RR7349
RR7349 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 27, 2016 | |||
Recorded | January 2015 | |||
Studio | 5th Street Studios, Austin, Texas[2] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:18 | |||
Label |
| |||
Producer | Michael Stein[2] | |||
S U R V I V E chronology | ||||
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Singles from RR7349 | ||||
RR7349 (its cassette release titled HD037) is the third
Composition
As with other Survive works, the album is a slow
Also like the band's previous releases, RR7349 "explores emotional terrains of uncertainty and irresolution, where well-deep and halogen-bright synthesizers creep and dart between streetlamps and shadows,"
Writer Luke Fowler noted that every song on RR7349 "begins with an explosion of synths and drums before breaking down two-thirds of the way through and transitioning to an extended outro."[11] Gigsoup categorized the LP as a three-movement release: its first movement ("A.H.B." to "Dirt") having an "uplifting, exploratory vibe," the second movement ("Wardenclyffe" to "Low Fog") displaying a "boldly identifiable notion of cold-blooded terror looming upon the listener, achieved by the quartet’s mastery of multi-layered synth at varying ranges and frequencies," and the concluding movement ("Copter" to "Cutthroat") having "a sense of embrace and an overcoming of the terror that once loomed."[12]
Release and promotion
Despite being completed in January 2015,[13][10] RR7349 took a long time for it to get publicly released due to the challenge of finding a label to issue it.[14] Survive was signed to metal label Relapse Records via Timmy Hefner, leader of the metal festival Chaos in Tejas and friends with both Survive and the staff at Relapse.[10] Survive gave Hefner the album, who in turn handed the album over to Relapse. As the group recalled in a 2016 interview, "We decided, why not get our album in front of a million people who wouldn't hear it otherwise? Maybe some of them will like it."[10]
On April 18, 2016, Relapse announced Survive signed to the label, and their next album would be released late in the summer season.
Survive issued an extended play titled RR7387 on November 3, 2016, which features remixes of the album's songs by Lena Willikens, Not Waving,
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Consequence of Sound | B+[24] |
Exclaim! | 8/10[25] |
Now | [26] |
Pitchfork | 7.4/10[7] |
PopMatters | [27] |
Resident Advisor | 3.5/5[8] |
Spectrum Culture | [28] |
Under the Radar | [9] |
Honoring RR7349 as "one of 2016’s most cinematic and compelling electronic albums," Fowler claimed it had "the sheer confidence of a debut [album]," his only minor criticism being the lack of structural variety between tracks.[11] Simpson praised RR7349 as Survive's "most accomplished work," analogizing it as a "silver screen debut by a director whose films previously went straight to video (or on-demand streaming)."[6] The Line of Best Fit called it "an authentic, muddy footprint in the world of poorly produced electronic music saturating our airwaves," reasoning that "they're pushing the boundaries and reinterpreting music in an exciting way within the digital age, making us pause to rethink and reminisce what was special about a specific age of music and the amazing technology that has come before."[29]
Some critics highlighted the complexity and progressiveness of the songwriting on RR7349 unusual for most artists to have.
RR7349 also garnered a few mixed reviews. Earbuddy felt most of the music was "just being pretty neat" and "demand[ed] visuals to give it context,"[30] while Now described it as a "suite of discrete moods than a cycle of songs [...] too ornamented to be background music but without enough conceptual underpinning to create a world of its own."[26]
Year-end list rankings
Publication | Rank |
---|---|
AllMusic (Electronic)[31] | * |
Gorilla vs. Bear[32] | 19 |
The New Zealand Herald[33] | 20 |
Piccadilly Records[34]
|
49 |
PopMatters (Electronic)[3] | 7 |
Pretty Much Amazing[35] | 42 |
"*" indicates an unordered list. |
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "A.H.B." | 4:25 |
2. | "Other" | 3:43 |
3. | "Dirt" | 5:06 |
4. | "High Rise" | 3:59 |
5. | "Wardenclyffe" | 4:08 |
6. | "Sorcerer" | 4:39 |
7. | "Low Fog" | 4:40 |
8. | "Copter" | 6:36 |
9. | "Cutthroat" | 4:02 |
Total length: | 41:18 |
4:29 | ||
Total length: | 27:00 |
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Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Worldwide | September 27, 2016[16] | Streaming
|
Exclaim! |
September 30, 2016[4] |
|
Relapse | |
Cassette | Holodeck |
Charts
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[37] | 7 |
US Billboard 200[38] | 108 |
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[39] | 2 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[40] | 15 |
US | 1 |
References
- ^ a b "RR7349". S U R V I V E Official Bandcamp. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ a b RR7349 (2016). S U R V I V E. Relapse. RR7349.
- ^ a b c "The 20 Best Electronic Albums of 2016". PopMatters. December 18, 2016. p. 3. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c McDermott, Matt (July 26, 2016). "Austin synth band S U R V I V E announces new album". Resident Advisor. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Pianka, David (August 23, 2016). "Songs We Love: S U R V I V E, 'Wardenclyffe'". NPR Music. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Conde Nast. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ a b c Fallon, Patric (October 21, 2016). "S U R V I V E – RR7349". Resident Advisor. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ a b Steinberg, Charles (October 26, 2016). "S U R V I V E: RR7349 (Relapse)". Under the Radar. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Thump. Vice Media. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c Fowler, Luke (September 30, 2016). "Review: Survive, RR7349". Pretty Much Amazing. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ a b Rodziewicz, Theo (October 7, 2016). "S U R V I V E ‘RR7349’". Gigsoup. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (August 29, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Co-Composer Shares the Story Behind 2016's Most Unlikely Musical Sensation". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Younes, Nadia (February 3, 2017). "The Upside Down: S U R V I V E interview". The Skinny. Radge Media. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "S U R V I V E Sign to Relapse Records, Prepare New Album". Relapse Records Official Website. April 18, 2016. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Adams, Gregory (September 27, 2016). "S U R V I V E 'RR7349' (album stream)". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Conde Nast. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "S U R V I V E "RR7387 Remix EP" 12". Relapse Records Official Website. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- Time Inc. UK. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "RR7349 by S U R V I V E". AnyDecentMusic? Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Austin Chronicle. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ a b Thiessen, Brock (September 28, 2016). "S U R V I V E RR7349". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Now Communications. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ a b Hedge Olson, Benjamin (November 1, 2016). "S U R V I V E: RR7349". PopMatters. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ a b Gregorio, Nick (November 3, 2016). "S U R V I V E: RR7349". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Riby, Scott (September 23, 2016). "RR7349 proves there’s more to S U R V I V E than just making cool music for Stranger Things". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ JEDowney (October 6, 2016). "S U R V I V E – RR7349 Review" Earbuddy. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ "Favorite Electronic Albums | AllMusic 2016 in Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Chris (December 1, 2016). "Albums of 2016". Gorilla vs. Bear. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "Beyonce, Nick Cave, Frank Ocean and the 20 best albums of 2016". The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. December 15, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- Piccadilly Records. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "The 60 Best Albums of 2016". Pretty Much Amazing. December 9, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "RR7387". S U R V I V E Official Bandcamp. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". October 7–13, 2016. Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ "S U R V I V E RR7349 Chart History". Billboard 200. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "S U R V I V E RR7349 Chart History". Dance/Electronic Albums. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieve January 20, 2018.
- ^ "S U R V I V E RR7349 Chart History". Independent Albums. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieve January 20, 2018.
- Heatseekers Albums. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieve January 20, 2018.