Lady Croissant

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Lady Croissant is a live album by Australian singer Sia, released in April 2007 through the record label Astralwerks. Called a "mini-album" by Astralwerks,[1] the collection contains one studio recording ("Pictures") as well as eight live tracks recorded during an April 2006 concert at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Eight songs were written or co-written by Sia; also featured is a cover version of Ray Davies' song "I Go to Sleep", a studio recording of which later appeared on Sia's studio album Some People Have Real Problems (2008). The album was produced by Dan Carey, mixed by Jon Lemon and Taz Mattar at Sarm Studios in London, and mastered by Emily Lazar and Sarah Register at The Lodge in New York City. Lady Croissant received a mixed critical reception and spawned one single, "Pictures", which was released exclusively via American Eagle Outfitters on 27 November 2006.[2]

Composition

Bowery Ballroom in 2008

Just over forty minutes in length, Lady Croissant contains nine "slow-to-mid-tempo" compositions.[3] The album includes one previously unreleased studio recording called "Pictures",[4] co-written by Dan Carey, along with eight live tracks recorded during her 17 April 2006 performance at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. "Destiny" and "Distractions" each appeared on Zero 7's 2001 album Simple Things, which featured vocals by Sia.[1][5] Both songs were co-written by Sia and members of Zero 7; "Destiny" was also co-written by Sophie Barker, another vocal contributor to Simple Things.[5] "Blow It All Away" originally appeared on Sia's 2002 studio album Healing Is Difficult,[6] and "Don't Bring Me Down", "Numb" and "Breathe Me" were each released on her 2004 album Colour the Small One.[7] "Lentil" and the cover version of Ray Davies' song "I Go to Sleep", made popular by both Cher and the Pretenders, would later appear on Some People Have Real Problems (2008).[1][8][9] The album was produced by Carey,[10] mixed by Jon Lemon and Taz Mattar at Sarm Studios in London and mastered by Emily Lazar and Sarah Register at The Lodge in New York City.[11]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
BBC Music(mixed)[12]
Gigwise.com[13]
Pitchfork Media(5.2/10)[9]
Popmatters(4.0/10)[3]
Selby Times(positive)[14]
This Is Fake DIY(5.0/10)[15]
WERS(positive)[16]

Lady Croissant received a mixed critical reception. AllMusic's Marisa Brown called Sia's vocal performance "rich and passionate" and compared it to Nelly Furtado and Morley. Brown stated the band was "tight and lush" and that the music was "very modern, warm and melodic and cleanly intricate".[1] In his review for BBC Music, Paul Sullivan wrote that the album successfully displayed Sia's vocal capabilities and versatility. However, he noted the minimal audience participation and felt that this prevented the album from capturing a "live" experience. For Sullivan, highlights included "Don't Bring Me Down", "Destiny", and "Lentil", which he believed were "executed with an appealing mixture of frankness and fluidity".[12] Mark Perlaki of Gigwise.com awarded the album four out of five stars and opined that the album "portrays an artist who's star is in the ascendant, whose voice is unrivaled in style and expression, an artist on the brink of deserved and assured greater recognition".[13] The Selby Times' review called the collection "mesmerising" and a good indicator of Sia's future work.[14] One reviewer for WERS called the album "breathtaking" and wrote positively of Sia's vocals and the instrumentation. Like Sullivan, the reviewer warned that listeners expecting a traditional live album with "raw cuts and heavy improvisation" might be disappointed.[16]

Roque Strew of Pitchfork Media found Sia's Adelaide accent to be a "liability", specifically noting difference in pronunciation between the studio versions of "Destiny" and "Distractions" and the live performances. Strew complimented "Pictures" and "Lentil", the latter of which shined through the "fog of elongated syllables and cut consonants".[9] Popmatters' Mike Schiller felt the instrumentation was "robotic" and found Sia's vocal manipulation and bending of vowels "infuriating", even unintelligible at times. Schiller did, however, favor her vocal tone and found the power of her voice "occasionally transcendent".[3] Stuart McCaighy of This Is Fake DIY appreciated "Pictures" but also criticized Sia's performance for lacking diversity and for "incomprehensible" vocals due to her slurring of words. McCaighy concluded that, like other live albums, Lady Croissant was redundant but would be appreciated by fans.[15] The Australian publication DNA published a mixed review of the album in 2010 following the release of We Are Born, complimenting Sia's vocals but suggesting that "Pictures" sounded like a B-side and that the album's release smells like a "cash-in" on her "recent success".[17]

Track listing

Sia and Zero 7 performing in 2006; Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker of Zero 7 are credited as co-writers for "Destiny" and "Distractions"
  1. "Pictures" (Dan Carey, Sia Furler) – 3:37
  2. "Don't Bring Me Down" (Furler, Blair MacKichan) – 4:36
  3. "Destiny" (Sophie Barker, Henry Binns, Furler, Sam Hardaker) – 3:55
  4. "Blow It All Away" (Kevin Armstrong, Furler, Felix Howard, MacKichan) – 5:19
  5. "Lentil" (Samuel Dixon, Furler) – 4:11
  6. "Numb" (Furler, Howard, James McMillan) – 4:26
  7. "I Go to Sleep" (Ray Davies) – 3:17
  8. "Breathe Me" (Carey, Furler) – 5:52
  9. "Distractions" (Binns, Furler, Hardaker) – 5:03

Track listing adapted from AllMusic.[1]

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic and CD liner notes.[1][11]

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label
Australia[18] 3 April 2007 Digital download Astralwerks
United States[1] CD, digital download
United Kingdom[19] 7 May 2007

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Brown, Marisa. "Lady Croissant". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Pictures | Single". Sia Music. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c Schiller, Mike (2 May 2007). "Sia: Lady Croissant". Popmatters. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Sia reveals live album details". NME. United Kingdom: IPC Media. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  5. ^ a b DiGravina, Tim. "Simple Things". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  6. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Healing Is Difficult". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  7. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Colour the Small One". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  8. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Some People Have Real Problems". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Strew, Roque (8 August 2007). "Sia: Lady Croissant". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Lady Croissant – Sia". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  11. ^ a b Lady Croissant (CD insert). Sia. Astralwerks. 2007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ a b Sullivan, Paul (25 May 2007). "BBC Review: ...The album sashays through an undulating world of emotion..." BBC Music. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  13. ^ a b Perlaki, Mark (10 May 2007). "Sia – 'Lady Croissant' (EMI) Released 07/05/07". Gigwise.com. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Sia: Lady Croissant". Selby, North Yorkshire, England. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  15. ^ a b McCaighy, Stuart (7 May 2007). "Review: Sia – Lady Croissant". This Is Fake DIY. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  16. ^ a b "WERS 88.9 FM Album Review: Sia – Lady Croissant". Boston, Massachusetts: WERS (Emerson College). Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "SIA – Lady Croissant". DNA. Australia: DNA Publications. ISSN 1443-1122. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  18. ^ "Lady Croissant". bandit.fm. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Sia – Lady Croissant". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
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