Volume 1 (BNQT album)

Last updated
Volume 1
BNQT - Volume 1 album cover art.jpg
Studio album by
Released28 April 2017
Studio
Genre
Length42:39
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

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 Texas band

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.

Ben Bridwell American singer

Benjamin "Ben" Bridwell is the lead singer of American rock band Band of Horses and a former member of the band Carissa's Wierd.

Contents

Background

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.”

<i>Antiphon</i> (album) 2013 studio album by Midlake

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 78/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Clash Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
DIYStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Paste 6.8/10 [7]
Pitchfork 5.8/10 [8]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]

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.

<i>The Guardian</i> British national daily newspaper

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]

<i>Pitchfork</i> (website) online music magazine

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.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Restart"Eric Pulido - Jesse Chandler - Joey McClellan - McKenzie Smith4:26
2."Unlikely Force"Ben Bridwell4:06
3."100 Million Miles"Jason Lytle5:33
4."Mind of a Man"Fran Healy3:55
5."Hey Banana"Alex Kapranos3:50
6."Real Love"Pulido - Chandler - McClellan - Smith3:24
7."Failing at Feeling"Lytle4:28
8."L.A on My Mind"Healy3:42
9."Tara"Bridwell4:12
10."Fighting the World"Kapranos4:58
Total length:42:39

Charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [11] 42
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [12] 17

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Introducing BNQT… | Bella Union". Bellaunion.com. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  2. 1 2 3 Dennis, Jon (2017-04-20). "BNQT: Volume 1 review – melodic rock supergroup provide a real feast". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  3. 1 2 "Reviews and Tracks for Volume 1 by BNQT". Metacritic. 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  4. 1 2 "Volume 1 - BNQT | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  5. "BNQT - Volume 1". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  6. "BNQT - Volume 1". Diymag.com. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  7. "BNQT: Volume One Review". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  8. 1 2 "BNQT: Volume 1 Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  9. "Album reviews: Ray Davies, BNQT, Robyn Hitchcock, Mark Lanegan Band and more". The Independent . 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  10. 1 2 "BNQT: Volume 1 album review". Theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  11. "BNQT Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  12. "BNQT Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2017.