To Feel Embraced is a 2020 studio album by American electronic music group Sparkle Division.
| To Feel Embraced | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 24, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2016[1] | |||
| Genre | Electronic music | |||
| Length | 41:22 | |||
| Label | Temporary Residence | |||
| Sparkle Division chronology | ||||
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Reception
editAccording to the review aggregator Metacritic, To Feel Embraced received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 from four critic scores.[2] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Paul Simpson writing that "the album's sound is a Brainfeeder-like mélange of cosmic jazz, crumpled hip-hop beats, and atmospheric textures, flowing from brassy lounge cut-ups to blunted psychedelic funk" and the music "is celebratory rather than mournful, channeling the positive, creative energy of these spirits and honoring the fleeting miracle of life".[1] Luke Cartledge of Loud and Quiet scored this album 10 out of 10, writing "the unobtrusive conventions of 21st century ambient music, and particularly the more vaporwave-adjacent strands of the contemporary classical canon, are upended, their glazed inertia replaced by a maximalist approach to making you relax, forcing a good time out of you rather than allowing some more abstract euphoria to do the heavy lifting".[3] Writing for Pitchfork, Madison Bloom rated To Feel Embraced a 7.6 out of 10, stating that it "is not a project that promotes stasis in any way shape or form" and it is "an album of serious artists making music that is more concerned with immediate joy and emotional exploration than decay or deep space".[4]
Track listing
edit- "You Go Girl!" – 1:24
- "You Ain't Takin' My Man" – 4:14
- "For Gato" – 3:06
- "Oh Henry!" – 4:20
- "To the Stars Major Tom" – 2:46
- "Oh No You Did Not!" – 4:04
- "To Feel" – 6:07
- "To Feel Embraced" – 3:08
- "Slappin' Yo Face" – 1:26
- "Mmmmkayy I'm Goin' Out Now and I Don't Want Any Trouble from You!" – 3:24
- "Queenie Got Her Blues" – 1:06
- "Sparkle On Sad Sister Mother Queen" – 1:46
- "No Exit" – 4:31
Personnel
editSparkle Division
- William Basinski – art direction, production, executive production
- Preston Wendel – mixing, production, art direction
Additional personnel
- Molly Kaplan – art direction, design, layout
- Bo Kondren – mastering
- Nolan Thies – engineering
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Simpson, Paul (n.d.). "Sparkle Division – To Feel Embraced". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ "To Feel Embraced by Sparkle Division Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ Cartledge, Luke (September 4, 2020). "Sparkle Division – To Feel Embraced". Reviews. Loud and Quiet. ISSN 2049-9892. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ Bloom, Madison (August 15, 2020). "Sparkle Division: To Feel Embraced Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
External links
edit- To Feel Embraced at Discogs (list of releases)
- To Feel Embraced at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
