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Infinite Granite

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Infinite Granite
Studio album by
Deafheaven
ReleasedAugust 20, 2021 (2021-08-20)
RecordedAugust–October 2020[1]
Studio
Genre
Length53:30
LabelSargent House
ProducerJustin Meldal-Johnsen
Deafheaven chronology
10 Years Gone
(2020) 		Infinite Granite
(2021)
Singles from Infinite Granite
  1. "Great Mass of Color"
    Released: June 9, 2021
  2. "The Gnashing"
    Released: July 8, 2021
  3. "In Blur"
    Released: August 4, 2021

Infinite Granite is the fifth studio album by American band Deafheaven, released on August 20, 2021, through Sargent House. The album represents a dramatic departure from the black metal influences of the band's previous albums, and a shift toward a shoegaze style with mostly clean vocals from frontman George Clarke.[3]

Recording

[edit]

The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and was recorded with longtime Deafheaven producer and engineer Jack Shirley primarily at his Atomic Garden East studio in Oakland, California.[4]

Release

[edit]

On June 9, 2021, Deafheaven announced Infinite Granite, simultaneously releasing its lead single, "Great Mass of Color".[5] A second single, "The Gnashing", was released on July 8, 2021.[6] A third and final single, "In Blur", was released on August 4, 2021.[7] Infinite Granite was released by Sargent House on August 20, 2021.[8]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[9]
Metacritic82/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The A.V. ClubB−[12]
ConsequenceA−[13]
Exclaim!8/10[14]
The Guardian[15]
Kerrang!4/5[16]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[17]
Metal Hammer[18]
NME[19]
Pitchfork6.5/10[20]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Infinite Granite received an average score of 82 based on 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[10]

In a perfect 5/5 star review, Michael Hann of The Guardian called Infinite Granite a "great, great album, one that exists entirely on its creators' terms." Hann also praised drummer Daniel Tracy, writing, "he is what gives this record its power – his fills and patterns give Infinite Granite attack that never wavers, even when the music is at its most melodic."[15] In a 9/10 review, Marie Oleinik of The Line of Best Fit felt the album "reinstates that less is, in fact, more."[17] Jem Aswad of Variety wrote that the band "continues their progression as one of the most innovative and powerful rock acts of the past 20 years."[21] Elizabeth Aubrey of NME called it the band's "most ambitious and cohesive album to date and embracing their shoegaze selves brings renewal: for a band known for torment and chaos, it's a joy to hear them sounding so hopeful."[19] Chris Bryson of Exclaim! wrote, "In its lyrics and tone, Infinite Granite is remarkably blue, and beautifully so. Some fans might not appreciate the direction the band has taken towards the light, but nevertheless, the heart of Deafheaven remains."[14]

In a less favorable review, David Weaver of Clash wrote, "There are some real moments of beauty on the record - 'In Blur' aches and sparkles, whilst singles 'Great Mass Of Colour' and 'The Gnashing' showcase a band adept at building beautiful soundscapes even with the guitars turned down - but at a certain point, the album suffers from the lack of depth in Clarke's vocals, or range in his melodies."[22] A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club agreed, writing, "Here, we get only the beauty: a long, indistinguishable blur of pleasure."[12] Christina Wenig of Metal Hammer praised the album's songwriting and production and the band for attempting to change their sound, but ultimately felt that "somewhere along the way, Deafheaven have lost some of the intensity that had previously made them irresistible."[18]

Accolades

[edit]
Infinite Granite on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Consequence Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Albums
15
[23]
Decibel Top 40 Albums of 2021
25
[24]
The Economist The best albums of 2021
—
[25]
The Fader The 50 best albums of 2021
44
[26]
The Guardian The 50 best albums of 2021
16
[27]
Kerrang! The 50 Best Albums of 2021
47
[28]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2021
27
[29]
PopMatters The 75 Best Albums of 2021
12
[30]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics are written by George Clarke; all music is composed by Deafheaven

No.TitleLength
1."Shellstar"6:06
2."In Blur"5:29
3."Great Mass of Color"6:00
4."Neptune Raining Diamonds"3:05
5."Lament for Wasps"7:08
6."Villain"5:41
7."The Gnashing"5:34
8."Other Language"6:10
9."Mombasa"8:17
Total length:53:30

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Infinite Granite.[1]

Deafheaven

  • George Clarke – vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–9)
  • Kerry McCoy – guitars (tracks 1–3, 5–9), vocals (tracks 1, 9), synthesizers (tracks 4, 5, 8)
  • Shiv Mehra – guitars, synthesizers (all tracks); vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9), acoustic guitar (track 9)
  • Chris Johnson – bass guitar (tracks 1–3, 5–9), vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9)
  • Daniel Tracy – drums, percussion (tracks 1–3, 5–9); vocals (tracks 1, 2)

Additional personnel

  • Justin Meldal-Johnsen – production, engineering, Fender Bass VI (track 2), additional vocals (tracks 3, 8, 9), additional synthesizers (tracks 4, 6, 8), additional guitar (track 9)
  • Chelsea Jade – additional vocals (tracks 3, 9)
  • Jack Shirley – engineering
  • Darrell Thorp – mixing, engineering
  • Brendan Dekora – engineering
  • Chris Johnson – engineering
  • Joshua Lago – assistant engineering
  • Dave Cooley – mastering
  • Nick Steinhardt, 23in – art direction and design

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Infinite Granite
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[31] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32] 97
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] 17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 17
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 55
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[36] 12
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[37] 10
US Billboard 200[38] 130
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[39] 20
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[40] 12
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[41] 19

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Infinite Granite (liner notes). Deafheaven. Sargent House. 2021. SH251.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b Salmon, Ben (August 20, 2021). "Deafheaven Dive Deep Into Post-Rock, Shoegaze on Infinite Granite". Paste Magazine. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Cohen, Ian (August 19, 2021). "The Sunbathers Turn to the Light: Deafheaven Is Back, and Clearer Than Ever". The Ringer. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  4. ^ VanValkenburgh, Anna (June 9, 2021). "Deafheaven Share 'Great Mass of Color' Single From Upcoming Infinite Granite LP". Spin. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Blistein, Jon (June 9, 2021). "Deafheaven Preview New Album With Booming 'Great Mass of Color'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Kreps, Daniel (July 8, 2021). "Deafheaven Share New Song 'The Gnashing' From Upcoming LP 'Infinite Granite'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Minsker, Evan (August 4, 2021). "Deafheaven Share Video for New Song "In Blur": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Moore, Sam (June 9, 2021). "Deafheaven announce new album 'Infinite Granite' and share single 'Great Mass of Color'". NME. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Infinite Granite by Deafheaven reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Infinite Granite by Deafheaven Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  11. ^ Simpson, Paul. "Infinite Granite - Deafheaven". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Dowd, A.A. (August 17, 2021). "Deafheaven waves goodbye to metal—and maybe to what made the band special". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  13. ^ Blum, Jordan (August 19, 2021). "Deafheaven Successfully Conjure Softer Tranquility on Infinite Granite: Review". Consequence. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Bryson, Chris (August 16, 2021). "Deafheaven Tone Down the Metal but Still Hit Hard on 'Infinite Granite'". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Hann, Michael (August 20, 2021). "Deafheaven: Infinite Granite review – rock at its most majestically beautiful". The Guardian. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  16. ^ Ruskell, Nick (August 20, 2021). "Album review: Deafheaven – Infinite Granite". Kerrang!. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Oleinik, Marie (August 17, 2021). "Deafheaven's rage collides with delicacy on the grandiose Infinite Granite". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Wenig, Christina (August 17, 2021). "Deafheaven's Infinite Granite: fifth album struggles to hold up". Metal Hammer. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Aubrey, Elizabeth (August 15, 2021). "Deafheaven – 'Infinite Granite' review: a heartfelt love letter to '90s shoegaze". NME. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  20. ^ Lyons, Patrick (August 23, 2021). "Deafheaven: Infinite Granite Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  21. ^ Aswad, Jem (August 20, 2021). "Deafheaven Plot a Brash New Course With 'Infinite Granite': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  22. ^ Weaver, David (August 18, 2021). "Deafheaven - Infinite Granite". Clash. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  23. ^ "Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Albums". Consequence. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  24. ^ "Spoiler: Here Are Decibel's Top 40 Albums of 2021". Decibel. November 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  25. ^ "The best albums of 2021". The Economist. December 6, 2021. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  26. ^ Robert Ross, Alex (December 14, 2021). "The 50 best albums of 2021". The Fader. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  27. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (December 17, 2021). "The 50 best albums of 2021". The Guardian. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  28. ^ "The 50 best albums of 2021". Kerrang!. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  29. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  30. ^ "The 75 Best Albums of 2021". PopMatters. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  31. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 30 August 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1643. Australian Recording Industry Association. August 30, 2021. p. 23.
  32. ^ "Ultratop.be – Deafheaven – Infinite Granite" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  33. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Deafheaven – Infinite Granite" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  35. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Deafheaven – Infinite Granite". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  36. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  37. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  38. ^ "Deafheaven Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  39. ^ "Deafheaven Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  40. ^ "Deafheaven Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  41. ^ "Deafheaven Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
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