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Returnal (album)

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Untitled

Returnal is the fourth album by American experimental electronic artist Daniel Lopatin, alias Oneohtrix Point Never. it was released on June 22, 2010 on Editions Mego.

Production and composition

The tracks on Returnal were recorded and mixed by Lopatin using the programs Goldwave and Multiquence on his personal computer.[2][3] Most of the material was produced in an air-conditioned room at his parents house in Massachusetts, which is credited as "Ridge Valley Digital", from July to August 2009;[2] the first song was recorded in Brooklyn.[3] Instruments including the Akai AX60, Roland Juno-60, Roland MSQ-700, the Korg Electribe ES-1 and voice parts by Lopatin are present throughout the album, although the Roland SP-555 and Sherman Filterbank was also used in the development process.[2][3]

Composition

Lopatin described Returnal as a "Rousseau record": "He’s a French painter during this exoticism period. They’re very interesting, they’re not one-to-one depictions of nature, explicitly because he didn’t really like or appreciate nature. So I was drawn to that, that’s kind of a vibe."[3]

Pitchfork Media reviewer Phillip Sherburne noted Returnal to be more focused, thick and composite than Lopatin's past work, and that when the 16th-note arpeggios common in Oneothrix Point Never's previous releases do come up, they are "layered and blurred to the point of losing their definition."[1]

Track

"Nil Admirari", which starts Returnal, is an "unexpected invocation" of noise music and the record's only song of its own style according to Sherburne, with its "weeping voice, feedback squeal, synthesizer drones, and overdriven drum blasts" that "combust like a rocket on its launch pad."[1]

Artwork

The cover art for Returnal was photographed by Yelena Avanesova and designed by Stephen O'Malley.[2]

Critical reception

Reviews of Returnal were favorable upon release, holding an weighted mean of an aggregate 7.6 out of ten on the website AnyDecentMusic?.[4]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats per Minute68%[5]
Drowned in Sound8/10[6]
Fact[7]
Pitchfork Media8.2/10[1]
PopMatters8/10[8]
Prefix7.5/10[9]
Resident Advisor[10]
Tiny Mix Tapes[11]
Uncut[4]

Accolades

Publication/Author Country Accolade Year Rank
Bleep Limited United Kingdom Top 10 Albums of the Year[12] 2010 *
Drowned in Sound Albums of the Year[13] 23
Fact The 40 Best Albums of 2010[14] 10
The Guardian (Jude Rogers) Albums of 2010[15] 4
Pitchfork Media United States The Top 50 Albums of 2010[16] 20
PopMatters International The 70 Best Albums of 2010[17] 67
The Best Experimental Music of 2010[18] 9/8
Prefix United States Best Albums of 2010[19] 29
The Quietus United Kingdom The Best Albums of 2010 So Far[20] 11
Resident Advisor United States Top 20 Albums of 2010[21] 13
Stereogum The Top 50 Albums of 2010[22] 41
Tiny Mix Tapes Favorite 50 Albums of 2010[23] 6
Uncut United Kingdom 50 Best Albums of 2010[24] 20
The Wild Mercury Sound 100 of 2010[25] 17
XLR8R United States Favorite Releases of 2010[26] 4
The Wire United Kingdom 2010 Rewind[27] 2011 2
* denotes an unordered list.

In other media

The song "Ouroboros" was later featured on The Bling Ring soundtrack, which Lopatin also worked on.

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Daniel Lopatin.[2]

No.TitleLength
1."Nil Admirari"5:05
2."Describing Bodies"4:18
3."Stress Waves"5:42
4."Returnal"4:43
5."Pelham Island Road"7:36
6."Where Does Time Go"6:25
7."Ouroboros"2:04
8."Preyouandi"6:11
Total length:41:59

References

  1. ^ a b c d Sherburne, Phillip (June 11, 2010). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Returnal". Pitchfork Media.
  2. ^ a b c d e Returnal (Media notes). Oneohtrix Point Never. Editions Mego. 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d "Session transcript Madrid 2011: Oneohtrix Point Never". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Returnal by Oneohtrix Point Never". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  5. ^ Jordal, Ryan (August 9, 2010). "Album Review: Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal". Beats per Minute. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  6. ^ Gibb, Rory (June 18, 2010). "Album Review: Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  7. ^ Sande, Kiran (June 17, 2010). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Returnal". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  8. ^ Gabriele, Timothy (September 10, 2010). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Returnal". Popmatters. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  9. ^ Blackwell, Matthew (June 23, 2010). "Album Review: Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal". Prefix. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  10. ^ Miller, Derek (July 9, 2010). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal". Resident Advisor. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  11. ^ Mangoon. "Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  12. ^ "Top 10 Albums Of The Year". Bleep Limited. 2010. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  13. ^ Adams, Sean (December 2, 2010). "Drowned in Sound's album of the year 2010: 50-11". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  14. ^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2010". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. November 30, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  15. ^ "Albums of 2010: How Guardian music critics voted". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. December 11, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  16. ^ Neyland, Nick (December 16, 2010). "The Top 50 Albums of 2010". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  17. ^ Cronk, Jordan (December 23, 2010). "The 70 Best Albums of 2010". Popmatters. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  18. ^ Battaglia, Louis (December 16, 2010). "The Best Experimental Music of 2010". Popmatters. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  19. ^ "Best Of 2010: Prefix's Top 40 (30-21)". Prefix. December 13, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  20. ^ "The Best Albums Of 2010 So Far". The Quietus. July 1, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  21. ^ "RA Poll: Top 20 albums of 2010". Resident Advisor. December 15, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  22. ^ "Stereogum's Top 50 Albums Of 2010". Stereogum. December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  23. ^ Elliott, Richard (December 2010). "2010: Favorite 50 Albums of 2010 (10-1)". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  24. ^ "Uncut's 50 Best Albums of 2010". Album of the Year. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  25. ^ Mulvey, John (December 21, 2010). "The Wild Mercury Sound 100 Of 2010". Uncut. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  26. ^ "XLR8R's Favorite Releases of 2010, Part Two". XLR8R. December 23, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  27. ^ "2010 Rewind". The Wire. January 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
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