Virtue is the second studio album by American band the Voidz, released on March 30, 2018, through Cult and RCA.[10] It is the band's first album after shortening their name from "Julian Casablancas + The Voidz" to "The Voidz".
| Virtue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 30, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | Los Angeles[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 58:09 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| The Voidz chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Virtue | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| DIY |   [6] |
| NME | [7] |
| Pitchfork | 6.9/10[8] |
| Rolling Stone |  [9] |
Production, promotion and release
editOn October 7, 2017, The Voidz played songs from Virtue for the first time during a secret show (billed as "YouTube Comments", a supposed Voidz tribute band) in Los Angeles, including "Wink", "Alienation", "We're Where We Were", "My Friend the Walls" and "Lazy Boy". The band also played "Wink" on the Brazilian talk show The Noite while on a tour of South America during the same month.
On December 8, 2017, the band released a teaser video directed by Warren Fu, announcing the album, the simplification of their name to The Voidz and also their signing to RCA.[11] The video features snippets of the songs "Pointlessness" and "Pyramid of Bones", as well as the Les Paul and Mary Ford song "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise".[citation needed]
The album's first single, "Leave It in My Dreams", was released on January 23, 2018,[12] followed by a second single, "Qyurryus", the next day.[10] "Pointlessness", "All Wordz Are Made Up", and "ALieNNatioN" were then released respectively as the following singles, while a music video for "Pyramid of Bones" was released on March 29, 2018.
The album artwork features a 2015 painting by Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone.[13]
The track "Think Before You Drink" is an acoustic cover and rearrangement of a 1978 disco song by the musician Michael Cassidy. The band was inspired by a cover of the song performed by Hansadutta Swami.[14]
Reception
editThe album received mostly positive reviews from critics. The NME were largely positive about the record, awarding it four stars out of five. They also described it as an easier listen than the band's debut record, Tyranny.[15] DIY called Virtue a "mad experiment of throwing a thousand things at the wall," but also gave the record four stars, calling it "truly a mercurial beast".[16] Pitchfork were less effusive. They criticised Casablancas' "commitment to obfuscation". Awarding the album a score of 6.9, Virtue is framed as a "a record where inspired ideas are constantly battling for oxygen with dubious ones".[17]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by the Voidz, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Leave It in My Dreams" | 3:59 |
| 2. | "Qyurryus" | 2:52 |
| 3. | "Pyramid of Bones" | 4:28 |
| 4. | "Permanent High School" | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Aliennation" | 4:39 |
| 6. | "One of the Ones" | 2:38 |
| 7. | "All Wordz Are Made Up" (outro-bridge co-written by Jon Pancoast) | 3:19 |
| 8. | "Think Before You Drink" (Jeffrey Armstrong, Michael Cassidy) | 2:46 |
| 9. | "Wink" | 4:00 |
| 10. | "My Friend the Walls" | 4:03 |
| 11. | "Pink Ocean" | 5:26 |
| 12. | "Black Hole" | 3:15 |
| 13. | "Lazy Boy" | 3:30 |
| 14. | "We're Where We Were" | 3:46 |
| 15. | "Pointlessness" | 5:15 |
| Total length: | 58:09 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Coul as a Ghoul" | 2:41 |
| Total length: | 60:57 | |
Personnel
editThe Voidz
- Jacob Bercovici – bass guitar, synthesizer
- Alex Carapetis – drums
- Julian Casablancas – vocals
- Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter – guitar
- Jeff Kite – keyboards
- Amir Yaghmai – guitar
Technical
- Shawn Everett – production (tracks 1–7, 9–15), mixing (all tracks)
- Chris Tabron – production (track 8), additional production (5, 13)
- Ben Baptie – mastering
- Andy Wallace – mixing
- Alana da Fonseca – additional production (tracks 1–7, 9–15)
Visuals
- Felipe Pantone – cover art
- Michael Molfetas – design
- Sarah Schmitt – design
- Cheryl Georgette – photography
- Frank Fu – photography
Charts
edit| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[19] | 9 |
| US Billboard 200[20] | 151 |
| US Billboard Alternative Albums (Billboard)[21] | 8 |
| US Billboard Rock Albums (Billboard)[22] | 23 |
References
edit- ^ Virtue (album liner notes). The Voidz. Cult Records. 2018.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Berman, Stuart. "The Voidz – Virtue Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ a b Weiss, Jeff. "'The essence of life is kind of a nostalgia anticipation sandwich': Philosophy 101 with Julian Casablancas". Washington Post. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ Hickman, Langdon. "The Voidz Successfully Embrace the Weird on Virtue". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ "Virtue by The Voidz Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
- ^ Wright, Lisa (March 30, 2018). "The Voidz – Virtue". DIY. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- ^ Daly, Rhian (March 26, 2018). "The Voidz – 'Virtue' album review". NME. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- ^ Berman, Stuart (April 5, 2018). "The Voidz: Virtue Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- ^ Modell, Josh (March 29, 2018). "Review: The Voidz' 'Virtue,' Albert Hammond Jr.'s 'Fortune'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Blais-Billie, Braudie. "Julian Casablancas' the Voidz Detail New Album Virtue, Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ Wicks, Amanda. "Julian Casablancas' The Voidz Announce New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Wicks, Amanda. "Julian Casablancas' the Voidz Share New Song "Leave It in My Dreams": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ "Felipe Pantone on Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ "thevoidzofficial comments on We're the Voidz and we're here to answer all your questions - ask us anything!". 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018.
- ^ Daly, Rhian (2018-03-26). "The Voidz – 'Virtue' Review". NME. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
- ^ "The Voidz – Virtue". DIY. 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
- ^ Berman, Stuart (2018-04-05). "Virtue". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
- ^ "「ヴァーチュー」- ザ・ヴォイズ". Sony Music Japan. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "Billboard 200: April 14, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Alternative Albums: April 14, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Rock Albums: April 14, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2018.