Age Of
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Age Of is the eighth
It features contributions from James Blake (who additionally produced and mixed the album), Anohni, Prurient, Kelsey Lu and Eli Keszler. The artwork, which employs Jim Shaw's "The Great Whatsit" as a central image, was designed by David Rudnick.[3] While not entering the official United States Billboard 200 chart, it peaked at number 59 on the magazine's Top Current Albums chart.
Background
Lopatin produced Age Of in parts of a two-year period, during which he was also producing for other artists, including
In addition to Lopatin's own singing, the album also features vocal performances from Anohni and Prurient, while instrumentalists Kelsey Lu and Eli Keszler contribute to several tracks. When the record was nearly finished, Lopatin reached out to musician James Blake to contribute to the mixing process, eventually traveling to Los Angeles to complete the album.[4]
The track "
Concept and MYRIAD
Influences on Age Of included
Around the time Lopatin began finalizing Age Of in his Airbnb lodge, he began working on the concept for MYRIAD, a conceptual concert performance which premiered at
MYRIAD mainly featured "three-hundred pound sculptures that hang from the ceiling like kebabs that secrete ooze", and a full ensemble that toured to perform songs from Age Of, including Eli Keszler, Kelly Moran and Aaron David Ross.
Composition
Whereas previous Oneohtrix Point Never albums followed musical styles from only distinctive eras, Age Of is the first album by Lopatin to incorporate elements of unique genres from a variety of periods, hence the "incompleteness" of its title according to reviewer Heather Phares,[9] and his first pop-song-oriented release since his work for Ford & Lopatin.[1]
The sound palettes it uses are those from a variety of styles such as
The instrumentation of Age Of is made up of MIDI harpsichords, guitars, pianos, brass and vocals, as well as Lopatin's trademark unorthodox sound design, samples and synth presets.[4] The LP's use of the harpsichord shows its similarities "with Eastern instruments such as the koto and with rapid-fire electronic melodies", wrote Phares.[9]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Consequence of Sound | B+[11] |
Mixmag | 9/10[16] |
Mojo | [17] |
The Observer | [18] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10[19] |
Q | [20] |
Resident Advisor | 4.0/5[10] |
Uncut | 6/10[21] |
Age Of was critically well-received upon its distribution.[15][14] Some reviewers praised the album's use of collaborators.[13][9][11] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Heather Phares called Age Of a "landmark work" for Lopatin.[9] She praised it as his "widest-ranging" release, elaborating that he "matches the album's ambition with plenty of emotion" and "gives his music exciting new shapes."[9] Ross Devlin of The Skinny, in a five-star review of the record, also highlighted the album's amount of ambition, particularly the "wealth of exquisitely baroque moments, exploring history as a pliable, multi-dimensional rift", that gave it "exceptional sonic depth".[13] The Observer praised Age Of for continuing the "off-kilter composition and unexpected instrumentation" of Lopatin's previous releases,[18] and critic Matt McDermott highlighted that the producer increased his musical range with the record: "It's a dizzying trip meant to shore up Lopatin's status as an avant-garde auteur while aiding his forays into mainstream pop culture."[10]
Age Of was ranked the 15th best release of the year in The Wire magazine's annual critics' poll.[22]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Daniel Lopatin
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Age Of" | 3:24 |
2. | "Babylon" | 3:04 |
3. | "Manifold" | 1:49 |
4. | "The Station" | 4:19 |
5. | "Toys 2" | 4:38 |
6. | "Black Snow" | 3:40 |
7. | "Myriad Industries" | 1:07 |
8. | "Warning" | 2:38 |
9. | "We'll Take It" | 3:45 |
10. | "Same" | 2:01 |
11. | "RayCats" | 3:40 |
12. | "Still Stuff That Doesn't Happen" | 4:21 |
13. | "Last Known Image of a Song" | 4:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
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14. | "Trance 1" | 3:54 |
Notes
- "Myriad Industries" is stylized as "myriad.industries".
Sample credits[23]
- "Age Of" contains a sample of "Blow the Wind" by Jocelyn Pook.
- "Manifold" contains a sample from "Overture (Ararat the Border Crossing)" by Tayfun Erdem; and a sample from "Reharmonization" by Julien Bradley.
- "Myriad Industries" contains a sample of "EchoSpace" by Gil Trythall.
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
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Exclaim! | Top 10 Dance and Electronic Albums | 5
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Highsnobiety | Top 25 Albums of 2018 | 21
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Mixmag | Top 50 Albums of 2018 | 22
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Spin Magazine | Top 51 Albums of 2018 | 10
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The 405
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Top 50 Albums of 2018 | 4
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The Wire | Top 50 Albums of 2018 | 15
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Personnel
- Daniel Lopatin– production, lead vocals, album art, design
- James Blake – additional production, mixing, keyboards
- Gabriel Schuman, Joshua Smith and Evan Sutton – assistance
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- David Rudnick – album art, design
- Prurient – vocals
- Kelsey Lu – keyboards
- Anohni – vocals
- Eli Keszler – drums
- Shaun Trujillo – words
Charts
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] | 121 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[31] | 109 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] | 72 |
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[33] | 11 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[34] | 13 |
US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[35] | 59 |
US | 4 |
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[37] | 8 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f O'Neal, Sean (May 30, 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never goes pop, then obliterates it on the excellent Age Of". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
- ^ Ravens, Chal (November 2020). "Review: Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". The Wire. 441: 62.
- ^ a b c d Battaglia, Andy (24 May 2018). "Waiting for an Age Like You: Oneohtrix Point Never Takes Epoch Stand". ARTnews. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Oneohtrix Point Never's vision of a post-apocalyptic, AI-ruled future | Dazed". Dazed. 30 April 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Oneohtrix Point Never on 'Nightmare Ballads' of 'Age Of'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ "Oneohtrix Point Never Shares Rejected Usher Demo". Pitchfork. 9 July 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Zoladz, Lindsay (May 31, 2018). "Usher Loves Him, but He Wants Pixar: Oneohtrix Point Never's Moment Is Here". The Ringer. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Joyce, Colin; Staff, Noisey (8 June 2018). "Surviving the Last Days of Excess with Oneohtrix Point Never". vice.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Phares, Heather. "Age Of – Oneohtrix Point Never". AllMusic. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e McDermott, Matt (May 30, 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Age Of". Resident Advisor. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
- ^ Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of - Boomkat". Boomkat. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Devlin, Ross (May 29, 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Age Of". The Skinny. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
- ^ a b "Age Of by Oneohtrix Point Never reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
- ^ a b "Age Of by Oneohtrix Point Never Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of". Mixmag: 115. June 2018.
- ^ Worthy, Stephen (July 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of". Mojo (296): 95.
- ^ a b Kalia, Ammar (June 3, 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of review – expect the unexpected". The Observer. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ Geffen, Sasha (June 2, 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (July 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of". Q (386): 115.
- ^ Martin, Piers (July 2018). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of". Uncut (254): 33.
- ^ "2018 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 419. London. January 2019. p. 33 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
- ^ Age Of (liner notes). Oneohtrix Point Never. Warp. 2018. WARPLP295.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Exclaim!'s Top 10 Dance and Electronic Albums of 2018". Exclaim.ca. December 12, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Indiana, Jake (December 19, 2018). "The 25 Best Albums of 2018". Highsnobiety.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2018". Mixmag.net. December 17, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "51 Best Albums of 2018". Spin.com. December 12, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "The 405's Top 50 Albums of 2018". Thefourohfive.com. December 20, 2018. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "Listen to The Wire's Top 50 releases of 2018". The Wire. December 2018.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Oneohtrix Point Never – Age Of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- ^ "エイジ・オブ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ "Billboard Biz". Billboard. Retrieved September 15, 2018. Go to "Charts," enter "Oneohtrix Point Never" in the "Artist" field, choose "Top Current Albums," then click "Submit.
- ^ "Oneohtrix Point Never Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ "Oneohtrix Point Never Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2018.