Immolate Yourself is the third studio album by Telefon Tel Aviv, an American electronic music duo consisting of Joshua Eustis and Charles Cooper. It was released on BPitch Control in 2009. It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[2] Two days after its release, Cooper died of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol.[3]

Immolate Yourself
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2009 (2009-01-20)
GenreElectropop[1]
Length46:15
LabelBPitch Control
Producer
Telefon Tel Aviv chronology
Remixes Compiled
(2007)
Immolate Yourself
(2009)
Dreams Are Not Enough
(2019)
Singles from Immolate Yourself
  1. "You Are the Worst Thing in the World"
    Released: 2009
  2. "The Birds"
    Released: 2012

Background

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In a 2016 interview with Huck, Joshua Eustis recalled that they were listening to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) a lot during the making of the album.[4] He added: "We were listening to a lot of minimal wave and stuff like that. A lot of krautrock and psychedelic stuff – all of these things that we loved but we still wanted to have some element of futurism and romanticism and that's kind of what came out."[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [6]
Cokemachineglow77%[7]
The Guardian     [8]
The Phoenix    [9]
Pitchfork6.4/10[10]
PopMatters5/10[11]
Slant Magazine     [12]
URB     [13]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine stated that "it's the rare electronic work that feels entirely alive, exhibiting shocking versatility and a strong feel for creating vibrant, engaging environments."[12] David Abravanel of Cokemachineglow called the album "the most consistent release from the duo."[7]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."The Birds"6:38
2."Your Mouth"4:09
3."M"3:42
4."Helen of Troy"3:12
5."Mostly Translucent"4:16
6."Stay Away from Being Maybe"4:23
7."I Made a Tree on the Wold"4:39
8."Your Every Idol"4:55
9."You Are the Worst Thing in the World"4:44
10."Immolate Yourself"5:38
Total length:46:15

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes.

Telefon Tel Aviv

  • Joshua Eustis – performance, production, design, photography
  • Charles Cooper – performance, production

Additional personnel

  • Turk Dietrich – performance (5), production (5)
  • Ryan Rapsys – drums (10)
  • Rolan Vega – some sounds (10)
  • Roger Seibel – mastering
  • Wolfel – design
  • James Hughes – typography

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[2] 17

References

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  1. ^ Reeves, Mosi (January 25, 2009). "Telefon Tel Aviv, 'Immolate Yourself' (Bpitch Control)". Spin. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Telefon Tel Aviv - Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Glazer, Joshua (September 27, 2019). "Ten Years After the Death of Its Co-Founding Member, Telefon Tel Aviv Returns With a Haunting New Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Hanley, Steven T. (April 13, 2016). "Mostly Translucent: An interview with Telefon Tel Aviv". Huck. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Immolate Yourself by Telefon Tel Aviv". Metacritic. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Telefon Tel Aviv - Immolate Yourself". AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Abravanel, David (February 4, 2009). "Telefon Tel Aviv: Immolate Yourself". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Macpherson, Alex (January 16, 2009). "Telefon Tel Aviv: Immolate Yourself". The Guardian. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  9. ^ Brodeur, Michael (February 3, 2009). "Telefon Tel Aviv | Immolate Yourself". The Phoenix. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  10. ^ Klein, Joshua (February 2, 2009). "Telefon Tel Aviv: Immolate Yourself". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  11. ^ Hart, Ron (February 9, 2009). "Telefon Tel Aviv: Immolate Yourself". PopMatters. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Cataldo, Jesse (February 2, 2009). "Review: Telefon Tel Aviv, Immolate Yourself". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  13. ^ Cuellar, Jorgge (January 16, 2009). "Telefon Tel Aviv :: Immolate Yourself". URB. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
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