Taiga (Zola Jesus album)
| Taiga | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 6, 2014 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:36 | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Producer |
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| Zola Jesus chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Taiga | ||||
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Taiga is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Zola Jesus. It was released on October 6, 2014 in the UK and EU and on October 7, 2014 in the US through Mute.[1] The album was produced by Nika Roza Danilova and co-produced by Dean Hurley.[1] It marks the first Zola Jesus record to be released through Mute Records. The album title Taiga is the Russian word for boreal forests. A music video was released for the album's first single "Dangerous Days".[2] The music video was directed by Timothy Saccenti and filmed in Hoh Rainforest, Washington.[2]
Critical reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 66/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| Consequence of Sound | C+[5] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[6] |
| MusicOMH | [7] |
| NME | 7/10[8] |
| Pitchfork | 5.9/10[9] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
Upon its release, Taiga received generally positive reviews from music critics. The review aggregator website Metacritic assigns a "Metascore" to each album, which is based on the ratings and reviews of selected mainstream independent publications, and the release has a score of a 66 based on 21 selected critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Nika Roza Danilova
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Taiga" | 2:55 |
| 2. | "Dangerous Days" | 4:29 |
| 3. | "Dust" | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Hunger" | 4:32 |
| 5. | "Go (Blank Sea)" | 4:05 |
| 6. | "Ego" | 2:49 |
| 7. | "Lawless" | 5:15 |
| 8. | "Nail" | 3:05 |
| 9. | "Long Way Down" | 3:58 |
| 10. | "Hollow" | 3:50 |
| 11. | "It’s Not Over" | 4:05 |
| Total length: | 42:36 | |
Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted from liner notes.
- Nika Roza Danilova – vocals, synthesizer, programming, production, arrangement
Additional musicians
- Joe Exley – horn arrangement, tuba
- Kyra Sims – French horn
- Gabe Martin – flugelhorn, trumpet
- Garth Flowers – trumpet
- Andris Mattson – trumpet
- Erik Hughes – trombone
- Matt Melore – trombone
- James Rogers – trombone
- Drake Smith – trombone
- Kim Free – violin
- Gillian Rivers – violin
- Yuiko Kamakari – viola
- Justin Kantor – cello
Technical personnel
- Dean Hurley – production, engineering, mixing
- Chris Coady – additional production
- Brian Rosemeyer – additional engineering
- David Tolomei – additional engineering
- Blake Mares – mixing assistance
- Brian Lucey – mastering
- Caleb Braaten – art direction, design
- David Correll – art direction, design
- Julia Comita – cover, insert photography
- Jeff Elstone – back cover photography
Charts
[edit]| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[12] | 48 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[13] | 9 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[14] | 40 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jenn Pelly (July 15, 2014). "Zola Jesus Shares Taiga Album Art, Tracklist, Announces International Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ a b John Walker (August 28, 2014). "Zola Jesus' 'Dangerous Days' Video Is So Overwhelming". MTV. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ^ a b "Taiga - Zola Jesus". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Taiga - Zola Jesus". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Geffen, Sasha (October 7, 2014). "Zola Jesus – Taiga". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ Sylvester, Daniel. "Taiga - Zola Jesus". Exclaim!. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Hogwood, Ben (6 October 2014). "Taiga - Zola Jesus". MusicOMH. OMH. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Cooper, Leonie (3 October 2014). "Zola Jesus: Taiga". NME. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ St. Asaph, Katherine. "Zola Jesus: Taiga". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Paul, John. "Zola Jesus: Taiga". PopMatters. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Weiner, Sophie (7 October 2014). "Goth queen goes pop, with anonymous-sounding results". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50: 12 October 2014 - 18 October 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ "Zola Jesus: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ "Zola Jesus: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
