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Grid of Points

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Grid of Points
Studio album by
Grouper
ReleasedApril 27, 2018
RecordedNovember 2014
Studio
Genre
Length21:52
LabelKranky
ProducerLiz Harris
Grouper chronology
Ruins
(2014) 		Grid of Points
(2018)

Grid of Points is the eleventh studio album by American musician Liz Harris under the stage name Grouper. It was released in the United States on April 27, 2018 on Kranky.

Recording

In 2014, Liz Harris had a residency at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. While there, a cold snap kept her indoors, and she began to write and record the songs that would become Grid of Points.[1] The writing period lasted a week and a half before Harris developed a fever and stopped. Describing the process, Harris said "Though brief, it is complete. The intimacy and abbreviation of this music allude to an essence that the songs lyrics speak more directly of. The space left after matter has departed, a stage after the characters have gone, the hollow of some central column, missing."[2]

The short length of the album initially worried the label, who thought listeners would feel shortcharged. However, Harris refused to add more songs, describing the album as a "complete idea. It just happens to be 22 minutes."[1]

The song "Parking Lot" was inspired by a scene from the film Zabriskie Point depicting the California desert, which aligned with Harris' own impression.[3] "Driving" was inspired by an image of tree-tunnels, people driving to a funeral, and Harris' own family: "trying to find a way through it, without thinking it has to be excavated or turned into something positive."[1]

Release

Grid of Points was announced on March 8, 2018.[2] Accompanying the announcement, the track "Parking Lot" was released. "Parking Lot" was named one of NPR's "Songs We Love"[3] and Pitchfork awarded it their "Best New Track" status.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[5]
Metacritic80/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The A.V. ClubB+[8]
Drowned in Sound9/10[9]
Exclaim!8/10[10]
Mojo[11]
NME[12]
Pitchfork7.8/10[13]
PopMatters8/10[14]
Resident Advisor4.0/5[15]
Uncut7/10[16]

The aggregate review site Metacritic assigns an average score of 80 out of 100 to the album based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[6]

Writing for Drowned in Sound, Benjamin Bland described Grid of Points as "even more austere than its predecessor" and "astonishingly beautiful and astonishingly, painfully real."[9] Tom Beedham of Exclaim! wrote that "with the spare concrete signifiers and evocative open spaces she provides on Grid of Points, she's crafted a map for the full spectrum of human emotions and experiences."[10]

Despite overall praise, reviewers were mixed on whether the length was a positive or negative. Heather Phares of AllMusic praised Harris for sticking with her initial recordings, saying "Wisely, Harris didn't try to inflate it into something more elaborate."[7] Steven Johnson of MusicOMH was more critical, arguing that "the relative brevity and sparseness of the album … won’t see Grid Of Points talked of in the same elevated way as some of her other work."[17]

Grid of Points was ranked the 40th best release of the year in The Wire magazine's annual critics' poll.[18]

Track listing

All music is composed by Liz Harris

No.TitleLength
1."The Races"0:50
2."Parking Lot"3:32
3."Driving"3:48
4."Thanksgiving Song"3:34
5."Birthday Song"3:22
6."Blouse"2:45
7."Breathing"4:01
Total length:21:52

References

  1. ^ a b c Ratliff, Ben (April 27, 2018). "Grouper's Liz Harris Explains the Art of the Paradox and the Beauty of Mistakes". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Schatz, Lake (March 8, 2018). "Grouper announces new album, Grid of Points, shares "Parking Lot": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Gotrich, Lars (March 8, 2018). "Songs We Love: Grouper, 'Parking Lot'". NPR. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  4. ^ Sherburne, Philip (March 8, 2018). ""Parking Lot" by Grouper". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  5. ^ "Grid Of Points by Grouper reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Grid of Points by Grouper Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Grid of Points – Grouper". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  8. ^ O'Neal, Sean (April 27, 2018). "Grouper, Grid Of Points". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Bland, Benjamin (May 1, 2018). "Album Review: Grouper – Grid of Points". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Beedham, Tom (April 23, 2018). "Grouper: Grid of Points". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Male, Andrew (July 2018). "Grouper: Grid of Points". Mojo (296): 95.
  12. ^ Milton, Jamie (April 25, 2018). "Grouper – 'Grid of Points' Review". NME. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  13. ^ Garvey, Meaghan (April 30, 2018). "Grouper: Grid of Points". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  14. ^ Fitzgerald, Colin (May 2, 2018). "Grouper: Grid of Points (music review)". PopMatters. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  15. ^ Guilione, Bianca (April 30, 2018). "Grouper – Grid Of Points". Resident Advisor. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  16. ^ Wallace, Wyndham (June 2018). "Grouper: Grid of Points". Uncut (253): 28.
  17. ^ Johnson, Steven (April 27, 2018). "Grouper – Grid of Points". MusicOMH. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  18. ^ "2018 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 419. London. January 2019. p. 36 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
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