Beat Pyramid is the debut studio album by British art rock band These New Puritans. It was released on 28 January 2008 in the United Kingdom through Angular and Domino and on 18 March 2008 in the United States through Domino. The album was recorded in London and Paris during 2007 and was produced by Gareth Jones in London. The double A-side "Numbers/Colours", "Elvis" and "Swords of Truth" were released as singles.
| Beat Pyramid | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 January 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Studio | Miloco Studios and Metropolis Studios, London; Studio Pigalle, Paris | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, post-punk, electronic | |||
| Length | 33:15 | |||
| Label | Angular/Domino (joint) | |||
| Producer | Gareth Jones | |||
| These New Puritans chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Beat Pyramid | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Blender |  [2] |
| Drowned in Sound | (8/10)[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[4] |
| The Observer | [5] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.5/10)[6] |
| PopMatters | (8/10)[7] |
| Spin | [8] |
| Uncut | [9] |
| Vice | (10/10)[10] |
Lyricist and primary composer Jack Barnett has claimed that hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan were among the influences for the album, along with electronic music from artists in the vein of Aphex Twin.[11]
Origins and recording
editThese New Puritans' first release was the extended play Now Pluvial, which was a three track long record released in October 2006 through independent record label Angular Records.[12] Despite only being a limited release, the EP attracted good reception from Drowned in Sound, garnering a 9/10 review.[12]
Promotion and release
edit
Track listing
editAll songs written by Jack Barnett, unless otherwise stated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "...ce I Will Say This Twice" | 0:16 | |
| 2. | "Numerology (AKA Numbers)" | 3:11 | |
| 3. | "Colours" | 2:26 | |
| 4. | "Swords of Truth" | 3:12 | |
| 5. | "Doppelgänger" | 1:30 | |
| 6. | "C. 16th ±" | 1:38 | |
| 7. | "En papier" | Jack Barnett, George Barnett, Thomas Hein | 4:55 |
| 8. | "Infinity ytinifnI" | 2:26 | |
| 9. | "Elvis" | 2:46 | |
| 10. | "£4" | 2:43 | |
| 11. | "MKK3" | 2:13 | |
| 12. | "4" | 0:08 | |
| 13. | "Navigate-Colours" | Jack Barnett, George Barnett | 4:20 |
| 14. | "H." | 0:28 | |
| 15. | "Costume" | Jack Barnett, DB Cooper | 3:36 |
| 16. | "I Will Say This Twi..." | 0:08 |
Personnel
editBand
- Jack Barnett – vocals, guitar, laptop
- Thomas Hein – bass guitar, sampler, MIDI
- Sophie Sleigh-Johnson – keyboards
- George Barnett – drums, loops, contact mics
Additional musicians
- Justyna Borucka – vocals ("..ce I Will Say This Twice"; "I Will Say This Twi...")
- Killah Doku – guitar
- James Ford – guitar ("Costume"), keyboard ("Elvis")
- Thomas Jerome Seabrook – mixer, effects
- Gareth Jones – desk feedback
Production
- Gareth Jones – producer, mixing
- James Ford – tape recording ("Elvis")
- Jack Barnett – additional recording, additional editing
- DB Cooper – additional recording, additional editing
- Jeff Knowles – engineer (except "Navigate-Colours")
- Quentin Leuiller – engineer ("Navigate-Colours")
- James Aparicio – mix engineer
Artwork
- Matthew Cooper – design
- Elina Tsompanoglou – design
- George Barnett – design assistant
- Jack Barnett – design assistant
References
edit- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Blender review[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Drowned in Sound review". Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
- ^ Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ "Reviews 11-25". The Guardian. 17 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021.
- ^ Pitchfork Media review Archived August 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ Spin review
- ^ Uncut review
- ^ Vice review
- ^ "Breaking Artist: These New Puritans". Rolling Stone. 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ a b Kharas, Kev. "These New Puritans: Now Pluvial EP". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2008.