Not in Chronological Order
2021 studio album by Julia Michaels
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not In Chronological Order is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, released on April 30, 2021, by Republic Records. The album's subject matter centers on themes of love, self reflection and ideal womanhood.
- M&S (Sherman Oaks, California)
- Woodshed Studios and Playpen (Malibu, California)
- EastWest (Hollywood, California)
| Not In Chronological Order | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 30, 2021 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 29:39 | |||
| Label | Republic | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Julia Michaels chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Not in Chronological Order | ||||
| ||||
Upon its release, Not in Chronological Order received generally positive reviews. However, the album became Michael's lowest charting release on the Billboard 200, where it reached number 183; Michaels blamed Republic's lack of promotional support for the album as the cause of its lack of success.[1]
Background
Michaels released her debut single "Issues" in 2017, followed by three extended plays (EP), Nervous System (2017), Inner Monologue Part 1 and Inner Monologue Part 2 (both 2019).[2] In 2020, she released the single "Lie Like This",[3] followed by "All Your Exes" and "Love Is Weird" the following year.[4][5] On April 9, 2021, Women's Wear Daily announced that Michaels would release her debut studio album on April 30.[6] She confirmed this on April 14, along with the album's name as Not in Chronological Order and its artwork.[7]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Clash | 8/10[10] |
| The Forty-Five |  [11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
| NME | [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 70 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 5 reviews.[8] Clash's Randy Radic thought Not in Chronological Order is soft in certain parts and "thick with sinew" in others, and equally allows Michaels to showcase her songwriting talent and "charismatic, oh-so-expressive voice".[10] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian considered the album enjoyable and a display of Michaels's talent, but lacking in star quality.[12] Writing for NME, Hannah Mylrea was favorable of its depiction of romance and Michaels's signature one-liners, adding, it "confidently chronicles every dizzying high and crushing blow that love brings – affairs of the heart have, after all, long been Michaels’ specialist songwriting subject".[13]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All Your Exes" |
|
| 3:29 |
| 2. | "Love Is Weird" |
|
| 2:30 |
| 3. | "Pessimist" |
|
| 3:18 |
| 4. | "Little Did I Know" |
|
| 3:16 |
| 5. | "Orange Magic" |
| Ryan | 2:54 |
| 6. | "Lie Like This" |
| The Monsters & Strangerz | 3:38 |
| 7. | "Wrapped Around" |
|
| 2:43 |
| 8. | "History" |
| Ryan | 2:20 |
| 9. | "Undertone" |
| The Monsters & Strangerz | 3:16 |
| 10. | "That's the Kind of Woman" |
| The Monsters & Strangerz | 2:15 |
| Total length: | 29:39 | |||
Personnel
Musicians
- Julia Michaels – vocals (all tracks), background vocals (5, 9, 10)
- JP Saxe – guitar (1)
- German – programming (1)
- The Monsters & Strangerz – programming (1–3, 6, 9, 10), guitar (2), keyboards (2–4, 7, 9, 10)
- John Ryan – background vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming (2, 3, 5, 8); drums, synthesizer programming (5)
- David Campbell – string arranger (2, 4, 7, 10)
- G Koop – guitar (3)
- India Carney – background vocals (4)
- Mario Jose – background vocals (4)
- Michael Pollack – background vocals, keyboards (6)
- Pierre Luc – guitar (6)
- Matt Zara – guitar (9)
- Chris Null – guitar (10)
Technical
- Randy Merrill – mastering engineer
- Serban Ghenea – mixer
- Ben Rice – engineer, vocal producer (1, 4)
- Steve Churchyard – engineer (2, 4, 7, 10)
- John Ryan – engineer, vocal producer (5, 8)
- Jeff Gunnell – engineer (5, 8)
- Stefan Johnson – engineer (6, 7, 9), vocal producer (3)
- Michael Pollack – engineer, vocal producer (10)
- Gian Stone – vocal producer (3, 9)
- The Monsters & Strangerz – vocal producer (6, 7, 9)
- Bo Bodnar – assistant recording engineer (2, 4, 7, 10)
Charts
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] | 91 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[17] | 97 |
| Germany Downloads (Official German Charts)[18] | 76 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[19] | 69 |
| US Billboard 200[20] | 183 |