White Women (album)
White Women | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 12, 2014 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | Electro-funk[1] | |||
Length | 53:22 | |||
Label | Last Gang | |||
Producer |
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Chromeo chronology | ||||
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Singles from White Women | ||||
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White Women is the fourth studio album by Canadian electro-funk duo Chromeo, released on May 12, 2014, by Last Gang Records. The album features contributions from Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, Toro y Moi, Solange Knowles, LCD Soundsystem's Pat Mahoney, and Fool's Gold duo Oliver.
Upon its release, the album was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. White Women entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number six with first-week sales of 3,500 copies. It also debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies in its first week, and became the duo's first album to chart in the United Kingdom, debuting at number 42 on the UK Albums Chart with 1,940 copies sold. The album spawned five singles: "Over Your Shoulder", "Sexy Socialite", "Come Alive", "Jealous (I Ain't with It)", and "Old 45's".
Background and release
[edit]White Women was announced on September 9, 2013, along with a Jérémie Rozan-directed teaser featuring the song "Over Your Shoulder". The following night, Chromeo performed at Boiler Room in New York City, where the duo debuted new music.[2] Chromeo described the album as "Larry David funk", which singer Dave "Dave 1" Macklovitch defined as "a combination of sexy, funky, macho music with neurotically love-torn lyrics".[3] Macklovitch stated that the duo aimed to "take it back to the real careless dance party vibes", in contrast to their previous album, Business Casual (2010), which he said was "a little more serious and moody".[4] "There's more guitar, there's more bass, there are string arrangements; it feels more alive to me", Macklovitch said.[5]
On September 18, 2013, the duo hosted an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Reddit to reveal upcoming collaborations with Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, Toro y Moi, Solange Knowles, LCD Soundsystem's Pat Mahoney, and Fool's Gold duo Oliver.[6] Chromeo had previously collaborated with Koenig on the song "I Could Be Wrong", a bonus track from the duo's third studio album, Business Casual.[7] According to Macklovitch, including guest artists was part of changing Chromeo's studio approach for their fourth album. "Instead of working in a vacuum, we were working in an open, more curatorial environment. It's harder to work and have people come to the studio, listen to what you're doing, and then integrate and synthesize what they say into the music than to work in a vacuum. That's what we tried to do as an artistic challenge", he said.[5]
During their AMA session, the duo also elaborated on the inspiration behind the album's title, stating: "We chose the title because it's the name of the first Helmut Newton book. He's a huge influence on us...you know, the legs, that 80s sexy look. And we thought the title was ballsy, funny, was going to get people thinking. Our music always blurred boundaries between past and present (is it retro? is it modern? is it both?) and now we want to blur boundaries between gender and race as well."[6] Chromeo unveiled the cover art and release date for the album via a missed connections ad on Craigslist on February 14, 2014.[8][9] On May 6, the album was made available to stream in full at iTunes Radio.[10]
Singles and promotion
[edit]The album's lead single, "Over Your Shoulder", was released on October 29, 2013.[11] "Come Alive", featuring vocals from Toro y Moi,[12] was released as the album's second single in the United Kingdom and Ireland on January 7, 2014,[13][14] and as the third single in Canada on January 21 and in the United States on February 24.[15][16] The accompanying music video for "Come Alive" was directed by Alex Southam and debuted on January 30, 2014.[17]
"Sexy Socialite", which features former LCD Soundsystem member Pat Mahoney on drums,[18] was released as the album's third single in Ireland on January 10, 2014, and in the UK on January 12,[19][20] and as the second single in the US on January 20 and in Canada on January 21.[21][22] "Jealous (I Ain't with It)" was released on March 4, 2014 as the album's fourth single,[23] for which a video was directed by Ryan Hope and premiered on March 18.[24][25] The album's fifth single, "Old 45's", was released on January 16, 2015;[26] the music video, directed by Dugan O'Neal and featuring appearances from Haim and Jon Heder, debuted on September 30, 2014.[27]
Chromeo performed "Sexy Socialite" with Death from Above 1979 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on October 29, 2013.[28] On January 6, 2014, Chromeo announced the Come Alive Tour, which visited North America and select European cities from January 9 to June 6.[12] On April 21, the duo appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform "Jealous (I Ain't with It)" and "Come Alive".[29] Chromeo also performed "Jealous (I Ain't with It)" on Late Show with David Letterman on May 16.[30] On June 24, 2014, the duo announced the Frequent Flyer Tour in support of White Women, which commenced at Glastonbury Festival on June 27 and concluded in Eugene, Oregon, on October 29.[31]
Critical reception
[edit]Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 66/100[32] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [33] |
Exclaim! | 8/10[34] |
The Guardian | [35] |
NME | 3/10[36] |
Now | 3/5[37] |
Paste | 8.5/10[38] |
Pitchfork | 7.6/10[39] |
PopMatters | 7/10[40] |
Rolling Stone | [41] |
Spin | 7/10[42] |
White Women received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 66, based on 24 reviews.[32] Stephen Carlick of Exclaim! lauded the album as "the best Chromeo record yet, a seamless combination of energy and melancholy, disco and soul, all mixed together into some of the most effective songs they've written", while also calling it "consistently fun and well-crafted, a shining example of disco's renewed relevance from a pair of musicians for whom the genre never went out of style."[34] David Jeffries of AllMusic dubbed the album "an equally titillating, prose-free, and '80s-embracing effort" and described it as "fun, frivolous, and floor-filling stuff where that slick '80s flair is gloriously bolstered by that modern dancefloor punch."[33] Pitchfork's Jordan Sargent wrote, "[W]ith no classic hanging over their heads and no true expectations, it's easy to be seduced by their quietly fantastic fourth album White Women", adding that the album is "the closest Chromeo have come yet to fully realizing their sound, but it's also far from perfect."[39] Will Salmon of Clash noted that "there's a playful sense of bawdy humour at work across White Women. Some may find the irony unpalatable, but there's little denying Chromeo's cheeky pop mastery."[43]
Rolling Stone's Nick Murray expressed that the duo's "disco revival isn't quite as cheeky as similar efforts from, say, Duck Sauce [...] but songs like 'Sexy Socialite' are clearly meant as clever fun all the same."[41] Jonathan Zwickel of Spin commented, "It's not that Chromeo's run out of ideas—they've been a one-idea band all along. But now they've got more of the world singing along, so their brand of fun suddenly means a little bit more."[42] Benjamin Aspray of PopMatters opined, "For every track that mines neurotic hetero-masculinity for laughs, [...] another is more charitable, which is to say more sentimental. This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker."[40] Benjamin Boles of Now stated that "the novelty disco elements are balanced by enough rock-solid grooves that the cheesier moments don't stink up the whole thing."[37] The Guardian's Lanre Bakare observed that "there are more sophisticated elements at play" on the album, but felt that "[t]he comedy lyrics and tongue-in-cheek delivery mask the fact that behind the japes there are some brilliant songwriting chops."[35] In a negative review, Leonie Cooper of NME found the album to be "so dripping with awkward, wink-wink irony that it's utterly impossible to appreciate the Hall & Oates style synth pop that underpins the yacht rocking groove of 'Old 45s'", and concluded, "Even a run of solid guest stars [...] can't pump any passion into this flaccid cringe-fest."[36]
The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.[44]
Commercial performance
[edit]White Women entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number six with 3,500 copies sold in its first week, becoming Chromeo's highest-peaking album in their native Canada.[45] In the United States, it debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 16,000 copies,[46] earning the duo their highest-peaking album on the chart to date.[47] White Women sold 1,940 copies to debut at number 42 on the UK Albums Chart, the duo's first album to chart in the United Kingdom.[48]
Track listing
[edit]No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Jealous (I Ain't with It)" |
|
| 3:48 |
2. | "Come Alive" (featuring Toro y Moi) |
| 3:58 | |
3. | "Over Your Shoulder" |
| Chromeo | 4:32 |
4. | "Sexy Socialite" |
|
| 5:36 |
5. | "Lost on the Way Home" (featuring Solange) |
|
| 5:24 |
6. | "Play the Fool" |
|
| 5:15 |
7. | "Hard to Say No" |
|
| 3:35 |
8. | "Ezra's Interlude" (featuring Ezra Koenig) |
| Chromeo | 1:54 |
9. | "Old 45's" |
|
| 3:47 |
10. | "Somethingood" |
| Chromeo | 6:30 |
11. | "Frequent Flyer" |
|
| 3:13 |
12. | "Fall Back 2U" |
|
| 5:50 |
Notes
[edit]Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted from the liner notes of White Women.[49]
Musicians
[edit]- Chromeo – all instruments (tracks 1–8, 10, 12); guitar (track 9)
- Oliver – all instruments (tracks 1, 9)
- Noelle Scaggs – backing vocals (track 1)
- Toro y Moi – vocals (track 2)
- Oligee – all instruments (tracks 2, 5, 7)
- Erika Spring – backing vocals (tracks 2, 6, 7)
- Asian Dan – extra bass bits (track 3)
- Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 10, 11)
- Pat Mahoney – drums (track 4)
- Ozzie – rap (track 4)
- Solange – vocals (track 5)
- Adrian "A-Dogg" Harpham – drums (track 5)
- Paul Pesco – guitar (track 6)
- Taku Hirano – percussion (tracks 6, 7, 10)
- Ezra Koenig – vocals, all instruments (track 8)
- Thad DeBrock – guitar (track 9)
- Louisahhh!!! – rap (track 11)
- Ben Jacobs – pilot (track 11)
- James Casey – saxophone (track 12)
- Rob Mounsey – string arrangement (track 12)
- Dave Eggar – string section (track 12)
- Rachel Goulb – string section (track 12)
- Julie Goodale – string section (track 12)
- Katie Kresek – string section (track 12)
- Tod Low – string section (track 12)
- Pat Mangan – string section (track 12)
- Peter Schön – string section (track 12)
- Entcho Todorov – string section (track 12)
Technical
[edit]- Chromeo – production (tracks 1–8, 10, 12); recording (all tracks); additional production (track 9); co-production (track 11)
- Oliver – production (tracks 1, 9, 11)
- Tom Gardner – recording
- Sean Walsh – additional vocal production (track 1)
- Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 1)
- Chris Galland – mixing assistance (track 1)
- Delbert Bowers – mixing assistance (track 1)
- Oligee – co-production (tracks 2, 5, 7); additional production (tracks 4, 6, 12)
- Dave Bascombe – mixing (tracks 2–12)
- Greg Marriott – mixing assistance (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 10–12)
- Rommel Villanueva – recording (track 5)
- Scott Knapper – mixing assistance (tracks 7, 10, 11)
- Mario J. McNulty – string recording (track 12)
- Stuart Hawkes – mastering
- Kevin Kocher – executive production
- Tha Funk Lordz – executive production
- A-Trak – consigliere
Artwork
[edit]- Jérémie Rozan – art direction, back cover photo
- Charlotte Delarue – art direction
- Timothy Saccenti – photography
- Adrien Blanchat – image manipulation
- Malik Lacheheb – image manipulation
- Benjamin Bastide – image manipulation
- Karen Soto – model
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Release history
[edit]Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Canada | May 12, 2014 | Last Gang | [63][64][65] | |
France | Warner | [66][67][68] | ||
Japan | Digital download | [69] | ||
United Kingdom |
|
Parlophone | [70][71][72] | |
United States | [73][74][75] | |||
Australia | May 16, 2014 | Warner | [76][77][78] | |
Germany |
|
Parlophone | [79][80] |
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Joyce, Colin (June 17, 2014). "Chromeo Reportedly Invest in Sketchy Canadian Airline". Spin. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (September 9, 2013). "Chromeo Announce New Album White Women". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ^ Brown, Harley (October 18, 2013). "Chromeo Aim for 'the Total Package' on 'White Women'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Millard, Drew (October 10, 2013). "Chromeo: The Timeless Art of Seduction". Noisey. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Carlick, Stephen (April 9, 2014). "Chromeo Talk Their Guest-Minded 'White Women' and Potential Collabs with HAIM, Gonzales, FKA twigs". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Minsker, Evan (September 18, 2013). "Chromeo's White Women to Feature Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, Toro Y Moi, Solange". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (April 17, 2014). "Chromeo and Ezra Koenig Break Out the Kleenex on 'Ezra's Interlude'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Adams, Gregory (February 14, 2014). "Chromeo Reveal Release Date and Cover Art for 'White Women'". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Beauchemin, Molly (February 14, 2014). "Chromeo Reveal White Women Cover and Release Date Via Craigslist". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ^ "Stream: Chromeo's new album White Women". Consequence of Sound. May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Over Your Shoulder – Single by Chromeo". iTunes Store. United States. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Minsker, Evan; Phillips, Amy (January 6, 2014). "Listen: Chromeo Featuring Toro Y Moi: "Come Alive"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Come Alive (feat. Toro y Moi): Chromeo: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Come Alive (feat. Toro y Moi) – Single by Chromeo". iTunes Store. Ireland. 7 January 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Come Alive (feat. Toro y Moi) – Single by Chromeo". iTunes Store. Canada. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- ^ "Come Alive Remixes (feat. Toro Y Moi) – Single by Chromeo". iTunes Store. United States. 24 February 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (January 30, 2014). "Video: Chromeo Featuring Toro Y Moi: "Come Alive"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (October 22, 2013). "Listen: Chromeo: "Sexy Socialite"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Sexy Socialite – Single by Chromeo". iTunes Store. Ireland. 10 January 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Sexy Socialite: Chromeo: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Sexy Socialite Remixes: Chromeo: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United States. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Sexy Socialite – EP by Chromeo". iTunes Store. Canada. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ "Jealous (I Ain't With It) – Single by Chromeo". iTunes Store. Canada. Archived from the original on September 1, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- ^ Gottlieb, Steven (March 18, 2014). "Chromeo "Jealous (I Ain't With It)" (Ryan Hope, dir.)". VideoStatic. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (March 18, 2014). "Watch Chromeo's Video for "Jealous (I Ain't With It)"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Old 45's (2015) | Chromeo". 7digital. Ireland. 16 January 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (September 30, 2014). "Chromeo Hang With Haim and Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder in Their "Old 45's" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (October 30, 2013). "Watch Chromeo Perform "Sexy Socialite" With Death From Above 1979 on "Fallon"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (April 22, 2014). "Chromeo Perform "Jealous (I Ain't With It)" and "Come Alive" on "Kimmel"". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Camp, Zoe (May 17, 2014). "Chromeo Do "Jealous (I Ain't With It)" on "Letterman"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ Gordon, Jeremy (June 24, 2014). "Chromeo Announce Frequent Flyer Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ a b "Reviews for White Women by Chromeo". Metacritic. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Jeffries, David. "White Women – Chromeo". AllMusic. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Carlick, Stephen (May 9, 2014). "Chromeo – White Women". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Bakare, Lanre (May 8, 2014). "Chromeo: White Women – review". The Guardian. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Cooper, Leonie (May 9, 2014). "Chromeo – 'White Women'". NME. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Boles, Benjamin (May 8, 2014). "Chromeo – White Women". Now. Vol. 33, no. 36. ISSN 0712-1326. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ Burleson, Ryan (May 13, 2014). "Chromeo: White Women Review". Paste. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ a b Sargent, Jordan (May 14, 2014). "Chromeo: White Women". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ a b Aspray, Benjamin (May 15, 2014). "Chromeo: White Women". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ a b Murray, Nick (May 13, 2014). "Chromeo: White Women". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Zwickel, Jonathan (May 9, 2014). "Chromeo's Sappy Soul-Pop Comes of Age on 'White Women'". Spin. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Salmon, Will (May 6, 2014). "Chromeo – White Women (+ Exclusive Album Stream)". Clash. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ Villeneuve, Nicole (June 19, 2014). "Polaris Music Prize announces 2014 long list". Aux. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ^ Cross, Alan (May 23, 2014). "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 23 May 2014". A Journal of Musical Things. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (May 21, 2014). "Black Keys To Michael Jackson: Beat It We're #1". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ Grein, Paul (May 21, 2014). "Chart Watch: The Black Keys Beat Michael Jackson". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Pakinkis, Tom (May 19, 2014). "Official Charts Analysis: Jackson sells 47,764 to hit No.1 almost five years after death". Music Week. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ White Women (liner notes). Chromeo. Last Gang Records. 2014. Q2 01525.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Australiancharts.com – Chromeo – White Women". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- ^ "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 26th May 2014" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 1265. May 26, 2014. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Chromeo – White Women" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Chromeo – White Women" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Chromeo Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Chromeo – White Women". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 20, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Chromeo – White Women". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Chromeo Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Chromeo Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ "White Women by Chromeo (CD)". HMV Canada. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "White Women by Chromeo (Vinyl)". HMV Canada. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "White Women by Chromeo". iTunes Store. Canada. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "White women – Chromeo – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "White women – Chromeo – Vinyle album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "White Women [+digital booklet]: Chromeo: Téléchargements MP3". Amazon (in French). France. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "White Women [+digital booklet]: Chromeo: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Japan. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "White Women: Chromeo". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "White Women [VINYL]: Chromeo". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "White Women [+digital booklet]: Chromeo: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United Kingdom. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "White Women (CD): Chromeo". Amazon. United States. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "White Women (2LP 180 Gram Vinyl /Digital Download): Chromeo". Amazon. United States. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "White Women by Chromeo". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "White Women (CD)". Sanity. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
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- ^ "White Women by Chromeo". zdigital. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "White Women: Chromeo". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "White Women [+digital booklet]: Chromeo: MP3-Downloads". Amazon (in German). Germany. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.