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Live Forever (Bartees Strange album)

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Live Forever
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 2, 2020 (2020-10-02)
GenreIndie rock, hip hop, jazz[1]
Length35:24
LabelMemory Music
Bartees Strange chronology
Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy
(2020)
Live Forever
(2020)
Farm to Table
(2022)
Singles from Live Forever
  1. "Mustang"
    Released: July 23, 2020
  2. "Boomer"
    Released: August 12, 2020
  3. "Kelly Rowland"
    Released: September 18, 2020
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[2]
Metacritic83/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute81%[4]
Exclaim!8/10[5]
Flood Magazine8/10[6]
Paste7.7/10[7]
Pitchfork8.2/10[8]
Under the Radar8/10[9]

Live Forever is the debut studio album by English-born American musician Bartees Strange. It was released on October 2, 2020, by Memory Music.[10]

Production

[edit]

The album was recorded in a barn studio in Wassaic, New York, and mastered by American producer Will Yip.[10]

Release

[edit]

On July 23, 2020, Strange released the first single from the album "Mustang".[11] The single has been described as "something of an indie rock anthem wrapped up in mesmerizing synths, catchy riffs and bombastic vocals."[11] The music video was shot at Bartees Strange's apartment in Washington DC, with director Drew Horen.[12] It was also featured as the Top 8 Best Song of the week by Paste on July 24, 2020.[13] and Top 9 Songs of the Week by Under the Radar.[14]

On August 12, 2020, Strange announced the release of his debut album, along with the second single "Boomer".[15] The single has been described "a tight indie rock track driven by jangly guitars" while the music video shows Strange performing all the song's instruments from his home studio.[15]

The third single "Kelly Rowland" was released on September 18, 2020.[16] Along with the deluxe edition, Strange released the new version of the song titled "Free Kelly Rowland" with hip hop group Armand Hammer on October 1, 2021.[17]

Composition

[edit]

The songs on Live Forever weave in sundry sounds and styles.

"Mustang" works in "infectious" guitar-pop, "sweltering" punk and "hooky" synth-rock.[5][7] "Boomer" digs into "giddy" blues rock and hip hop verses.[7] "Flagey God" channels experimental rock and witch house while working in "propulsive" dance-pop with a R&B chorus.[4][7]

Critical reception

[edit]

Live Forever was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 83 based on 6 reviews.[3] At AnyDecentMusic?, which collates album reviews from websites, magazines and newspapers, they gave the release a 7.7 out of 10, based on a critical consensus of 7 reviews.[2]

Gareth O'Malley of Beats Per Minute wrote: "There’s so much ground covered on Live Forever that its easy to forget that it’s 35 minutes long. Strange’s genreless approach to making music means that its eventual follow-up could explore any of the sonic avenues the album heads down – or something else entirely"[4] Writing for Exclaim!, Adam Feibel explained: "As intriguing as Strange's music already is, Live Forever demonstrates that there's still tremendous potential left to unlock." He went on to say that the release "is itself not quite a masterpiece, but it's a clear picture of someone who's destined for greatness. Bartees Strange is a visionary artist worth watching closely."[5]

Accolades

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Accolades for Live Forever
Publication Accolade Rank
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020
Crack Magazine Top 50 Albums of 2020
NPR Music Top 50 Albums of 2020
Paste Top 50 Albums of 2020
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
Pitchfork The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020 Unranked[23]
PopMatters Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2020
Rolling Stone Top 50 Albums of 2020
Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 2020
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2020
Uproxx Top 50 Albums of 2020
Vectis Radio Top 10 Albums of 2020

Track listing

[edit]
Live Forever track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Jealousy"2:41
2."Mustang"3:54
3."Boomer"3:18
4."Kelly Rowland"1:57
5."In a Cab"2:17
6."Stone Meadows"3:51
7."Flagey God"3:42
8."Mossblerd"1:28
9."Far"4:10
10."Fallen for You"4:09
11."Ghostly"3:57
Live Forever – deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
4."Free Kelly Rowland" (featuring Armand Hammer)3:20
12."Weights"2:36
13."Flagey God Redux"2:39

References

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  1. ^ Chelosky, Danielle. "Bartees Strange Gives In To Lawless Creation". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c O'Malley, Gareth (October 2, 2020). "Beats Per Minute Review". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Feibel, Adam (October 1, 2020). "Bartees Strange's Ambitious Creative Vision Comes to Life on 'Live Forever'". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  6. ^ LeSeur, Matt (September 29, 2020). "Flood Magazine Review". Flood Magazine. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d Manno, Lizzie (October 5, 2020). "Bartees Strange's Live Forever Refuses to Conform". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  8. ^ Josephs, Brian (October 6, 2020). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Moody, Mark (October 2, 2020). "Under the Radar Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Roberts, Christopher (August 12, 2020). "Bartees Strange Officially Announces Debut Album; Shares Video for New Song "Boomer"". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Chelosky, Danielle (July 23, 2020). "Bartees Strange Shares New Single "Mustang"". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Small, Samantha (July 23, 2020). "Bartees Strange Tentatively Announces New Album; Shares Video for New Song "Mustang"". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  13. ^ Manno, Lizzie (July 24, 2020). "The Best Songs of the Week". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Roberts, Christopher (July 24, 2020). "9 Best Songs of the Week: Madeline Kenney, METZ, Bartees Strange, Taylor Swift, and More". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Meyer, Jack (August 12, 2020). "Bartees Strange Announces Debut Album 'Live Forever,' Shares New Single". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Roberts, Christopher (September 18, 2020). "Bartees Strange Shares Video for New Song "Kelly Rowland"". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  17. ^ White, Caitlin (October 1, 2021). "Bartees Strange's 'Free Kelly Rowland' Features Armand Hammer As Part Of His Deluxe 'Live Forever'". Uproxx. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  18. ^ "The 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  19. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2020". Crack Magazine. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". NPR Music. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  21. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Paste. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  22. ^ Deusner, Stephen M. (December 8, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. December 15, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  24. ^ Manrique, Linnette (December 3, 2020). "The 10 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2020". PopMatters. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  25. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan; Blake, Emily; Blistein, Jon; Dolan, Jon; Doyle, Patrick; Ehrlick, Brenna; Freeman, Jon; Grow, Kory; Hoard, Christian; Hudak, Joseph; Leight, Elias; Martoccio, Angie; Shaffer, Claire; Sheffield, Rob; Shteamer, Hank; Vozick-Levinson, Simon (December 4, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  26. ^ "Best Albums of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  27. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  28. ^ "The Best Albums of 2020". Uproxx. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  29. ^ "The New Music Podcast: Albums of the Year 2020 Special". Mixcloud. December 30, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2021.