Halo (Juana Molina album)

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Halo
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 5, 2017
Studio
Genre
Length56:30
LabelCrammed Discs
Producer
  • Juana Molina
  • Odín Schwartz
Juana Molina chronology
Wed 21
(2013)
Halo
(2017)
Singles from Halo
  1. "Cosoco"
    Released: March 2017

Halo is the seventh studio album by Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Molina, released on May 5, 2017, by Crammed Discs.[1]

Title and artwork[edit]

The title Halo is a reference to the Argentine folk legend for the will-o'-the-wisp, known as the "luz mala" (Spanish for "evil light"), which floats above the ground where bones are buried.[2][3][4]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[5]
Metacritic84/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Drowned in Sound10/10[8]
Financial Times[9]
The Guardian[10]
Mixmag7/10[11]
Mojo[12]
Pitchfork8.0/10[13]
PopMatters8/10[14]
Record Collector[15]
Uncut8/10[16]

Upon release, Halo received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84, based on 13 reviews.[6] Robin Denselow from The Guardian gave the album a positive review, writing: "There are sturdy melodies on the quietly charming "Cosoco" or "Cálculos y oráculos", but even an apparently conventional song is soon transformed by her edgy and intriguing off-kilter soundscapes."[10] Drowned in Sound's Lee Adcock gave the album the highest rating and felt that "even for Molina, who has trekked odysseys through drone and voice before, Halo marks an epiphany in the science of travel. How does one hour flow so swiftly? How do the echoes of former futures sound so fresh again, as if their waning promise of grandeur never faded?"[8]

Accolades[edit]

In The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an poll regarding the best albums of the year as voted by more than 400 American music critics, Halo ranked number 97 with 78 points.[17]

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
AllMusic Best of 2017
*
Bandcamp Daily The Best Albums of 2017
23
Drowned in Sound Favourite Albums of 2017
10
The Guardian The Best Albums of 2017
34
Les Inrockuptibles Best of Musique 2017
51
Stereogum 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far
35
Uncut Best Releases of 2017
17
The Village Voice Pazz & Jop
97
The Vinyl Factory 20 Best Albums of 2017 So Far
*
The Wire Best Releases of 2017
26

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Juana Molina

No.TitleLength
1."Paraguaya"3:44
2."Sin dones"5:41
3."Lentísimo halo"5:24
4."In the Lassa"4:39
5."Cosoco"4:58
6."Cálculos y oráculos"4:47
7."Los pies helados"5:23
8."A00 B01"4:30
9."Cara de espejo"5:03
10."Andó"3:50
11."Estalacticas"4:53
12."Al oeste"3:38
Total length:56:30

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Halo
Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Latin Pop Albums (Billboard)[27] 15

References[edit]

  1. ^ Slingerland, Calum (February 28, 2017). "Juana Molina Returns with 'Halo' Album, Shares "Cosoco"". exclaim!. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  2. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (May 9, 2017). "Juana Molina: Halo Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  3. ^ Fernández, Flavia (March 26, 2017). "Juana Molina: 'Las apariencias engañan: tengo mucho pánico, siempre'". La Nación (in Spanish). La Nación S.A. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  4. ^ "Halo: Juana Molina" (Press release) (in Spanish). Distribuidora Belgrano Norte. April 28, 2017. Circular 1705. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "Halo by Juana Molina reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Reviews and Tracks for Halo by Juana Molina". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  7. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Halo – Juana Molina". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Adcock, Lee (May 8, 2017). "Album Review: Juana Molina – Halo". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  9. ^ Honigmann, David (April 28, 2017). "Juana Molina: Halo — 'visceral thrill'". Financial Times. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Denselow, Robin (May 4, 2017). "Juana Molina: Halo review – unsettling folktronica from arch experimenter". The Guardian. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  11. ^ "Juana Molina 'Halo' (Crammed Discs)". Mixmag. May 8, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  12. ^ Chick, Stevie (June 2017). "Juana Molina: Halo". Mojo (283): 93.
  13. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (May 9, 2017). "Juana Molina: Halo". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Pontecorvo, Adriane (May 30, 2017). "Juana Molina: Halo". PopMatters. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Hamnett, Alun (May 2017). "Juana Molina – Halo". Record Collector (466). Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Pinnock, Tom (June 20, 2017). "Juana Molina – Halo". Uncut. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Pazz & Jop: It's Kendrick's and Cardi's World. We're All Just Living in It.". The Village Voice. January 22, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  18. ^ "Best of 2017". AllMusic. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  19. ^ "The Best Albums of 2017: #20 – #1". Bandcamp Daily. December 15, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  20. ^ Adams, Sean (December 3, 2017). "Favourite Albums of 2017". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 23, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  21. ^ "The best albums of 2017: the full list". The Guardian. December 5, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  22. ^ "Best Of Musique 2017 + CD HS Best of Musique 2017" (in French). Les Inrockuptibles. Les Nouvelles Editions Indépendantes. December 15, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  23. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far". Stereogum. June 6, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  24. ^ "January 2018". Uncut. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  25. ^ "The 20 Best Albums of 2017 So Far". The Vinyl Factory. June 30, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  26. ^ "Issue 407". The Wire. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  27. ^ "Juana Molina Chart History (Latin Pop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2024.

External links[edit]