Spiral (Darkside album)

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Spiral
Studio album by
Darkside
ReleasedJuly 23, 2021 (2021-07-23)
GenreElectronic
Length51:46
LabelMatador
ProducerDarkside
Darkside chronology
Psychic
(2014) 		Spiral
(2021)
Singles from Spiral
  1. "Liberty Bell"
    Released: December 21, 2020
  2. "The Limit"
    Released: April 8, 2021
  3. "Lawmaker"
    Released: June 2, 2021

Spiral is the second album by electronic music duo Darkside, consisting of Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington, released on July 23, 2021 via Matador Records. It was one of Pitchfork's 41 Most Anticipated Albums of 2021.[1]

Production[edit]

Following the critically-successful Psychic in 2014 and a tour that concluded at Brooklyn Masonic Temple during September of that same year,[2] Darkside members Harrington and Jaar branched individual pursuits – Harrington focusing as composer for two albums made under Dave Harrington Group and Jaar pursuing two collections as Against All Logic and five solo releases.[3][4]

Reconvening, the album was written and recorded in 2018, with six of the songs largely made through an extended week-long session during the summer in Flemington, NJ.[3][4][5] It would take another year and half for the entire album to coalesce completely.[2][5]

Harrington discussed the idiosyncratic interactions that take place when the two converge together, stating "it felt like it was time; we do things in this band that we would never do on our own".[5] Agreeing, Jaar explained the gravitation that they had shared toward the collaborative project: "we couldn't wait to jam together again".[5]

Release[edit]

In December 2020, Darkside announced their second album would be released in the spring of 2021.[2][6][7] At that time, they also released the song "Liberty Bell", which was their first studio release since 2014, breaking a six-year hiatus.[2][6][7]

The album was ultimately pushed back to July 23, 2021, and Matador published another song "The Limit" in April 2021.[5][8] In June, a third song "Lawmaker" was released.[5][9]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[10]
Metacritic79/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Exclaim!9/10[13]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[14]
Loud and Quiet8/10[15]
NME[16]
Paste8.2/10[17]
Pitchfork6.8/10[18]
PopMatters6/10[19]
The Skinny[20]
Slant Magazine[21]

Upon its release, Spiral received generally favorable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album has received a metascore of 79, based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[11]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington

Spiral track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Narrow Road"6:15
2."The Limit"5:21
3."The Question Is to See It All"5:08
4."Lawmaker"5:49
5."I'm the Echo"5:08
6."Spiral"4:58
7."Liberty Bell"4:02
8."Inside Is Out There"8:35
9."Only Young"6:30
Total length:51:46

Personnel[edit]

Darkside

Additional personnel

  • Rashad Becker – mixing
  • Heba Kadry – mastering

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Spiral
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 74
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] 82
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 76
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 24

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The 41 Most Anticipated Albums of 2021: Kendrick, Rihanna, Adele, and More". Pitchfork. January 5, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Darkside Announce New Album Spiral, Share New Song "Liberty Bell"". Pitchfork. December 21, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Spiral - Darkside | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved July 23, 2021
  4. ^ a b "Matador Records". matadorrecords.com. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Darkside Announces New Album Spiral for July 2021 Release and Groove on New Song "Lawmaker" -". mxdwn Music. June 6, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington Announce New DARKSIDE Album Spiral for Spring 2021 Release and Share New Song "Liberty Bell" -". mxdwn Music. December 21, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Darkside reunite to announce new album 'Spiral', share single 'Liberty Bell'". NME. December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Darkside share atmospheric new track 'The Limit' from second album 'Spiral'". NME. April 8, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "Darkside release brooding new song 'Lawmaker'". NME. June 3, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  10. ^ "Spiral by Darkside reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Spiral by Darkside Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  12. ^ Thomas, Fred. "Spiral – Darkside". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Boire, Anthony (July 20, 2021). "Darkside's 'Spiral' Mourns the End of the World — and Celebrates What We Still Have Left". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  14. ^ Evan Lilly (July 22, 2021). "Darkside's Spiral doesn't quite match its predecessors grandeur". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  15. ^ Butchard, Skye (July 19, 2021). "Darkside Spiral". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  16. ^ Krol, Charlotte (July 22, 2021). "Darkside – 'Spiral' review: a gorgeous, filmic record that rewards with each spin". NME. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  17. ^ Davis, Ted (July 21, 2021). "After 8 Years of Silence, DARKSIDE Make an Ambitious Return to Form". Paste. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  18. ^ Ian Cohen (July 23, 2021). "Darkside: Spiral Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "Darkside Are Torn Between Convention and the Avant-Garde on 'Spiral'". PopMatters. July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  20. ^ Inglis, Tony (July 20, 2021). "Darkside – Spiral". The Skinny. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  21. ^ Lyons-Burt, Charles (July 19, 2021). "Review: Darkside's Spiral Is a Tapestry of Cool Sounds in Search of Direction". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Darkside – Spiral" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Darkside – Spiral" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Darkside – Spiral" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  26. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Darkside – Spiral". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
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