Widdershins (album)

Last updated
Widdershins
Widdershins (album).jpg
Studio album by
Grant-Lee Phillips
ReleasedFebruary 23, 2018 (2018-02-23)
Studio Sound Emporium (Nashville, Tennessee) [1]
Genre
Length41:18
Label Yep Roc
Producer Grant-Lee Phillips
Grant-Lee Phillips chronology
The Narrows
(2016)		Widdershins
(2018)		 Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff
(2020)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10 [4]
Metacritic 78/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Classic Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
PopMatters 8/10 [7]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Widdershins is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips. It was released on February 23, 2018 under Yep Roc Records. [1]

Contents

Production

The album was recorded over a four-day period at the Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. [1] It was mixed by Tucker Martine and engineered by Mike Stankiewicz. [9]

Critical reception

Widdershins was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 78, based on 8 reviews. [5] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 78 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 5 reviews. [2]

Mark Deming of AllMusic said the album "is full of joy and purpose, and Phillips has married them to a great set of hooky tunes with a folk-rock slant. He hasn't entirely abandoned the moody undertow that's always been a part of his music, but the unspoken message behind these songs is that this is not a time to brood, and Phillips has rarely sounded quite this lively and direct." [3] Chris Roberts from Classic Rock said: "Whether it’s sideways social comment blazing with guitars, or poignant self-reflection with undulating melodies, this showcases his soulful, vulnerable voice, which never fails to catch every colour in a song. Locating the sweet spot where spontaneity and polish meet, Widdershins swings in all the right directions." [6]

Track listing

Widdershins track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Walk in Circles"3:32
2."Unruly Mobs"2:26
3."King of Catastrophes"3:13
4."Something's Gotta' Give"3:02
5."Scared Stiff"2:31
6."Miss Betsy"3:29
7."The Wilderness"3:25
8."Another, Another, Then Boom"2:56
9."Totally You Gunslinger"3:31
10."History Has Their Number"3:55
11."Great Acceleration"3:35
12."Liberation"3:03

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Veirs</span> American singer-songwriter

Laura Pauline Veirs is an American singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. She is known for her folk and alternative country records and live performances as well as her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang on the case/lang/veirs project. Veirs has written a children's book and hosts a podcast about parenting and performing.

<i>Strangelet</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Grant-Lee Phillips

Strangelet is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips. It was released on March 27, 2007 under Zoë Records.

<i>The King Is Dead</i> (album) 2011 studio album by The Decemberists

The King Is Dead is the sixth studio album by The Decemberists, released on Capitol Records on January 14, 2011. Described as the "most pastoral, rustic record they've ever made" by Douglas Wolk of Rolling Stone, the album reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for the week ending February 5, 2011. The song "This Is Why We Fight" reached number 19 on the U.S. Alternative Songs Chart, while the song "Down by the Water" also charted in the United States. In November 2011, the band released an EP of album out-takes, entitled Long Live the King.

<i>The Man Upstairs</i> (album) 2014 album by Robyn Hitchcock

The Man Upstairs is the twentieth studio album by Robyn Hitchcock. It was released on August 26, 2014 on the Yep Roc Records label. The album comprises ten acoustic songs, all produced by Joe Boyd, noted for his work with various folk acts in the 1970s.

<i>What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World</i> 2015 studio album by The Decemberists

What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World is the seventh studio album from The Decemberists, released on January 20, 2015. The album's title comes from a line in the song "12/17/12", a reference to the date of Barack Obama's speech in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and lead singer Colin Meloy's conflicting feelings about the shooting and his happy personal life.

<i>Love Letter for Fire</i> 2016 studio album by Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop

Love Letter for Fire is a collaborative album by American singer-songwriter Sam Beam, commonly known as Iron & Wine, and American singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop, released on April 15, 2016, on Sub Pop.

<i>Moonshine Freeze</i> 2017 studio album by This Is the Kit

Moonshine Freeze is the fourth studio album by British band This Is the Kit. It was released on 7 July 2017 through Rough Trade Records, marking the band's debut on the label. Recording sessions took place at Invada Studios is Bristol. Production was handled by John Parish.

<i>Hallelujah Anyhow</i> 2017 studio album by Hiss Golden Messenger

Hallelujah Anyhow is the eighth studio album by American band Hiss Golden Messenger. It was released on September 22, 2017 under Merge Records.

<i>Ruins</i> (First Aid Kit album) 2018 studio album by First Aid Kit

Ruins is the fourth studio album by Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit. The album was produced by Tucker Martine and features contributions from R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Wilco's Glenn Kotche and Midlake's McKenzie Smith. The album was released on 19 January 2018. The lead single "It's a Shame" was released on 28 September 2017.

<i>Space Gun</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Guided by Voices

Space Gun is the 26th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. It was released on March 23, 2018 under Guided by Voices, Inc.

<i>Between Two Shores</i> (Glen Hansard album) 2018 studio album by Glen Hansard

Between Two Shores is the third studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard. It was released on 19 January 2018 under Anti-.

<i>The Tree of Forgiveness</i> 2018 studio album by John Prine

The Tree of Forgiveness is the eighteenth and final studio album by American country folk singer John Prine. The album was released on April 13, 2018. It is the last album released by Prine before his death on April 7, 2020.

<i>The Lookout</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Laura Veirs

The Lookout is the tenth studio album by American folk musician Laura Veirs, released on April 13, 2018 by Raven Marching Band Records to a positive critical reception. Veirs recorded the work around her collaboration case/lang/veirs and continued a streak of working with her husband Tucker Martine as producer.

<i>She Remembers Everything</i> 2018 studio album by Rosanne Cash

She Remembers Everything is Rosanne Cash's fourteenth album. The album was released on November 2, 2018, as well as Cash's second album for Blue Note Records. The album was produced by Tucker Martine and Cash's husband John Leventhal. Cash co-wrote every song on the album. The track "Crossing to Jerusalem" received a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song nomination at the 62nd Grammy Awards.

<i>Thin Mind</i> 2020 studio album by Wolf Parade

Thin Mind is the fifth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade. It was released on January 24, 2020 through Sub Pop.

<i>My Echo</i> 2020 studio album by Laura Veirs

My Echo is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Laura Veirs, released on October 23, 2020 by Raven Marching Band. The album received a positive reception from music critics.

<i>The Narrows</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Grant-Lee Phillips

The Narrows is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips. It was released on March 18, 2016 under Yep Roc Records.

<i>All Souls Hill</i> 2022 studio album by The Waterboys

All Souls Hill is a 2022 studio album by British folk rock group The Waterboys, released by Cooking Vinyl. It has received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Viscerals</i> 2020 studio album by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Viscerals is the third studio album by British heavy metal band Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. The album was released on 3 April 2020 through Rocket Recordings. Three singles, "Reducer", "Rubbernecker", and "Hell's Teeth" were released with the album, the former two released ahead of the album's release.

<i>All That You Can Dream</i> 2022 studio album by Grant-Lee Phillips

All That You Can Dream is a 2022 studio album by American singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips. It has received positive reviews from critics.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "New Release and Video for Grant-Lee Phillips". Folk Radio UK . January 10, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic . Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  4. ↑ "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Metacritic Review". Metacritic . Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Roberts, Chris (February 1, 2018). "Classic Rock Review". Classic Rock . Louder Sound . Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ Rushbury, Ian (February 21, 2018). "Anarchy in the USA? Grant Lee Phillips Points the Finger at the Prez on 'Widdershins'". PopMatters . Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  8. ↑ Wild, Pete (February 20, 2018). "The Skinny Review". The Skinny . Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  9. ↑ Niesel, Jeff (March 8, 2018). "Grant-Lee Phillips' New Album Offers a Commentary on the Current Political Climate". Clevescene . Retrieved September 13, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.