Volume 1 | |
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Studio album by | |
Released | 28 April 2017 |
Studio |
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Genre | |
Length | 42:39 |
Label | |
Producer | BNQT |
Volume 1 is the debut studio album by indie super-group BNQT, led by Eric Pulido (Midlake) with Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses), Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Fran Healy (Travis) and Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), backed by the other members of Midlake. Each member wrote and sang on two tracks each. It was released on 28 April 2017. [1]
BNQT ( "banquet") is an indie super-group featuring Fran Healy (Travis), Alex Kapranos, Eric Pulido (Midlake), Ben Bridwell and Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), backed by other members of Midlake: Jesse Chandler, Joey McClellan and McKenzie Smith.
Midlake is an American folk rock band from Denton, Texas, formed in 1999. The band consists of Eric Pulido, McKenzie Smith, Paul Alexander, Eric Nichelson, Jesse Chandler, and Joey McClellan.
Benjamin "Ben" Bridwell is the lead singer of American rock band Band of Horses and a former member of the band Carissa's Wierd.
The concept came to Pulido whilst he was touring Midlake’s 2013 album Antiphon. Pulido wanted to gather a number of contrasting yet complementary artists he’d befriended or shared the stage with and establish an environment in which they could collaborate. Pulido said “That’s what art is about for me, creating with other people that you love and appreciate.”
Antiphon is the fourth studio album by American folk rock band Midlake, released on November 5, 2013, on Bella Union Records, in Europe, and ATO Records in North America. Recorded following the departure of vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter Tim Smith, Antiphon is the first album to feature guitarist Eric Pulido on lead vocals, alongside new members Jesse Chandler and Joey McClellan (guitar).
Due to members being spread around the world, recordings were either done through travel to Denton or remotely over the internet. [1]
Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 78/100 [3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Clash Music | |
DIY | |
Paste | 6.8/10 [7] |
Pitchfork | 5.8/10 [8] |
The Guardian | |
The Independent | |
The Skinny |
Volume 1 received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the album received an average critic score of 78, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". [3] Tim Sendra of Allmusic described it as a "remarkably coherent and listenable album that goes down very smooth, but not without the occasional moment of real emotion or foot-tapping fun". [4] In a five-star review for the Guardian, Jon Dennis praised each member, writing they "All provide great tunes – they write and sing two each – and they entertain rather than indulge in introspection". [2]
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of media products: films, TV shows, music albums, video games, and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged. Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source. A color of green, yellow or red summarizes the critics' recommendations. It has been described as the video game industry's "premier" review aggregator.
The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian, and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly, the Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of the Guardian free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for The Guardian the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders.
In a less favourable review for Pitchfork, Philip Cosores criticises the album for being like "hapless projects that are more fun for the artists involved than for the listeners". [8] Finbarr Bermingham of The Skinny was also critical, writing "In short, this is the least inventive product you could have expected from a bunch of varyingly inventive songwriters. Which is to say, it’s not much good at all." [10]
Pitchfork is an American online magazine launched in 1995 by Ryan Schreiber, based in Chicago, Illinois, and owned by Condé Nast. Being developed during Schreiber's tenure in a record store at the time, the magazine developed a reputation for its extensive focus on independent music, but has since expanded to a variety of coverage on both indie and popular music.
The Skinny is a 72-page monthly and bi-monthly publication distributed in approximately 1,450 establishments throughout the cities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow in Scotland and, from 2013 to 2017, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds in the north of England. Founded in 2005, the magazine features interviews and articles on music, art, film, comedy and other aspects of culture.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Restart" | Eric Pulido - Jesse Chandler - Joey McClellan - McKenzie Smith | 4:26 |
2. | "Unlikely Force" | Ben Bridwell | 4:06 |
3. | "100 Million Miles" | Jason Lytle | 5:33 |
4. | "Mind of a Man" | Fran Healy | 3:55 |
5. | "Hey Banana" | Alex Kapranos | 3:50 |
6. | "Real Love" | Pulido - Chandler - McClellan - Smith | 3:24 |
7. | "Failing at Feeling" | Lytle | 4:28 |
8. | "L.A on My Mind" | Healy | 3:42 |
9. | "Tara" | Bridwell | 4:12 |
10. | "Fighting the World" | Kapranos | 4:58 |
Total length: | 42:39 |
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [11] | 42 |
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [12] | 17 |
Turn On the Bright Lights is the debut studio album by American rock band Interpol, released on August 20, 2002. The album was recorded in November 2001 at Tarquin Studios in Connecticut, and was co-produced, mixed and engineered by Peter Katis and Gareth Jones. It was released on August 19, 2002 in the United Kingdom and August 20 in the United States, through independent record label Matador Records. Upon release, the record peaked at number 101 on the UK Albums Chart. It reached number 158 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, as well as spending 73 weeks on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, peaking at number five. The songs "PDA", "Obstacle 1" and the double a-side single "Say Hello to the Angels" / "NYC" were released as singles, with music videos being shot for all except "Say Hello to the Angels".
The Trials of Van Occupanther is the second studio album by American rock band Midlake. It was released on July 25, 2006, on Bella Union.
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