A Reckoning
2023 studio album by Kimbra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Reckoning is the fourth studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Kimbra, and the first under the label Inertia and [PIAS], having previously been signed with the label Warner Records.[1] It was released on 27 January 2023.[2] The album was promoted with the singles "Save Me",[3] "Replay!"[4] and "Foolish Thinking".[5]
| A Reckoning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 January 2023 | |||
| Length | 40:51 | |||
| Label | Self-released | |||
| Kimbra chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Reckoning | ||||
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Kimbra released a deluxe version of A Reckoning on 8 December 2023 with three brand new songs, “Different Story”, “Possession” & “The Robin”.
Background
Kimbra began working on her fourth album 'A Reckoning' in 2018, co-producing it with Ryan Lott of Son Lux. When asked about the delay between 2018's 'Primal Heart' and 'A Reckoning' in an interview with Billboard, Kimbra explained "I went through a stage of really struggling to write. Maybe it was because I was struggling to articulate what I was feeling."[6]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [8] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | [9] |
| Sputnikmusic | 7.4/10[10] |
A Reckoning was met with positive reception from music critics. AllMusic gave the album 4/5 stars, commenting "Kimbra's use of hip-hop and electronic music on A Reckoning fortifies her resilience". The Daily Telegraph also gave the album 4/5 stars, stating "Chunky piano chords pierce slithering, ghostly synths on the opening track, 'Save Me'. It is at once beautiful and malevolent, evolving into a further nine tracks exploring the nuances of cinematic and intimate reckonings". The Sydney Morning Herald gave a moderately positive rating of 3/5 stars for the album, stating "Kimbra has returned with A Reckoning - an album that smartly pares back the excesses of its predecessors and highlights the nuances of both her voice and her songwriting, without turning its back on formal and aesthetic weirdness", but later stated 'LA Type' and 'GLT', on which Kimbra raps, break the flow of the otherwise chic, streamlined album." Sputnikmusic believed that the experimentation was a positive aspect, and gave the album a 7.4/10, commenting "She took the liberty to branch out in whatever direction she felt needed and it actually gave the album an odd sense of cohesion."
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Kimbra. Additional lyricists noted below.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Save Me" |
|
| 4:29 | |
| 2. | "Replay!" |
|
| 3:57 | |
| 3. | "Gun" |
|
| 3:22 | |
| 4. | "The Way We Were" |
|
| 3:45 | |
| 5. | "New Habit" | Justin Tranter |
| 3:28 | |
| 6. | "GLT" (featuring Erick the Architect) | Erick the Architect |
|
| 3:14 |
| 7. | "LA Type" (featuring Tommy Raps and Pink Siifu) |
|
|
| 4:12 |
| 8. | "Foolish Thinking" (featuring Ryan Lott) |
|
| 5:54 | |
| 9. | "Personal Space" |
|
| 3:45 | |
| 10. | "I Don't Want to Fight" |
|
| 4:52 | |
| Total length: | 40:51 | ||||
| No. | Title | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Different Story" |
|
| 2:03 |
| 12. | "Possession" |
|
| 3:24 |
| 13. | "The Robin" |
|
| 5:21 |
| Total length: | 51:39 | |||
Notes
- ^[a] signifies an additional producer
Personnel
Musicians
- Kimbra – lead vocals
- Ryan Lott – string arrangements (tracks 1, 10); vocals, piano (8)
- Rob Moose – viola, violin, string arrangements (1, 8)
- Taylor Graves – synthesizer (6), keyboards (7)
- Jacob Bergson – additional programming (6)
- Spencer Zahn – electric bass (7)
- Questlove – drums (7)
Technical
- Twerk – mastering
- Jon Castelli – mixing
- Eli Crews – vocal engineering (1–3, 5, 7–9)
- Spencer Zahn – vocal engineering (6, 10)
- John Rooney – engineering (7)
