Wikipedia

Five Ways of Disappearing

Five Ways of Disappearing is an album by the American musician Kendra Smith, released in 1995.[2][3] It marked a full-album return to music for Smith, who for much of the 1990s had been tending to her northern California organic farm.[4][5] Smith did not do a lot of promotion for the album, and chose not to tour nationally behind it.[6]

Five Ways of Disappearing
Studio album by
Kendra Smith
Released1995
GenreRock
Label4AD[1]
ProducerKendra Smith, A. Phillip Uberman
Kendra Smith chronology
The Guild of Temporal Adventurers
(1992) 		Five Ways of Disappearing
(1995)

Production

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The album was produced by Smith and A. Phillip Uberman.[7] Many of its songs were constructed around the use of a pump organ; others used Turkish drums and harmonium.[6][8] On some songs, Smith randomly arranged words to form the lyrics, and used multitracked vocals.[9][10]

"Bold Marauder" is a cover of the Mimi and Richard Farina song.[11]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
Robert ChristgauB−[13]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[14]
Knoxville News Sentinel     [15]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [7]
Rolling Stone     [16]
Spin7/10[17]
The Sydney Morning Herald    [10]
The Tampa Tribune    [8]

Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Spare and haunting, the eerie keyboards and varied guitar textures drape the songs’ slow tempos and rustic melodies, while Smith’s cool vocals deliver elusive, psychedelic lyrics."[14] Trouser Press called "Bold Marauder" "one of the best acoustic Led Zeppelin imitations in recent memory," and wrote that "though some songs are amiss, precious or overly derivative, as a personal sampler, Five Ways of Disappearing is an impressive—and colorful—achievement."[18] Rolling Stone determined that, "when Smith resigns the organ to a background role and matches her voice's fine edge to the guitar's slightly spacey effects, the results are down to earth and memorable."[16]

Robert Christgau thought that, "with the pump organ and all she does have Her Own Sound, especially if you don't remember Nico too clearly—and unlike Nico, she also has a sense of humor."[13] Spin deemed it "a songwriter's album, in the style of Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)... Each package of lyrics is showcased inside of a specific set of instrumental routines."[17] The Knoxville News Sentinel concluded that the album "drags listeners into semi-consciousness two ways: sometimes entrancing with atmosphere, sometimes with lulling tedium."[15]

Don McLeese, of the Austin American-Statesman, listed Five Ways of Disappearing as the 4th best album of 1995; Miami New Times also included it on a list of the year's 10 best.[19][11]

AllMusic wrote that Smith's "deadpan vocal delivery adds another layer of individuality to an offbeat album by an offbeat artist."[12]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Aurelia" 
2."Bohemian Zebulon" 
3."Temporarily Lucy" 
4."In Your Head" 
5."Space Unadorned" 
6."Maggots" 
7."Drunken Boat" 
8."Interlude/Dirigible" 
9."Valley of the Morning Sun" 
10."Judge Not" 
11."Get There" 
12."Interlude/Saturn" 
13."Bold Marauder" 

References

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  1. ^ Spencer, Neil (28 May 1995). "Kendra Smith: Five Ways of Disappearing". The Observer Review Page. The Guardian. p. 10.
  2. ^ "Kendra Smith Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Buckley, Peter (December 4, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  4. ^ "Quick Scans (June 22 - June 28, 1995)". Tucson Weekly.
  5. ^ Porter, Mark (June 2, 1995). "One Way of Reappearing". Lifestyle/Previews. The Record. p. 28.
  6. ^ a b Gladstone, Eric (May 1995). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 60. p. 40.
  7. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 362.
  8. ^ a b O'Neill, Mike (June 16, 1995). "Kendra Smith, Five Ways of Disappearing". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 23.
  9. ^ Semon, Craig S. (2 July 1995). "Kendra Smith returns with a transcendent collection". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 8.
  10. ^ a b Danielsen, Shane (August 28, 1995). "Beyond time and fashion". The Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 12.
  11. ^ a b Yockel, Michael (December 28, 1995). "State of Siege". Music. Miami New Times.
  12. ^ a b "Five Ways of Disappearing". AllMusic.
  13. ^ a b "Kendra Smith". Robert Christgau.
  14. ^ a b "Five Ways of Disappearing". Entertainment Weekly.
  15. ^ a b Campbell, Chuck (16 June 1995). "Kendra Smith weaves a web of hypnosis". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 8.
  16. ^ a b Davies, Barbara (Sep 7, 1995). "Recordings — Five Ways of Disappearing by Kendra Smith". Rolling Stone. No. 716. p. 73.
  17. ^ a b Coley, Byron (Jul 1995). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 11, no. 4. pp. 76–77.
  18. ^ "Kendra Smith". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  19. ^ McLeese, Don (28 Dec 1995). "The best of a bad year". The Beat. Austin American-Statesman. p. 8.
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