Never Were the Way She Was
Never Were the Way She Was is a collaborative album by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, released in 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]
Reception
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 Media, Jayson Greene said the album was an "implicit reminder of the things that can be done with two instruments and two hands."[7]
The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.[8]
Track listing
- "The Sun Roars Into View"
- "Won't be a Thing to Become"
- "In the Vespers"
- "And Still They Move"
- "With the Dark Hug of Time"
- "The Rest of Us"
- "Never Were the Way She Was"
- "Flight"
References
External links
Never Were the Way She Was at Discogs (list of releases)
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| Studio albums | |
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| Collaborative albums | |
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| Live albums | |
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| Singles & EPs |
- "New History Warfare Vol. 1"
- "The Righteous Wrath of an Honorable Man"
- Those Who Didn't Run
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| Related articles | |
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