Never Were the Way She Was
| Never Were the Way She Was | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Studio album by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Constellation Records | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[5] |
| NME | 7/10[6] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.7/10.0[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 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
- 1 2 3 Jurek, Thom. "Never Were the Way She Was - Sarah Neufeld, Colin Stetson". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- 1 2 Ranta, Alan (30 April 2015). "The Nature of Time". Exclaim!. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 Brown, Harley (27 April 2015). "Review: Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld Honk and Scrape on 'Never Were the Way She Was'". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Never Were the Way She Was". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- 1 2 Tudor, Alexander (27 April 2015). "Album Review: Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld - Never Were the Way She Was". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- 1 2 Traynor, Cian (13 April 2015). "9 Great Albums That May Have Passed You By This Week". NME. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- 1 2 Greene, Jayson (27 May 2015). "Colin Stetson / Sarah Neufeld: Never Were the Way She Was". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ↑ "Polaris Music Prize Announces 2015 Long List". Exclaim!, June 16, 2015.
External links
Never Were the Way She Was at Discogs (list of releases)