The Unnatural World
| The Unnatural World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Have a Nice Life | ||||
| Released | February 4, 2014[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2008-2012 | |||
| Genre | Shoegazing, post-rock, ambient, post-punk, gothic rock, industrial, noise, drone | |||
| Length | 47:20 | |||
| Label |
Enemies List Home Recordings, The Flenser | |||
| Have a Nice Life chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | 9.25/10[2] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.8/10[3] |
| Unrecorded | 78/100[4] |
The Unnatural World is second studio album by the American shoegazing band, Have a Nice Life. It was released on February 4, 2014, via The Flenser and the band's own record label Enemies List Home Recordings. It is a follow up to 2008's Deathconsciousness and 2010's Time of Land EP.[5]
The tracks "Defenestration Song" and "Burial Society" premiered in December 2013 and January 2014, respectively.[6][7][8] The full album was streamed by Pitchfork Media from January 20, 2014 to January 27, 2014.[5]
Tracks and musical style
Andrew Sacher and Wyatt Marshall of BrooklynVegan wrote that "the album falls somewhere between goth, noise, shoegaze and post-punk." They also described the album as "addictively melodic for such dark music."[9]
Noisey Vice stated that the song "Burial Society" had "a Nine Inch Nails-meets-post-punk vibe," which "evidenced Have a Nice Life's leanings on the sonic dark side in the record.[7] Lars Gotrich of NPR described the track "Defenestration Song" as "the kind of pitch-black, post-punk party-rocker that'd really turn up at any Goth Night dance." He also wrote: "A two-note guitar riff is barely heard above the dank din as warming feedback permeates the whole affair, like the kind that lulls you to sleep just before an icy death," while comparing song's rhythm and distorted bass line to the works of the gothic rock pioneers, Bauhaus.[6]
On the track "Dan And Tim, Reunited By Fate", Tiny Mix Tapes wrote that "the pair cherrypick tropes from a number of bleak traditions: reverb-drenched industrial beats; doom-metal sludge; shoegaze drones conjured from effects pedals; post-punk bass chuggery; a plaintive piano+static post-rock crescendo." Tiny Mix Tapes also wrote that the band hold this genre palette together "by matching its compositional ambitions with idiosyncratic recording and production techniques."[10]
Track listing
All tracks written by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Guggenheim Wax Museum" | 5:14 |
| 2. | "Defenestration Song" | 6:02 |
| 3. | "Burial Society" | 6:40 |
| 4. | "Music Will Untune the Sky" | 5:00 |
| 5. | "Cropsey" | 7:10 |
| 6. | "Unholy Life" | 2:50 |
| 7. | "Dan and Tim, Reunited by Fate" | 5:35 |
| 8. | "Emptiness Will Eat the Witch" | 8:49 |
| Total length: | 47:20 | |
Personnel
- Have a Nice Life
- Dan Barrett - performance, writing
- Tim Macuga - performance, writing
- Other personnel
- Kevin Blackler - mastering
References
- ↑ "Have A Nice Life – Unnatural World". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ↑ Collum, Chris (6 February 2014). "Have a Nice Life - The Unnatural World". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ↑ Heller, Jason (6 February 2014). "Have a Nice Life: The Unnatural World". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ↑ Abraham, Barnabas (5 February 2014). "Have a Nice Life - The Unnatural World". Unrecorded. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- 1 2 "Stream New LPs From Have a Nice Life, Bohren & Der Club of Gore, and Jess Williamson Via Pitchfork Advance". Pitchfork Media. January 20, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- 1 2 Gotrich, Lars (December 11, 2013). "Viking's Choice: This Song Is Literally For Throwing Stuff Out The Window". NPR.org. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- 1 2 "Listen to: "Have a Nice Life's new tune, 'Burial Society'"". Vice. January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ↑ Darville, Jordan (January 22, 2014). "Listen: Connecticut shoegaze band Have A Nice Life's punishing new song, "Burial Society"". ChartAttack. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ↑ Sacher, Andrew and Wyatt Marshall (January 24, 2014). "Have A Nice Life and Woods of Desolation streaming new LPs (listen to both)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ↑ "Have A Nice Life - "Dan And Tim, Reunited By Fate"". Tiny Mix Tapes. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.