Oh Land (album)

Oh Land
Studio album by Oh Land
Released 14 March 2011 (2011-03-14)
Recorded
  • 2009–10; Mr. Dan's Streathem (United Kingdom)
  • Premier Recording Studio (New York City)
  • Secret Frequency Studio (Los Angeles)
Genre Electropop[1]
Length 39:53
Label
  • Fake Diamond
  • A:larm
Producer
Oh Land chronology
Fauna
(2008)		 Oh Land
(2011)		 Wish Bone
(2013)
Singles from Oh Land
  1. "Sun of a Gun"
    Released: 4 October 2010
  2. "Wolf & I"
    Released: 13 March 2011
  3. "Voodoo"
    Released: 3 April 2011
  4. "White Nights"
    Released: 22 May 2011
  5. "Speak Out Now"
    Released: 28 November 2011

Oh Land is the second studio album and major-label debut album by Danish recording artist Oh Land. It was released on 14 March 2011 by Fake Diamond Records and A:larm Music. An extended play with the same name was released in advance on 19 October 2010, containing four tracks from the full-length album.[2]

"Sun of a Gun" was released as the album's lead single on 4 October 2010.[3] "Wolf & I", "Voodoo" and "White Nights" were released as singles on 13 March, 3 April and 22 May 2011, respectively.[4][5][6] A deluxe edition of the album was released in Denmark on 5 December 2011, including the single "Speak Out Now", which was released on 28 November 2011.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic62/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
BBC Musicmixed[9]
Berlingske[10]
Billboardpositive[11]
Drowned in Sound5/10[12]
Ekstra Bladet[13]
Gaffa[14]
Politiken[15]
Slant Magazine[16]
Spin7/10[17]

Oh Land received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 62, based on seven reviews.[8] Barry Walters of Spin wrote, "This stunning Dane's synths-plus-strings slant on singer-songwriter lovesickness offers refinement over innovation, yet Nanna Øland Fabricius beguiles with a gently insistent presence."[17] Kerri Mason of Billboard opined that Oh Land "might have made the year's first great left-field pop album", praising the songs as "endlessly catchy" and concluding that "the tilting scales of light and dark give the collection a definite creep factor and a clever complexity."[11] AllMusic's Andrew Leahey described the album as an "'anything goes' mix of club, dance, and nocturnal electro-pop", adding that Oh Land "doesn't rewrite the rule book as much as join the ranks of La Roux, Little Boots, and Janelle Monáe. But that doesn't keep her debut album from churning out a number of intelligent club anthems".[1]

In a mixed review, Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani expressed that Oh Land's "cinematic arrangements bring Janelle Monáe's ambitious approach to pop music to mind, but tracks like 'Wolf & I' and 'Lean' draw a bit too heavily from the trip-hop playbook [...] and, however well-excecuted [sic] they may be, end up sounding derivative."[16] Similarly, Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music felt that "there's a bit of an identity void at the heart of the thing, a lack of personality. It might just be that Oh Land is more skilled at getting songs to sound current than she is at expressing herself."[9] Drowned in Sound's John Calvert called the album "hip, diverse and always vibrant", but also branded it "pretty forgettable". Calvert pointed out the production work of Dave McCracken and Dan Carey, noting the album "inhabits a tepid middle ground between the two extremes—offering neither gilded Scandi chart-pop (Robyn, Annie) or the artistic mettle of Scandi indie bands, most of whom are able to turn out sublime pop anyway."[12]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer Length
1. "Perfection"  
Carey 4:59
2. "Break the Chain"  
McCracken 3:17
3. "Sun of a Gun"  
McCracken 3:25
4. "Voodoo"  
  • Fabricius
  • Carey
Carey 2:51
5. "Lean"  
  • Fabricius
  • Carey
Carey 3:28
6. "Wolf & I"  
  • Fabricius
  • Owen Beverly
Carey 4:37
7. "Human"  
Carey 4:08
8. "White Nights"  
  • Fabricius
  • McCracken
McCracken 3:45
9. "Helicopter"  
Mendez 3:31
10. "We Turn It Up"  
McCracken 2:31
11. "Rainbow"  
  • Fabricius
  • McCracken
McCracken 3:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Oh Land.[22]

  • Oh Land – vocals, choir, choir arrangement, vocal arrangement (all tracks); string arrangements (tracks 1, 5); instrumentation (tracks 2–8, 10, 11)
  • Jonathan Adelman – booking
  • Adam Ayan – mastering (track 4)
  • Ben Baptie – mixing assistance (track 4)
  • Angus Baskerville – booking
  • Charlie Bisharat – violin (track 9)
  • Dan Carey – engineering, production (tracks 1, 4–7); mixing (tracks 1, 5, 6); string arrangements (tracks 1, 5); instrumentation (tracks 4–7)
  • Marty Diamond – booking
  • Isabella Dunn – cello (tracks 1, 5, 7)
  • Jason Edwards – booking
  • Tom Elmhirst – mixing (track 4)
  • Robbie Fimmano – photography
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 3, 7, 8, 10)
  • John Hanes – mixing assistance (tracks 3, 7, 8, 10)
  • Mikkel Hess – drum performance (tracks 2, 3, 8, 10, 11)
  • Todd Interland – management
  • Eske Kath – artwork
  • Jesper Kemp – booking
  • Farra Mathews – A&R, management
  • Dave McCracken – instrumentation, production (tracks 2, 3, 8, 10, 11)
  • Lester Mendez – engineering, keyboards, piano, production, programming, string arrangements (track 9)
  • NR2154 – art direction, design
  • Joel Numa – engineering (track 9)
  • John O'Mahony – mixing (tracks 2, 9, 11)
  • Stella Page – violin (tracks 1, 5, 7)
  • Antonia Pagulatos – violin (tracks 1, 5, 7)
  • Mike Pagulatos – viola (tracks 1, 5, 7)
  • Sophie Rivlin – cello (track 7)
  • Andros Rodriguez – engineering (tracks 2, 3, 8, 10, 11)
  • Alexis Smith – engineering (tracks 1, 4–7); mixing assistance (tracks 1, 5, 6)
  • Cameron Stone – cello (track 9)
  • Max de Wardener – string arrangements and conducting (track 7)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Danish Albums Chart[23] 5
US Billboard 200[24] 184
US Alternative Albums[25] 24
US Rock Albums[26] 43

Year-end charts

Chart (2011) Position
Danish Albums Chart[27] 31
Chart (2012) Position
Danish Albums Chart[28] 50

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[29] Platinum 20,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Edition Label Ref.
Denmark 14 March 2011
Standard
  • Fake Diamond
  • A:larm
 [30][31]
United States 15 March 2011
  • CD
  • digital download
 Epic [18][32]
Canada Digital download Sony [33]
24 May 2011 CD [34]
France 6 June 2011 [35]
13 June 2011 Digital download [19]
Poland CD [36]
United Kingdom Digital download Epic [37]
Germany 5 August 2011
  • CD
  • digital download
 Sony [38][39]
Italy 25 October 2011 [40][41]
United Kingdom 21 November 2011 CD RCA [42]
Denmark 5 December 2011
  • CD
  • digital download
 Deluxe
  • Fake Diamond
  • A:larm
 [20][21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Leahey, Andrew. "Oh Land – Oh Land". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "Oh Land – EP by Oh Land". iTunes Store (DK). Apple. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Sun of a Gun – Single by Oh Land". iTunes Store (DK). Apple. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Wolf & I: Oh Land: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Voodoo: Oh Land: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "White Nights – EP by Oh Land". iTunes Store (DE). Apple. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Speak Out Now – Single by Oh Land". iTunes Store (DK). Apple. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Oh Land – Oh Land". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  9. 1 2 McAlpine, Fraser (14 November 2011). "Review of Oh Land – Oh Land". BBC Music. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  10. ↑ Hansen, Thomas Søie (12 March 2011). "Hvilken vellyd!". Berlingske (in Danish). Berlingske Media. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  11. 1 2 Mason, Kerri (25 March 2011). "Oh Land, "Oh Land"". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  12. 1 2 Calvert, John (9 December 2011). "Oh Land – Oh Land". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  13. ↑ Queitsch, Henrik (13 March 2011). "Stjernerne kalder". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). JP/Politikens Hus. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  14. ↑ Gonzalez, Michael Jose (14 March 2011). "Oh Land: Oh Land". Gaffa (in Danish). Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  15. ↑ Skotte, Kim (12 March 2011). "Dansk musikkomet har ingen fejlskud i pop-bøssen". Politiken (in Danish). JP/Politikens Hus. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  16. 1 2 Cinquemani, Sal (8 March 2011). "Oh Land: Oh Land". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  17. 1 2 Walters, Barry (15 March 2011). "Oh Land, 'Oh Land' (Epic)". Spin. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  18. 1 2 "Oh Land by Oh Land". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  19. 1 2 "Oh Land [+video]: Oh Land: Téléchargements MP3" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Oh Land (Deluxe) – Album – Oh Land" (select "Fakta" tab) (in Danish). CDON.dk. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  21. 1 2 "Oh Land (Deluxe Album) by Oh Land". iTunes Store (DK). Apple. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  22. ↑ Oh Land (CD liner notes). Oh Land. Fake Diamond Records. 2011. FDRCD016.
  23. ↑ "Oh Land – Oh Land". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  24. ↑ "Oh Land – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  25. ↑ "Oh Land – Chart history: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  26. ↑ "Oh Land – Chart history: Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  27. ↑ "Album Top-100 2011" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  28. ↑ "Album Top-100 2012" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  29. ↑ "Oh Land "Oh Land" (ALARM)" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  30. ↑ "Oh Land "Oh Land"". Fake Diamond Records. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Oh Land by Oh Land". iTunes Store (DK). Apple. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  32. ↑ "Oh Land: Oh Land". Amazon.com. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  33. ↑ "Oh Land by Oh Land". 7digital (CA). Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  34. ↑ "Oh Land by Oh Land". HMV Canada. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  35. ↑ "Oh Land : Oh Land" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  36. ↑ "Oh Land – Oh Land" (in Polish). Empik. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  37. ↑ "Oh Land: Oh Land: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  38. ↑ "Oh Land – Oh Land" (in German). Sony Music Entertainment Germany. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  39. ↑ "Oh Land: Oh Land: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  40. ↑ "Oh Land: Oh Land" (in Italian). Amazon.it. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  41. ↑ "Oh Land: Oh Land: Musica Digitale" (in Italian). Amazon.it. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  42. ↑ "Oh Land: Oh Land". HMV. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.