Vows (album)

Last updated

Vows
Vows by Kimbra.png
Studio album by
Released29 August 2011
Recorded2008–2011[ citation needed ]
Genre Art pop [1]
Length50:09
Label Warner Bros.
Kimbra chronology
Vows
(2011)
The Golden Echo
(2014)
Singles from Vows
  1. "Settle Down"
    Released: 10 June 2010
  2. "Cameo Lover"
    Released: 29 March 2011
  3. "Good Intent"
    Released: 15 August 2011
  4. "Warrior"
    Released: 4 May 2012
  5. "Two Way Street"
    Released: 17 May 2012 [2]
  6. "Come into My Head"
    Released: 20 September 2012

Vows is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer Kimbra. The album was recorded between 2008 and 2011 and was released on 29 August 2011 in New Zealand, and on 2 September in Australia by Warner Bros. Records. Vows has spawned 3 charting singles, "Settle Down", "Cameo Lover" and "Good Intent".

Contents

Vows opened at number three on the RIANZ Albums Chart in its first week after release, with "Settle Down" re-entering the singles chart at number 37. [3] In Australia, the album debuted at number five on the ARIA Albums Chart, later peaking at number four. Vows has been certified Platinum in Australia for shipment of 70,000 units and Platinum in New Zealand for sales of 15,000 units.

At the J Awards of 2011, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. [4]

On 4 May 2012, the album was re-released with six new songs, new mixing and was mastered by Colin Leonard in Atlanta, US. It was released in Australia as Vows: Australian Tour Edition to coincide with her winter 2012 tour and included 6 previously unreleased songs. [5] This edition of the album was released in New Zealand on 11 May 2012 as Vows: Deluxe Edition. [6] On 22 May 2012 Vows was released to the North American market, debuting at number 14 on the Billboard 200. The album artwork including body art and illustrations were created by Rhys Mitchell and Raphael Rizzo. [7]

Writing and development

Kimbra was originally discovered by her soon-to-be manager, Mark Richardson at the age of 17. Shortly after being discovered by Mark, she moved to Melbourne, Australia to follow her path in the music industry, signing with Forum 5. Kimbra started recording and writing the album in 2008. The album's lead single Settle Down was the earliest song she had written, being when she was sixteen years old. Kimbra recorded the album at her home and other various studios throughout Australia. The songs on the record follow a theme of love, loss, romance and want.

Composition

Musically, Kimbra was heavily influenced by Björk, The Mars Volta, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and others during the creation of Vows. She wanted the album to have an overall jazzy feel, thus trying make a record that pushes boundaries but still be considered "pop music". She found Nina Simone as a huge inspiration for the track Plain Gold Ring. Kimbra has said many times that she chose the singles for this album by visualizing music videos for each of the songs and chose the top six ideas. The genres of the album consist of indie pop, soul, jazz, and art pop. Kimbra has stated the following quote as a summary of the album's concept and overall feel: "Vows say a lot about who you are, and even more when we choose to break them."

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 72/100 [8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Entertainment Weekly A [10]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Herald Sun Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Music Network(favourable) [13]
The New Zealand Herald Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Paste 7/10 [15]
PopMatters 7/10 [16]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [18]

Vows received generally favorable reviews, obtaining a normalised score of 72 out of 100 from Metacritic, based on reviews from 16 selected mainstream critics. [8] Lydia Jenkin, of The New Zealand Herald's Time Out magazine, gave Vows 4/5 stars, praising Kimbra's "exciting vocal experiments on this colourful debut with impressive range". [14] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave a positive review of the album, comparing the material to that of Björk. [17]

Singles

Artwork

The album artwork including body art and illustrations were created by Rhys Mitchell and Raphael Rizzo. It consisted of Kimbra's body painted white with black body art on, and standing in front of a white background.

Track listing

Vows– Original release
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Settle Down"
4:17
2."Cameo Lover"Johnson
  • Johnson
  • M-Phazes
4:02
3."Two Way Street"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
4:28
4."Old Flame"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
4:27
5."Good Intent"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
Tétaz3:32
6."Plain Gold Ring" George Stone Tétaz4:02
7."Call Me"
M-Phazes4:32
8."Limbo"Johnson
  • Johnson
  • Michael Tayler
3:51
9."Wandering Limbs" (featuring Sam Lawrence)Johnson
  • Johnson
  • Tayler
5:26
10."Withdraw"JohnsonJohnson4:06
11."The Build Up"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
Tétaz5:02
12."Somebody Please" (hidden track after 1:00 of silence)  2:20
Total length:50:09
Vows– Special edition "Live at Sing Sing Studios" DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Good Intent"3:43
2."Settle Down"4:27
3."Two Way Street"4:48
4."Plain Gold Ring"4:32
5."Cameo Lover"4:59
Vows– Australian tour edition / New Zealand deluxe edition (bonus disc) [21]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Come into My Head" Keefus Green 4:39
2."Something in the Way You Are"
Elizondo4:23
3."Sally I Can See You"
Kurstin3:58
4."Posse"
  • Johnson
  • Kurstin
Kurstin5:07
5."Home"
  • Johnson
  • Brian Jacobs
  • David Tobias
Green3:04
6."Warrior" (featuring Mark Foster and A-Trak)
4:16
Total length:25:27
Vows– North American and European iTunes standard edition [22] [23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Settle Down"
4:02
2."Something in the Way You Are"
Elizondo4:23
3."Cameo Lover"Johnson
  • Johnson
  • M-Phazes
4:03
4."Two Way Street"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
4:20
5."Old Flame"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
4:30
6."Good Intent"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
Tétaz3:32
7."Plain Gold Ring" (live) George Stone Johnson4:32
8."Come into My Head" Keefus Green 4:39
9."Sally I Can See You"
Kurstin3:58
10."Posse"
  • Johnson
  • Kurstin
Kurstin5:07
11."Home"
  • Johnson
  • Brian Jacobs
  • David Tobias
Green3:04
12."The Build Up"
  • Johnson
  • Tétaz
Tétaz5:06
13."Warrior" (featuring Mark Foster and A-Trak)
4:16
Total length:55:24
Vows– North American and European physical edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Wandering Limbs" (featuring Sam Lawrence) (hidden track)Johnson
  • Johnson
  • Michael Tayler
5:26
Total length:60:50
Vows– North American and European iTunes deluxe edition [24]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Call Me"
M-Phazes5:26
15."Plain Gold Ring"StoneTétaz5:26
16."Limbo"Johnson
  • Johnson
  • Michael Tayler
5:26
Vows Remixes [25]
No.TitleRemixLength
1."Two Way Street"Damian Taylor remix6:12
2."Old Flame"Claude VonStroke remix4:07
3."Come into My Head"M-Phazes remix4:53
4."Posse"Brass Knuckles remix4:34
5."Settle Down"Justin Warfield remix4:44
6."Plain Gold Ring"Blue Sky Black Death remix4:28
7."Warrior"Moonlight Matters remix6:43
Total length:35:41

Notes

Personnel

If New Zealand deluxe edition tracks are tracks 12–17:

Charts and certifications

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