Never Were the Way She Was
| Never Were the Way She Was | ||||
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| File:Never Were the Way She Was (Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld).png | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 28, 2015 | |||
| Studio | End of the World (Vermont) | |||
| Genre | Experimental, avant-garde jazz, ambient | |||
| Length | 42:51 | |||
| Label | Constellation | |||
| Colin Stetson chronology | ||||
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| Sarah Neufeld chronology | ||||
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Never Were the Way She Was is a collaborative album by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, released on April 28, 2015 by Constellation Records. It was recorded live in the studio without the use of overdubs or loops[1] at the End of the World studio in Vermont.[2] Neufeld and Stetson had first met in 2006 when Neufeld's Bell Orchestre shared a bill with Antibalas, who Stetson was playing with.[2] The two artists had previously collaborated on the soundtrack to the 2013 film Blue Caprice.[3] The album received favorable reviews and won a Juno Award.
Reception
[edit | edit source]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | StarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[1] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[5] |
| NME | 7/10[6] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10[7] |
| Spin | 7/10[3] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Never Were the Way She Was received an average score of 81, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4] AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek said that the album was too short, commenting that the songs "last only as long as they hold interest for the players, though they all create a real desire for more in the listener - which is no complaint at all."[1] Alexander Tudor of Drowned in Sound called the album a "triumph for instrumental music" and said that Stetson and Neufeld "work perfectly; long may they continue to work together."[5] NME reviewer Cian Traynor said that the pairing was "seamless" and that the album contained "expertly controlled energy" which "unfolds like a well-crafted score to an imagined film."[6] Harley Brown of Spin called it a "cohesive meditation on the legacy of avant-garde greats" and said it was "an essential part of Stetson and Neufeld's own impressive canons."[3] In his review for Pitchfork, Jayson Greene said the album was an "implicit reminder of the things that can be done with two instruments and two hands."[7]
Never Were the Way She Was won the 2016 Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.[8] The album was also longlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.[9]
Track listing
[edit | edit source]All tracks are written by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Sun Roars Into View" | 7:37 |
| 2. | "Won't Be a Thing to Become" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "In the Vespers" | 6:01 |
| 4. | "And Still They Move" | 2:56 |
| 5. | "With the Dark Hug of Time" | 6:33 |
| 6. | "The Rest of Us" | 6:30 |
| 7. | "Never Were the Way She Was" | 8:12 |
| 8. | "Flight" | 1:38 |
| Total length: | 42:51 | |
Personnel
[edit | edit source]- Colin Stetson – tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, contrabass clarinet
- Sarah Neufeld – violin, voice
- Hans Bernhard – engineering
- Mark Lawson – mixing
- Harris Newman – mastering
- Kim Meinelt – photography
- Scott Irvine – photography
References
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "Polaris Music Prize Announces 2015 Long List". Exclaim!, June 16, 2015.
External links
[edit | edit source]Never Were the Way She Was at Discogs (list of releases)
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