All Life Long

All Life Long is an album by American composer Kali Malone, released on February 9, 2024, through Ideologic Organ. It was recorded between 2020 and 2023, with contributions from the Macadam Ensemble and Anima Brass. It received acclaim from critics.

Background
Several of the organ drone recordings on the album were first performed by Malone and Stephen O'Malley during a live-streamed performance as part of the 2021 Variations Festival in Nantes, France, accompanied by the Macadam Ensemble.

Critical reception
All Life Long received a score of 84 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 10 critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Mojo felt that Malone's "ability to dominate a room with minimal musical movement is astonishing; this record lowers the temperature, heightens the sense, slows down life, frame by frame". Uncut stated that "the likes of 'No Sun to Burn' (for brass) or the nine-minute title track, will pull on the listener's heartstrings at least as much as it endorses the composer's process".

The Skinny's Patrick Gamble wrote that Malone's "rebellious sensibility, particularly in relation to the interplay between the sacred and the profane, continues throughout All Life Long, elaborating that the "cumulative effect is sublime and will leave even the most agnostic listener in a state of transcendental bliss". Jon Buckland of The Quietus found that All Life Long "eschews the electro acoustics of recent albums Living Torch and last year's epic Does Spring Hide Its Joy in favour of the organ dirges of breakthrough record, The Sacrificial Code" as "these carefully intoned shifts are allowed to hold court for lengthy periods. Giving us space and time to sit and consider the softly undulating nuances that creep into our attention throughout All Life Long".

Marc Weidenbaum of Pitchfork wrote that "on All Life Long, [Malone] is truly writing for brass ensemble, yielding a regal quality: less goth, more Sun King (minus the filigree of the Baroque era)". John Amen of Beats Per Minute commented that "the project often trades depth for breadth", concluding, "At times, Malone's 'magic eye' seems elusive. Other times, it comes gloriously into focus, shimmering like an elegant mirage".