoko Ono	7:48
7.	"Sorry"		4:15
8.	"Melt Away"		4:35
9.	"King of Spain, Pt. 2"		5:07
Total length:			45:45

1997 CD reissue bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Here She Comes Now"	Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison	5:58
Total length:			51:52

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Galaxie 500

• Damon Krukowski – drums, backup vocals
• Dean Wareham – guitar, vocals
• Naomi Yang – bass guitar, vocals on "Listen, the Snow Is Falling"

Additional personnel

• Mark Kramer – production, engineering, mirage, "cheap flute", backup vocals
• Norman Gholson – photography
• Ray Agony – photography

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC) [3]	18

Release history

Year	Label	Format	Region
1990	Rough Trade	LP, CD, cassette	UK
1990	Rough Trade US	CD	US
1997	Rykodisc	CD	US
2010	20/20/20	LP	US

References

1. Sodomsky, Sam (January 24, 2018). "6 Great Albums Named After Other Great Albums". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
2. Wareham, Dean (2008). Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance. The Penguin Press. p. 90. ISBN   978-1-59420-155-4.
3. "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
4. Raggett, Ned. "This Is Our Music – Galaxie 500". AllMusic . Retrieved March 15, 2018.
5. Kot, Greg (October 11, 1990). "Galaxie 500: This Is Our Music (Rough Trade)". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
6. Browne, David (October 12, 1990). "This Is Our Music". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 1, 2022.
7. Segal, Victoria (April 2010). "Galaxie 500: Today / On Fire / This Is Our Music". Mojo . No. 197.
8. Dalton, Stephen (October 13, 1990). "Galaxie 500: This Is Our Music". NME . p. 39.
9. Richardson, Mark (March 30, 2010). "Galaxie 500: Today / On Fire / This Is Our Music". Pitchfork . Retrieved March 15, 2018.
10. "Galaxie 500: Today / On Fire / This Is Our Music". Record Collector . No. 373. March 2010. p. 87.
11. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Galaxie 500". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  321. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
12. Perry, Andrew (November 1990). "Starlight, Starbright". Select . No. 5. p. 95.
13. Christgau, Robert (December 4, 1990). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice . Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
14. DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard. p. 513.

External links

• This Is Our Music at Discogs (list of releases)
• This Is Our Music at MusicBrainz (list of releases)