Amen & Goodbye
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Amen & Goodbye is the fourth studio album by American experimental rock band Yeasayer, released on April 1, 2016 on Mute.[1]
Background and recording
Yeasayer recorded live as a band for the first time in the wilderness of upstate New York, with Amen & Goodbye requiring an atypically long four years to release, explained at least in part by a rainstorm leak that damaged much of their tapes. That same storm was recorded for the background noise in “Gerson’s Whistle,” which appropriately concludes, “Troublemakers make the world go round.”[2]
Artwork
The cover art was created by sculptor David Altmejd, and was described by the band as, "Sgt Pepper meets Hieronymous Bosch meets Dali meets PeeWee's Playhouse."[3]
Critical reception
The album was described by Transverso Media as, "Yeasayer’s most heterogeneous body of work, both in terms of the patchwork of its sonic and textural peaks and valleys but also its blending of classic motifs with newly formed bizzarities in a way that never feels heavy handed or campy," stating, "they don’t just reconcile the worldbeat freak rock of All Hour Cymbals, psychedelic pop of Odd Blood, and brooding, dark electronica of Fragrant World, but manage to transcend time and space itself with a mélange of biblical allusions, futuristic sound, and countless other seemingly disparate stylistic and thematic juxtapositions."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Daughters of Cain" | 1:53 |
| 2. | "I Am Chemistry" | 5:01 |
| 3. | "Silly Me" | 3:22 |
| 4. | "Half Asleep" | 4:17 |
| 5. | "Dead Sea Scrolls" | 3:25 |
| 6. | "Prophecy Gun" | 3:59 |
| 7. | "Computer Canticle 1" | 0:28 |
| 8. | "Divine Simulacrum" | 2:55 |
| 9. | "Child Prodigy" | 0:59 |
| 10. | "Gerson's Whistle" | 5:06 |
| 11. | "Uma" | 3:13 |
| 12. | "Cold Night" | 4:13 |
| 13. | "Amen & Goodbye" | 0:35 |
| Total length: | 39:26 | |
Charts
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] | 66 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[5] | 86 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[6] | 119 |
References
- ^ "Yeasayer Announce New Album Amen & Goodbye, Unleash Crazy "I Am Chemistry" Video". Pitchfork Media. 7 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Yeasayer Transcends Time and Space on 'Amen & Goodbye'". TRANSVERSO.
- ^ "Take a Bizarre Trip Through Yeasayer's 'Amen & Goodbye' Album Art in New "Prophecy Gun" Music Video". TRANSVERSO.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Yeasayer – Amen & Goodbye" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Yeasayer – Amen & Goodbye". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "CHART: CLUK Update 9.04.2016 (wk14)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2016.