Scars (Basement Jaxx album)

Scars
Studio album by Basement Jaxx
Released 21 September 2009
(see release history)
Recorded 2008–09
Length 50:58
Label
Producer
Basement Jaxx chronology
Crazy Itch Radio
(2006)		 Scars
(2009)		 Zephyr
(2009)
Singles from Scars
  1. "Raindrops"
    Released: 22 June 2009
  2. "Feelings Gone"
    Released: 8 September 2009
  3. "My Turn"
    Released: 14 December 2009

Scars is the fifth studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released in September 2009 by record labels XL, Ultra and Interscope. Three singles were released from the album: "Raindrops", "Feelings Gone" and "My Turn".

Content

The track "Twerk" features lyrics adapted from Michael Sembello's song "Maniac".

Buxton recalls their time collaborating with Yoko Ono: "[She] was very cool. We were told she would arrive bang on time and leave exactly when she was supposed to. And she did. She's very disciplined. The weird thing working with her, I thought she'd come in being all Yoko Ono and she came and asked 'What do you want me to say or sing?' Luckily I'd written some surreal poem and said, 'You could read this along to the music.'"[1]

In an interview, Felix Buxton stated that the album Scars were all the things that the band had been through emotionally and physically. Felix told Rolling Stone Australia they named the album after he was mugged for his bicycle in Brixton, London in 2008. He revealed: "I wasn't badly hurt, but it scared me. It's probably one of the scariest moments of my life. Scars are the things that stay with you and that incident definitely gave me one."[2]

Release

Scars was preceded by the release of two singles from the album: "Raindrops", released on 22 June 2009, and "Feelings Gone", on 8 September.

Scars was released on 21 September 2009[3] by record labels XL, Ultra and Interscope. One final single was released: "My Turn", on 14 December.

The songs "Raindrops" and "My Turn" were included in the 2010 series of concerts with Metropole Orkest which led to the 2011 album Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Robert Christgau[7]
Consequence of Sound[8]
Drowned in Sound7/10[9]
The Observer[10]
Pitchfork7.2/10 [11]
PopMatters7/10[12]
Slant[13]
Spin7/10 [14]
URB[15]

The album was given a score of 69 out of 100 from Metacritic based on 19 reviews, a much lower score than their first three albums.[5] URB wrote, "if you're wondering what electronic music is missing, look no further: Scars should serve as a reminder (if you needed one) that Basement Jaxx are an essential piece of the puzzle."[15]

David Jeffries of AllMusic wrote: "there's nothing here you could write off as true filler, but that perfect flow that made their masterpieces so thrilling is missing", but ended by calling it "a worthwhile throwback to the freak attitude that kicked off their career over a decade earlier."[6] Matthew Perpetua of Pitchfork gave the album a rating of 7.2 out of 10 and called the album "evidence of true artistic growth", but noted that "[the] successes share space with creative cul-de-sacs and uninspired genre exercises".[11] PopMatters' Evan Sawdey wrote that "though the Jaxx will continue to rack up left-field hits and critical acclaim for years to come, both Scars and Crazy Itch Radio show that the group's innovative streak has come to an end." He noted that "though they can still produce utterly awe-inspiring tracks now and then (could 'Raindrops' been created by anyone else but the Jaxx?), it appears that Basement Jaxx are struggling under the pressure to come up with another stone-cold masterpiece".[12] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention and stated that it's "As good as their cameos as usual, led by Yo Majesty, Yoko, and Ms. Paloma Faith, who is clearly worthy of domestic consumption", while picking out two songs from the album, "Twerk" and "Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)".[7]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Scars" (featuring Kelis, Meleka and Chipmunk) 4:15
2. "Raindrops"   4:10
3. "She's No Good" (featuring Eli "Paperboy" Reed) 3:26
4. "Saga" (featuring Santigold) 2:42
5. "Feelings Gone" (featuring Sam Sparro) 3:42
6. "My Turn" (featuring Lightspeed Champion) 4:52
7. "A Possibility" (featuring Amp Fiddler) 2:45
8. "Twerk" (featuring Yo! Majesty) 3:30
9. "Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)" (featuring Yoko Ono) 5:59
10. "What's a Girl Gotta Do" (featuring Paloma Faith) 4:04
11. "Stay Close" (featuring Lisa Kekaula) 3:01
12. "Distractionz" (featuring Jose Hendrix) 5:03
13. "Gimme Somethin' True" (featuring José James) 5:29

Chart performance

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 76
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[16] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 41
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 92
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[19] 84
Irish Albums (IRMA)[20] 89
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 37
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[22] 2
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[23] 5
US Billboard 200[24] 173
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[25] 10
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[26] 33
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[27] 9

Release history

Region Date Label
United Kingdom 20 September 2009 (Digital)
21 September 2009 (Physical)		 XL Recordings
Australia 20 September 2009 XL Recordings
United States 6 October 2009 Ultra Music
Canada 22 September 2009 Ultra Music

References

  1. ↑ Iqbal, Nosheen (August 15, 2014). "Basement Jaxx's Felix Buxton: 'I wanted to concentrate on being human'". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ Treuen, Jason (5 October 2009). "Rolling Stone: Basement Jaxx Interview | Jason Treuen: Journalist, Reviewer and Content Specialist". jasontreuen.wordpress.com. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  3. ↑ "Scars". Play.com. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  4. ↑ "Basement Jaxx - Metropole Orkest - My Turn". YouTube. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Reviews for Scars by Basement Jaxx – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "Scars – Basement Jaxx". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  7. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Basement Jaxx". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Young, Alex (7 October 2009). "Basement Jaxx – Scars | Album Reviews | Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Ashman, Neil (25 September 2009). "Basement Jaxx – Scars". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Basement Jaxx: Scars". The Observer. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  11. 1 2 Perpetua, Matthew (9 October 2009). "Basement Jaxx: Scars". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  12. 1 2 Sawdey, Evan (21 September 2009). "Basement Jaxx: Scars". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  13. ↑ Henderson, Eric (3 October 2009). "Basement Jaxx: Scars". Slant. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  14. ↑ Walters, Barry (6 October 2009). "Basement Jaxx, 'Scars' (Ultra/XL)". Spin. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  15. 1 2 "Basement Jaxx – Scars". URB. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  16. 1 2 "ARIA Report" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Scars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Basement Jaxx – Scars" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Basement Jaxx – Scars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  20. ↑ "Discography Basement Jaxx". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  21. ↑ "Basement Jaxx | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  22. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  23. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  24. ↑ "Basement Jaxx – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Basement Jaxx. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  25. ↑ "Basement Jaxx – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums for Basement Jaxx. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "Basement Jaxx – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Basement Jaxx. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  27. ↑ "Basement Jaxx – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Basement Jaxx. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
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