W (Planningtorock album)
2011 studio album by Planningtorock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
W is the second solo studio album by English recording artist Planningtorock, released on 23 May 2011 by Rostron Records and DFA Records.
| W | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 May 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2007–2010 | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 50:21 | |||
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| Planningtorock chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Planningtorock | ||||
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Background and recording
Although Planningtorock had been working on the album's songs since 2007, eventually writing more than 27 songs,[4] they didn't sign with DFA Records until correspondence began with James Murphy in 2010 after he sent them a fan email that said "Really like the Planningtorock stuff – just saying".[5]
Reception
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.4/10[6] |
| Metacritic | 73/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [9] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| NME | [10] |
| The Observer | [11] |
| Mojo | [7] |
| Pitchfork | 6.7/10[12] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[13] |
| Q | [7] |
| Spin | 7/10[14] |
W received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 16 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[7] Alex Denney of NME described the album as "a masterpiece of art-pop experimentalism that gleefully expands on [Planningtorock's] debut".[10] Heather Phares from AllMusic stated, "W isn’t as rousing as its predecessor, but it may be an even richer album; in its own way, it's just as audacious".[8] Kitty Empire, writing for The Guardian, commented that W "often takes a bit of dedication, but it's a challenging, lavish listen, too".[15] Summarized Consequence of Sound, "It might be tempting for some to initially dismiss Planningtorock as weird for the sake of being weird, but W exposes an artist who is experimenting with musical conventions, with bizarre and often captivating results".[16]
Accolades
Clash placed W at number 17 on its list of the top 40 albums of 2011.[17] NME placed the album at number 25 on its list of the 50 best albums of 2011.[18] Sentimentalist Magazine placed it at number two on its list of the top ten albums of 2011.[19]
Singles
"Doorway" was released as the album's lead single commercially in Europe on 21 February 2011.[20] Planningtorock directed and edited the music video for the song by themself.
"The Breaks" became the second single for W and was named the "Single of the Week" by Clash.[21] The single included a remix by Telepathe.[22] The song was later offered as the Free MP3 of the Day on 30 June 2011 on Spinner.[23]
"Living It Out" serves as the album's third single and included remixes by Jackson and Billy Lock (the alias of Felix Martin from Hot Chip).[24] Planningtorock directed two separate music videos: one for the original song and another for the remix by Laurel Halo.[25][26]
Track listing
All songs and lyrics written and composed by Planningtorock, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Doorway" | 3:30 |
| 2. | "The One" | 4:42 |
| 3. | "Manifesto" | 3:23 |
| 4. | "Going Wrong" | 4:55 |
| 5. | "I'm Yr Man" | 4:06 |
| 6. | "The Breaks" | 4:36 |
| 7. | "Living It Out" | 4:30 |
| 8. | "Milky Blau" | 4:03 |
| 9. | "Jam" | 4:34 |
| 10. | "Black Thumber" | 5:22 |
| 11. | "Janine" (writer: Arthur Russell) | 2:06 |
| 12. | "#9" | 4:34 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Doorway (Jamroll version)" | 3:56 |
| 14. | "Privates" | 4:54 |
| 15. | "My Valuable Hunting Knife" (writer: Robert Pollard) | 4:02 |
| 16. | "Summer Save Me" | 3:21 |
Personnel
Credits for W:[27]
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