Broken (Soulsavers album)

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Broken
File:Soulsavers Broken.jpg
Studio album by Soulsavers
Released 17 August 2009
Recorded 2008–2009
Genre Electronica
Alternative rock
Length 64:52
Label V2 Records
Cooperative Music
Columbia Records
Producer The Soulsavers
Soulsavers chronology
It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land
(2007)It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land2007		 Broken
(2009)		 The Light the Dead See
(2012)The Light the Dead See2012
Mark Lanegan chronology
Sunday at Devil Dirt
(2008)		 Broken
(2009)		 Blues Funeral
(2012)

Broken is the third full-length studio album from electronica production duo Soulsavers, released by V2 Records in the UK on 17 August 2009, and released by Columbia Records in the US in September as a digital download.[1] As with their 2007 album It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land, a collaboration with Mark Lanegan and a host of guest vocalists, Broken once again features Lanegan as the primary vocalist, as well as contributions from Bonnie "Prince" Billy (Will Oldham), Jason Pierce (of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3), Mike Patton (of Faith No More), Richard Hawley, and Gibby Haynes (of Butthole Surfers).[2] The non-album single "Sunrise", a song written by Lanegan and sung by Will Oldham, preceded the album release on 3 August 2009. The AA-side is a cover of Palace Brothers' "You Will Miss Me When I Burn", written by Oldham and sung by Lanegan, that also features on the album.

In a press release for the album, Rich Machin described Broken as the result of Soulsavers' live incarnation. "Touring has definitely brought the guitars to the front of Broken and it's got a more soulful twist too. And though it clearly has some very dark overtones, I don't think it's quite as dark as the last.[3] The album was recorded over 2008 and 2009 in Los Angeles and North England, and also features the vocals of newcomer Red Ghost, the performing moniker of Rosa Agostino. According to Rich, "This young Australian girl from Sydney kept on sending me demos... and she was better than most everything else we'd heard. We traded ideas, and it really gelled."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
BBC (positive)[4]
Clash (8/10)[5]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[6]
NME (8/10)[7]
Pitchfork Media (6.3/10)[8]
PopMatters (7/10)[9]
The Times Online 5/5 stars[10]

Initial critical response to Broken was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 78, based on 11 reviews.[11]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Seventh Proof" (instrumental) Glover, Machin 3:03
2. "Death Bells" (vocals by Mark Lanegan & Gibby Haynes) Glover, Lanegan, Machin, Warren 4:50
3. "Unbalanced Pieces" (vocals by Mark Lanegan & Mike Patton) Glover, Lanegan, Machin 4:07
4. "You Will Miss Me When I Burn" (vocals by Mark Lanegan & Red Ghost) Oldham 3:48
5. "Some Misunderstanding" (vocals by Mark Lanegan) Clark 7:57
6. "All the Way Down" (vocals by Mark Lanegan) Glover, Lanegan, Machin 4:49
7. "Shadows Fall" (vocals by Mark Lanegan & Richard Hawley) Glover, Lanegan, Machin, Warren 6:36
8. "Can't Catch the Train" (vocals by Mark Lanegan) Glover, Lanegan, Machin 3:34
9. "Pharaoh's Chariot" (vocals by Mark Lanegan & Jason Pierce) Glover, Lanegan, Machin 4:32
10. "Praying Ground" (vocals by Red Ghost) Johnson, Lanegan, Richards 3:44
11. "Rolling Sky" (vocals by Mark Lanegan & Red Ghost) Glover, Lanegan, Machin 7:05
12. "Wise Blood" (instrumental) Glover, Machin 5:37
13. "By My Side" (vocals by Red Ghost) Agostino, Glover, Machin 5:15
iTunes bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Length
14. "Sunrise" (vocals by Will Oldham) Lanegan 3:41
15. "Highway Kind" (pre-order only / vocals by Mark Lanegan) Van Zandt 2:48
Japanese bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Length
14. "Highway Kind" (vocals by Mark Lanegan) Van Zandt 2:51
15. "Death Bells (Mogwai Remix)" (vocals by Mark Lanegan) Glover, Lanegan, Machin, Warren 5:00

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[12] 28
Dutch Albums Chart[13] 58
UK Albums Chart[14] 78

Singles

  • "Sunrise"/"You Will Miss Me When I Burn" (7" vinyl, 3 August 2009)
    1. "Sunrise" (Lanegan) – 3:42
    2. "You Will Miss Me When I Burn" (Oldham) – 3:48
  • "Death Bells" (digital download, 14 September 2009)
    1. "Death Bells" – 4:49
    2. "Death Bells" (Mogwai Remix) – 4:59
  • "Unbalanced Pieces" (promo CD and music video only, 2 November 2009)
    1. "Unbalanced Pieces" (Radio Edit) – 3:58
  • "Some Misunderstanding" (promo CD only, 22 March 2010)
    1. "Some Misunderstanding" (Radio Edit) – 4:07

Credits

Musicians

  • All music by Rich Machin and Ian Glover.
  • Strings arranged by Daniele Luppi.
  • Mark Lanegan – vocals on tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11.
  • Rosa Agostino – vocals on tracks 4, 10, 11, and 13.
  • Jason Pierce – vocals on track 9.
  • Mike Patton – vocals on track 3.
  • Richard Hawley – vocals on track 7.
  • Gibby Haynes – vocals on track 2.
  • Wendi Rose, Carmen Stuart, T'jae Cole, and Eleanor Palmer – vocals on tracks 5, 6, and 7.
  • Dustin O'Halloran – additional piano on tracks 4 and 8.
  • Martyn LeNoble – additional bass on tracks 5, 6, 7, 9, and 13.
  • Kev Bales – additional drums on tracks 2, 5, 7, 11, and 12.
  • Ian Compton – additional organs on tracks 5, 7, and 10.
  • Ray Dickaty – additional saxophone on tracks 2, 3, and 11.
  • Anton Riehl – additional cedar flute on track 12.
  • Sonus Quartet – additional strings on tracks 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 13.
  • Rich Warren – additional guitar on tracks 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 13; additional bass on track 2; and additional harmonica on track 7.

Production

  • Produced by Soulsavers.
  • Mixed by Danton Supple and Soulsavers, except "Death Bells" mixed by Soulsavers.
  • Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
  • Engineered by Eric Weaver, Josh Blanchard, Anton Riehl, Peter Fletcher, Phil Hartley, and Mike Morgan.
  • Recorded 2008–2009 at:
    • Glenwood Studios and The Hobby Shop, Los Angeles
    • Mike Patton's place, San Francisco
    • Gibby Haynes' place, New York
    • Dustin O'Halloran's place, Berlin
    • Strongrooms; Assault and Battery; Casa G; First Love Studios; Highfield St., United Kingdom
    • Studios 301, Sydney
  • Design by Ryan Besch at Hero Design Studio.
  • Live audio engineer for '09 tour by John Lee Hardee

References

  1. ↑ News in Brief: Soulsavers, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, the Howling Bells, Teenbeat Takeover
  2. ↑ Mark Lanegan and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy for new Soulsavers album
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Soulsavers' Broken – Press Release
  4. ↑ BBC review
  5. ↑ Clash review
  6. ↑ The Guardian review
  7. ↑ NME review
  8. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  9. ↑ PopMatters review
  10. ↑ The Times Online review
  11. ↑ Broken reviews at Metacritic.com
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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