Live Forever (Bartees Strange album)

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Live Forever
Studio album by
Bartees Strange
ReleasedOctober 2, 2020 (2020-10-02)
GenreIndie rock, hip hop, jazz[1]
Length35:24
LabelMemory Music
Bartees Strange chronology
Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy
(2020) 		Live Forever
(2020) 		Farm to Table
(2022)
Singles from Live Forever
  1. "Mustang"
    Released: July 23, 2020
  2. "Boomer"
    Released: August 12, 2020
  3. "Kelly Rowland"
    Released: September 18, 2020
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[2]
Metacritic83/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute81%[4]
Exclaim!8/10[5]
Flood Magazine8/10[6]
Paste7.7/10[7]
Pitchfork8.2/10[8]
Under the Radar8/10[9]

Live Forever is the debut studio album by English-born American musician Bartees Strange. It was released on October 2, 2020, by Memory Music.[10]

Production[edit]

The album was recorded in a barn studio in Wassaic, New York, and mastered by American producer Will Yip.[10]

Release[edit]

On July 23, 2020, Strange released the first single from the album "Mustang".[11] The single has been described as "something of an indie rock anthem wrapped up in mesmerizing synths, catchy riffs and bombastic vocals."[11] The music video was shot at Bartees Strange's apartment in Washington DC, with director Drew Horen.[12] It was also featured as the Top 8 Best Song of the week by Paste on July 24, 2020.[13] and Top 9 Songs of the Week by Under the Radar.[14]

On August 12, 2020, Strange announced the release of his debut album, along with the second single "Boomer".[15] The single has been described "a tight indie rock track driven by jangly guitars" while the music video shows Strange performing all the song's instruments from his home studio.[15]

The third single "Kelly Rowland" was released on September 18, 2020.[16] Along with the deluxe edition, Strange released the new version of the song titled "Free Kelly Rowland" with hip hop group Armand Hammer on October 1, 2021.[17]

Composition[edit]

The songs on Live Forever weave in sundry sounds and styles.

"Mustang" works in "infectious" guitar-pop, "sweltering" punk and "hooky" synth-rock.[5][7] "Boomer" digs into "giddy" blues rock and hip hop verses.[7] "Flagey God" channels experimental rock and witch house while working in "propulsive" dance-pop with a R&B chorus.[4][7]

Critical reception[edit]

Live Forever was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 83 based on 6 reviews.[3] At AnyDecentMusic?, which collates album reviews from websites, magazines and newspapers, they gave the release a 7.7 out of 10, based on a critical consensus of 7 reviews.[2]

Gareth O'Malley of Beats Per Minute wrote: "There’s so much ground covered on Live Forever that its easy to forget that it’s 35 minutes long. Strange’s genreless approach to making music means that its eventual follow-up could explore any of the sonic avenues the album heads down – or something else entirely"[4] Writing for Exclaim!, Adam Feibel explained: "As intriguing as Strange's music already is, Live Forever demonstrates that there's still tremendous potential left to unlock." He went on to say that the release "is itself not quite a masterpiece, but it's a clear picture of someone who's destined for greatness. Bartees Strange is a visionary artist worth watching closely."[5]

Accolades[edit]

Accolades for Live Forever
Publication Accolade Rank
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020
42[18]
Crack Magazine Top 50 Albums of 2020
46[19]
NPR Music Top 50 Albums of 2020
32[20]
Paste Top 50 Albums of 2020
36[21]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
30[22]
Pitchfork The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020 Unranked[23]
PopMatters Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2020
6[24]
Rolling Stone Top 50 Albums of 2020
50[25]
Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 2020
16[26]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2020
15[27]
Uproxx Top 50 Albums of 2020
25[28]
Vectis Radio Top 10 Albums of 2020
2[29]

Track listing[edit]

Live Forever track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Jealousy"2:41
2."Mustang"3:54
3."Boomer"3:18
4."Kelly Rowland"1:57
5."In a Cab"2:17
6."Stone Meadows"3:51
7."Flagey God"3:42
8."Mossblerd"1:28
9."Far"4:10
10."Fallen for You"4:09
11."Ghostly"3:57
Live Forever – deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
4."Free Kelly Rowland" (featuring Armand Hammer)3:20
12."Weights"2:36
13."Flagey God Redux"2:39

References[edit]

  1. ^ Chelosky, Danielle. "Bartees Strange Gives In To Lawless Creation". MTV News. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c O'Malley, Gareth (October 2, 2020). "Beats Per Minute Review". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Feibel, Adam (October 1, 2020). "Bartees Strange's Ambitious Creative Vision Comes to Life on 'Live Forever'". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  6. ^ LeSeur, Matt (September 29, 2020). "Flood Magazine Review". Flood Magazine. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d Manno, Lizzie (October 5, 2020). "Bartees Strange's Live Forever Refuses to Conform". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  8. ^ Josephs, Brian (October 6, 2020). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Moody, Mark (October 2, 2020). "Under the Radar Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Roberts, Christopher (August 12, 2020). "Bartees Strange Officially Announces Debut Album; Shares Video for New Song "Boomer"". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Chelosky, Danielle (July 23, 2020). "Bartees Strange Shares New Single "Mustang"". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Small, Samantha (July 23, 2020). "Bartees Strange Tentatively Announces New Album; Shares Video for New Song "Mustang"". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  13. ^ Manno, Lizzie (July 24, 2020). "The Best Songs of the Week". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Roberts, Christopher (July 24, 2020). "9 Best Songs of the Week: Madeline Kenney, METZ, Bartees Strange, Taylor Swift, and More". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Meyer, Jack (August 12, 2020). "Bartees Strange Announces Debut Album 'Live Forever,' Shares New Single". Paste. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Roberts, Christopher (September 18, 2020). "Bartees Strange Shares Video for New Song "Kelly Rowland"". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  17. ^ White, Caitlin (October 1, 2021). "Bartees Strange's 'Free Kelly Rowland' Features Armand Hammer As Part Of His Deluxe 'Live Forever'". Uproxx. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  18. ^ "The 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  19. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2020". Crack Magazine. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". NPR Music. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  21. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Paste. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  22. ^ Deusner, Stephen M. (December 8, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. December 15, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  24. ^ Manrique, Linnette (December 3, 2020). "The 10 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2020". PopMatters. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  25. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan; Blake, Emily; Blistein, Jon; Dolan, Jon; Doyle, Patrick; Ehrlick, Brenna; Freeman, Jon; Grow, Kory; Hoard, Christian; Hudak, Joseph; Leight, Elias; Martoccio, Angie; Shaffer, Claire; Sheffield, Rob; Shteamer, Hank; Vozick-Levinson, Simon (December 4, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  26. ^ "Best Albums of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  27. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  28. ^ "The Best Albums of 2020". Uproxx. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  29. ^ "The New Music Podcast: Albums of the Year 2020 Special". Mixcloud. December 30, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
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