Glorious (Foxes album)

Glorious
Studio album by Foxes
Released 12 May 2014
Recorded 2013
Genre Synthpop
Length 44:57 (Standard Version)
65:26 (Deluxe Version)
Label
  • Sign of the Times
  • Epic
Producer
Foxes chronology

Glorious
(2014)
Singles from Glorious
  1. "Youth"
    Released: 6 September 2013
  2. "Let Go for Tonight"
    Released: 23 February 2014
  3. "Holding onto Heaven"
    Released: 4 May 2014
  4. "Glorious"
    Released: 12 August 2014

Glorious is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Foxes, originally due for release on 28 February 2014, but was pushed back to 12 May 2014, in favour of releasing the album simultaneously worldwide.[1][2] The album is available in three versions; the standard album, a deluxe version and a limited edition vinyl.[3]

Background and release

After a spate of successful songs, appearing as a "featured" artist alongside Zedd, Fall Out Boy, Sub Focus and Rudimental as well as a successful single in "Youth", Foxes (Allen) showed intent at releasing a full album to steer away from the "featured artist" title. In an interview with Billboard, she stated the reason was "[...]Because I also have my music that's my baby."[4] In an interview during the "Making of the Album" video featured on her VEVO page on YouTube, Allen calls the album "extremely personal", as well that its influence is from her childhood as well as growing up. She also claims the album is "me talking to myself", as music to her is a "form of therapy".

From the same video, Allen described her process for making the songs, in which she stated "I feel like the song already exists" and "I start with a big white piece of paper and I'll just write things I'm feeling[...]It kind of comes out of nowhere."[5]

The track list features several new songs, as well as two songs featured on her first EP Warrior (2012) ("In Her Arms" and "White Coats").

The album was released on 12 May 2014, in both digital and physical formats.

Promotion

Although not classed as part of the promotion to the run up to Glorious, "Holding onto Heaven" was made available for free on iTunes during the month of December 2013.

On 17 April 2014, Amazon Artist Lounge - EP was released to download from Amazon for free. It contains live versions of "Let Go for Tonight", "Youth" and "Holding onto Heaven".[6]

Tour

Foxes embarked on a 16-date tour in England, Scotland and Ireland, which started 24 February 2014 and ended on 24 May 2014.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 61/100[7]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [8]
The Guardian [9]
PressPLAY [10]
The Independent [11]
Financial Times [12]
Fortitude Magazine [13]
Digital Spy [14]
Nouse[15] Unfavourable
So So Gay [16]
The Line of Best Fit [17]

Glorious received generally favourable reviews upon release. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 61 based on 8 reviews. The Guardian gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, stating "Everything about this debut from Southampton singer-songwriter Louisa Rose Allen, better known as Foxes, strains to be huge", going on to conclude "Though the album is formulaic and polished, there is enough crackle in its dark, lustrous soundscapes and tales of nocturnal romance to intrigue – and Allen's voice has the power to match those booming drums."

Fortitude Magazine was very positive, giving the album 5 stars, and stating "From past collaborations, I wouldn't blame you if you were expecting an album full of club bangers with EDM-drops aplenty where it's more about the music and the singer feels like a guest on her own album. But that's not the case… At all!", whilst going on to conclude "It's been a long time coming, but Foxes has executed a near-perfect album that remains cohesive without each song sounding like one another. Hitting the nail on the head, this album is very much a glorious effort."

Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times said Glorious is a "ZEDD-free zone", saying Foxes was "swapping [Electro Dance Music] for Florence and the Machine-style drama", finishing with "Designed for maximum exposure, it's a big-screen production; but the drama isn't overcooked like Florence and the Machine".

In the review for Glorious on PressPLAY, Glorious received the site's first five-star review of 2014. The review concludes "go ahead and file Glorious under 'surprisingly near-perfect', go ahead and send Foxes stratospheric."

Lewis Corner, of Digital Spy, called Glorious "[...] a stellar debut album that deserves to make Foxes a household name once and for all",[14] whilst also praising the "stand out" track "Let Go for Tonight", saying Foxes "demonstrates all her might".

Not all reviews were positive though. In her review, Holly Williams, of The Independent, was a little more negative, saying "Glorious sits firmly in the big-vocal dance-pop category, an arena already overfilled with the likes of Miley, Rihanna, Ellie, Florence … It has the statutory blend of ballads and bangers, though it fails to make me either blub or buzz.", as well as "Admittedly, the girl's got serious pipes and her voice sounds less Auto-Tuned than most – even if it's transatlantically devoid of any hint of British idiom. Unremarkable lyrics are delivered with a sultry croon, a hands-in-the-air belt, or a sweet whisper. There are fun dance tracks, but few real earworms. It adds up to a shallowly appealing, summery package; glossily produced and personality free." She gave the album 3 stars.

Likewise, Hatti Linnell, of Nouse, called the album "disappointing", and that the album has "a confusing quality of being consistently good but lacking in any memorable traits", whilst being particularly critical of the song "Night Owls Early Birds", saying it "[gets] lost in the middle of the album somewhere", whilst also criticising her vocals on the track, saying the lyrics "fall flat in Allen's tones, as her voice unfortunately lacks the character to make the song interesting, especially against a boring bass guitar backing." Linnell wasn't entirely critical, however, going on to say Foxes' best work on Glorious "comes through in her quieter, piano based songs such as "Count the Saints" and "Night Glo"." Linnell concluded "As much as I want Foxes to succeed, I am not convinced that she will as her songs lack the je-ne-sais-quoi that turns pop songs from good to unforgettable."[15]

Singles

"Youth" was released on 6 September 2013, as the lead single from the album.[18] The song reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Let Go for Tonight" was released as the album's second single on 23 February 2014.[19] The song entered the UK singles chart at number 7, becoming her highest-peaking single and first top 10 single.

"Holding onto Heaven" was released as the album's third single on 4 May 2014.[20] It debuted in the UK singles chart at number 14.

"Glorious" was confirmed to be the album's fourth single by Foxes, and it was released on 12 August 2014.[21] It debuted and peaked at #67 but due to new streaming rules, was pushed back to a peak of number 97.

Other songs

If Glorious was pre-ordered on iTunes, "Shaking Heads" was available to download alongside the pre-order of the album.[22]

The live version of "Clarity" was made available to download for free on the Amazon MP3 store.[23]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Talking to Ghosts"  
Howe 4:21
2. "Youth"  
  • Allen
  • Jonny Harris
Ghostwriter 4:19
3. "Holding onto Heaven"  
 3:31
4. "White Coats"  
  • Allen
  • Harris
Ghostwriter 4:06
5. "Let Go for Tonight"  
 3:58
6. "Night Glo"  
  • Allen
  • Howe
Howe 4:25
7. "Night Owls Early Birds"  
  • Rogers
  • Ghostwriter[a]
 3:29
8. "Glorious"  
  • Allen
  • Harris
 4:21
9. "Echo"  
  • Allen
  • Harris
  • Ghostwriter
  • Matt Wiggins[a]
 4:04
10. "Shaking Heads"  
  • Allen
  • Howe
Howe 4:47
11. "Count the Saints"  
  • Allen
  • Ben Mark
Ghostwriter 3:36
Total length:
 44:57
Notes
Sample credits

Personnel

Credits for Glorious adapted from AllMusic.[25]

  • Louisa Allen - Composer
  • Iyiola Babalola - Percussion, Programming
  • Tony Cousins - Mastering
  • Ralf Dörper - Composer
  • Steve Fitzmaurice - Mixing, Programming
  • Foxes - Primary Artist
  • Future Cut - Additional Production
  • Toby Gad - Composer
  • Ghostwriter - Additional Production, Mixing, Producer, Programming
  • Jonny Harris - Bass, Composer, Drum Programming, Drums, Instrumentation, Piano, Programming, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background)
  • Darren Heelis - Guitar (Bass), Korg Synthesizer, Mixing Assistant, Programming
  • Liz Horsman - Assistant, Programming
  • Liam Howe - Composer, Engineer, Mixing, Producer
  • Tom Hull - Composer
  • Sam Kennedy - Piano
  • Darren Lewis - Piano, Programming
  • Ben Mark - Composer
  • Paul McLean - Cover Photo
  • Michael Mertens - Composer
  • Chad Pickard - Cover Photo
  • Ben Preston - Additional Production
  • Jarrad Rogers - Bass, Composer, Drums, Engineer, Guitar, Piano, Producer, Programming, Wurlitzer
  • Jamie Snell - Engineer
  • Mike Spencer - Additional Production, Bass, Drums, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Mixing, Producer
  • Andreas Thein - Composer
  • Matt Wiggins - Additional Production
  • Tim Young - Mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[26] 36
Canadian Album Chart[27] 64
scope="row" Irish Albums (IRMA)[28] 11
Japanese Album Chart[29] 71
scope="row" New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 29
scope="row" Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 5
scope="row" UK Albums (OCC)[31] 5
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[32] 27

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Australia 9 May 2014
Sony [33]
Germany [1]
Mexico 12 May 2014 Sign of the Times [34]
United Kingdom [35]
United States 23 June 2014 RCA Records [36]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Glorious: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de.
  2. ↑ "Foxes - I wanna make sure I get my album out to as many of...". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  3. ↑ "Foxes "Featured" @ Foxes Store GB". MyPlayDirect. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason. "Foxes: 'I Don't Want To Be That 'Featured' Artist' | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Foxes - Making The Album -- Stripped -- (VEVO LIFT UK) - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Amazon Artist Lounge - P: Foxes: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com, Inc.
  7. ↑ "Glorious Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Fred. "Review: Glorious". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Fox, Killian. "Glorious review - Foxes brings power and polish to her debut album". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Review: Foxes - Glorious". PressPLAY. Retrieved 11 May 2014. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  11. ↑ Williams, Holly. "Album reviews: Black Keys, Foxes, Michael Jackson, Santana". The Independent. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic. "Foxes: Glorious review". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  13. ↑ Molotov-Smith, Maxie. "Album Review: Foxes - Glorious". Fortitude Magazine. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Corner, Lewis. "Foxes: Glorious album review - 'A polished and powerful effort'". Digital Spy. Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Linnell, Hatti. "Album Review: Foxes - Glorious". Nouse. Nouse. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  16. ↑ Johnson, Sam. "Album Review: Foxes - Glorious". So So Gay. So So Gay. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  17. ↑ Day, Laurence. "Album Review: Foxes - Glorious". The Line of Best Fit. The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Youth by Foxes". iTunes. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  19. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Let Go for Tonight by Foxes". iTunes. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  20. ↑ "Foxes - Holding On To Heaven (Kove Remix)". SoundCloud. 2014-03-23.
  21. ↑ "Glorious (Radio Edit)". iTunes. iTunes. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Glorious (Deluxe Version) by Foxes". iTunes. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  23. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00J4KD44Q
  24. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Glorious (Deluxe Version) by Foxes". iTunes UK.
  25. ↑ "Glorious - Foxes - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Foxes – Glorious". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  27. ↑ Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2012 - hitparade.ch
  28. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, {{{year}}}". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  29. ↑ Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2012 - hitparade.ch
  30. ↑ "Foxes – Glorious". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "{{{date}}} Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard.com. 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  33. ↑ "Buy Glorious: Deluxe Edition Foxes, Pop, CD - Sanity". sanity.com.au.
  34. ↑ "Glorious: Foxes: Amazon.com.mx: Tienda MP3". Amazon.es.
  35. ↑ "Glorious (Deluxe): Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk.
  36. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Glorious by Foxes". iTunes US. iTunes. Retrieved 11 March 2015.