World's Strongest Man (album)

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World's Strongest Man
World's Strongest Man (album).png
Studio album by
Released4 May 2018 (2018-05-04)
Genre
Length42:16
Label Hot Fruit
Producer
  • Gaz Coombes
  • Ian Davenport
[1]
Gaz Coombes chronology
Matador
(2015)
World's Strongest Man
(2018)
Turn the Car Around
(2023)
Singles from World's Strongest Man
  1. "Deep Pockets"
    Released: 30 January 2018 [2] [3]

World's Strongest Man is the third studio album by British musician Gaz Coombes. It was released on 4 May 2018, by Hot Fruit Recordings. [4] The album charted at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart [5]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 80/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Clash 8/10 [8]
DIY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Drowned in Sound (5/10) [10]
Loud and Quiet 7/10 [11]
MusicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
PopMatters 8/10 [14]

World's Strongest Man 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 80, based on 12 reviews. [6]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said of the album: "Coombes is exploring the outer reaches of his psyche, camouflaging his anxiety underneath shimmering synths, drum loops, and guitars that aren't so much strummed as used for waves of textures. It is clearly cut together on computer, with dense rhythms competing with smooth surfaces - but also not chasing pop trends. Instead, it's a mature modern album." [7] Lisa Wright from DIY noted: "Continuing his route into more elegiac, introverted territory, Gaz’s third solo offering continues to find him moving into his next phase with real class." [9]

Accolades

PublicationAccoladeRankRef.
Fopp Top 100 Albums of 2018
14
Mojo Magazine Top 75 Albums of 2018
17
Piccadilly Records Top 100 Albums of 2018
75
Rough Trade Top 100 Albums of 2018
93

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."World's Strongest Man"3:28
2."Deep Pockets"3:50
3."Walk the Walk"3:56
4."Shit (I've Done It Again)"2:58
5."Slow Motion Life"4:28
6."Wounded Egos"4:08
7."Oxygen Mask"4:10
8."In Waves"2:54
9."The Oaks"4:38
10."Vanishing Act"2:50
11."Weird Dreams"4:56
Total length:42:16
Japanese CD edition bonus tracks [19]
No.TitleLength
12."The Oaks" (Acorns in the Fourth Dimension Mix)4:23
13."The Oaks" (Leftfield Remix)8:41
Total length:55:32

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic [20]

Charts

Chart (2018)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [21] 150
French Albums (SNEP) [22] 188
UK Albums (OCC) [23] 12

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References

  1. Zaleski, Annie (26 April 2018). "Gaz Coombes Is The 'World's Strongest Man'". NPR. NPR Music . Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. Moore, Sam (10 January 2018). "Gaz Coombes announces new Frank Ocean and hip hop-inspired album, 'World's Strongest Man'" . Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  3. "Gaz Coombes - Deep Pockets (Official Video)". YouTube.com. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  4. Moore, Sam (10 January 2018). "Gaz Coombes announces new Frank Ocean and hip hop-inspired album, 'World's Strongest Man'". NME . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  5. "Gaz Coombes Official" . Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  6. 1 2 "World's Strongest Man by Gaz Coombes". Metacritic . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  7. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "World's Strongest Man - Gaz Coombes". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  8. Rogerson, Johnny (31 May 2018). "Clash Magazine Review". Clash . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  9. 1 2 Wright, Lisa. "DIY Magazine Review". DIY . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  10. Mackevic, Eva (10 May 2018). "Album Review: Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  11. Auton, James (2 May 2018). "Loud and Quiet Review". Loud and Quiet . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  12. Hogwood, Ben (16 April 2018). "Gaz Coombes – World's Strongest Man". MusicOMH . Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  13. Cochrane, Greg (1 May 2018). "NME Review". NME . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  14. Carr, Paul (7 May 2018). "Each Song on Gaz Coombes' 'World's Strongest Man' Is Bursting with Fresh Ideas". PopMatters . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  15. "Fopp's Best Albums of 2018". fopp.com. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  16. Andrew Sacher (19 November 2018). "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2018". BrooklynVegan.
  17. "Piccadilly Records' Top 100 Albums". Piccadillyrecords.com. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  18. "Rough Trade's Albums of the Year". Roughtrade.com. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  19. "World's Strongest Man". Hostess Entertainment Unlimited (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  20. "World's Strongest Man - Gaz Coombes - Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  21. "Ultratop.be – Gaz Coombes – World's Strongest Man" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  22. "Lescharts.com – Gaz Coombes – World's Strongest Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 November 2018.