Moment Bends

Moment Bends
Studio album by Architecture in Helsinki
Released 8 April 2011 (2011-04-08)
Recorded Buckingham Palace
(Melbourne, Australia)
Genre Indie pop
Length 40:21
Label Modular
Producer Architecture in Helsinki, Haima Marriott
Architecture in Helsinki chronology
Places Like This
(2007)
Moment Bends
(2011)
Singles from Moment Bends
  1. "That Beep"
    Released: 2008
  2. "Contact High"
    Released: 2011
  3. "Escapee"
    Released: 2011

Moment Bends is the fourth studio album by Australian indie pop band Architecture in Helsinki. It was released in Australia on 8 April 2011 and in the United States on 3 May 2011.[1][2] The album was recorded in a rented studio in Melbourne, Buckingham Palace, named after a photo mural of Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham the band hung on the wall.[3][4] The project had previously been given the working title Vision Revision. The first single released from the album was "Contact High", although "That Beep", which is included on the album, was released as an EP in 2008.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 61/100[5]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Pitchfork Media 6.5/10[6]
Slant Magazine [7]

Moment Bends received mixed to positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5] Heather Phares of Allmusic labelled the album a "return to form" and more focused than its predecessor.[2] Eric Grandy of Pitchfork Media gave the album a score of 6.5, noting its indebtedness to "lite-FM 80s", while praising "Contact High" as a "terrific pop song", thought he felt the rest of the record was uneven.[6]

Slant Magazine's Kevin Liedel expressed confusion with the album, asserting it was a "good bet that after only one track of Moment Bends, most longtime fans will have their brows furrowed." He added that "it's difficult to gauge whether or not the album is intentionally bad."[7] Uncut magazine dismissed it as "the kind of glossily produced 'perfect pop' you can spin a dozen times without ever remembering a single tune."[5]

In December 2011, it was announced that Moment Bends was voted number eight in triple j's 2011 Album Poll.[8]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Architecture in Helsinki and Cameron Bird, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "Desert Island"   4:15
2. "Escapee"   2:59
3. "Contact High"   3:40
4. "W.O.W"   2:51
5. "Yr Go To"   4:21
6. "Sleep Talkin'"   2:58
7. "I Know Deep Down"   3:57
8. "That Beep"   3:45
9. "Denial Style"   3:24
10. "Everything's Blue"   3:55
11. "B4 3D" (Architecture in Helsinki, Bird, Gus Franklin) 4:16

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[10] 12

Year-end charts

Chart (2011) Position
Australian Dance Albums Chart[11] 28

References

  1. ^ "Architecture In Helsinki Sign to Modular, Announce New Album and Tracklisting". Modular Recordings. 31 January 2011. http://www.modularpeople.com/news/architecture-in-helsinki-sign-to-modular-announce-/4415.html. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c Phares, Heather. "Moment Bends – Architecture in Helsinki". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/moment-bends-r2140001/review. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
  3. ^ Williams, Joe (1 June 2011). "Architecture in Helsinki". Seattle Weekly. Village Voice Media. http://www.seattleweekly.com/2011-06-01/calendar/architecture-in-helsinki/. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  4. ^ "Architecture In Helsinki". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 27 April 2011. http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/sydney-opera-house/architecture-in-helsinki-20110427-1dvjl.html. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  5. ^ a b c "Moment Bends - Architecture in Helsinki". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/music/moment-bends/critic-reviews. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
  6. ^ a b Grandy, Eric (4 April 2011). "Architecture in Helsinki: Moment Bends". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15271-moment-bends/. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
  7. ^ a b Liedel, Kevin (28 April 2011). "Architecture in Helsinki: Moment Bends". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/architecture-in-helsinki-moment-bends/2483. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
  8. ^ "triple j listener's top 10 albums of 2011". triple j. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 December 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s3388995.htm. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  9. ^ "Moment Bends by Architecture In Helsinki". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/moment-bends/id425343028. Retrieved 14 January 2012. 
  10. ^ "Architecture In Helsinki – Moment Bends". Australian Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Architecture+In+Helsinki&titel=Moment+Bends&cat=a. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  11. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Dance Albums 2011". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-dance-albums-2011.htm. Retrieved 4 January 2012.