Learn to Sing Like a Star is Kristin Hersh's seventh solo album and was released in the US on Yep Roc Records on the 23 January 2007 and on 4AD for the rest of the world on the 29 January. The album was produced by Kristin herself and mixed in Nashville by two-time Grammy winner Trina Shoemaker. It features her Throwing Muses bandmate David Narcizo on drums and with strings by the McCarricks. The album peaked at #27 on the US's Billboard Top Heatseekers Album Chart.
| Learn to Sing Like a Star | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 23, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | June–October 2006 | |||
| Studio | Stable Sound Studio, Portsmouth, Rhode Island[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:20 | |||
| Label | 4AD, Yep Roc Records | |||
| Producer | Kristin Hersh | |||
| Kristin Hersh chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Austin Chronicle |  [3] |
| MusicOMH | [4] |
| Pitchfork | 6.2/10[5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| Slant Magazine | [7] |
Touring
editIn early 2007 Hersh toured throughout Europe and the US to promote the album, first solo in a series of instore performances and then with her 50 Foot Wave bandmates Bernard Georges and Rob Ahlers as well as The McCarricks.
Critical reception
editLearn to Sing Like a Star was met with "generally favorable 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 74, based on 20 reviews.[2] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 75 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 9 reviews.[8]
Shawn Badgley of The Austin Chronicle said the album "is the full Hersh experience, encompassing as it does all of her back-catalog iterations, from the knife-throwing thrills of the Throwing Muses' precise power pop to the cutting melancholia of her Hips and Makers-era balladry. With help from Dave Narcizo on drums and Martin and Kimberlee McCarrick on cello and violin, Hersh handles everything else."[3]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Kristin Hersh
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In Shock" | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Nerve Endings" | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Day Glow" | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Christian Hearse" | 0:29 |
| 5. | "Ice" | 3:16 |
| 6. | "Under the Gun" | 3:10 |
| 7. | "Piano 1" | 1:43 |
| 8. | "Sugarbaby" | 3:10 |
| 9. | "Peggy Lee" | 3:15 |
| 10. | "Piano 2" | 0:47 |
| 11. | "Vertigo" | 3:59 |
| 12. | "Winter" | 2:33 |
| 13. | "Wild Vanilla" | 2:58 |
| 14. | "The Thin Man" | 4:17 |
Personnel
edit|
Musicians
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Production
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References
edit- ^ a b c Jurek, Thom. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Badgley, Shawn (February 16, 2007). "The Austin Chronicle Review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ Tripney, Natasha (January 29, 2007). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (February 14, 2007). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ Hoard, Christian (January 22, 2007). "Rolling Stone Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ Cinquemani, Sally (January 15, 2007). "Slant Magazine Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved September 9, 2020.