New Fragility
| New Fragility | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 12, 2021 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Indie rock[1] | |||
| Length | 40:56 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Alec Ounsworth | |||
| Clap Your Hands Say Yeah chronology | ||||
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| Singles from New Fragility | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.9/10[2] |
| Metacritic | 72/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| DIY |  [4] |
| The Irish Times | [5] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 6/10[6] |
| MusicOMH | [7] |
| Paste | 7.7/10[8] |
| Pitchfork | 6.4/10[9] |
New Fragility is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The album was self-released on February 12, 2021.[10]
Release[edit]
On October 14, 2020, lead vocalist Alec Ounsworth announced the release of the sixth studio album, along with two singles "Hesitating Nation" and "Thousand Oaks".[11] In a press release, Ounsworth explained the meaning of "Thousand Oaks": "In 2018, there was a shooting in Thousand Oaks, CA which killed 13 people. This song has to do with the impotence of the American government in the face of such tragedies."[10]
The third single "Where They Perform Miracles" was released on December 18, 2020.[12]
Critical reception[edit]
New Fragility was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 72 based on 9 reviews.[3] At AnyDecentMusic?, the release was given a 6.9 out of 10 based on 10 reviews.[2]
Matt Collar of AllMusic gave the release four stars out of five, explaining "Recorded and produced by Ounsworth in Austin, Texas with some additional production by Will Johnson, New Fragility is a poetic, deeply personal album that finds Ounsworth searching for an ever-deeper sense of meaning in what often feels like an increasingly tumultuous and fragile world."[1] Reviewing the album for DIY, Chris Hamilton-Peach was heavily critical, noting: "New Fragility strives for structure, toggling between social awareness and slack harmonies in an interplay that never fully attains the unity it craves. Winding orchestral flights propel Innocent Weight, in part redeeming an effort that covers little in the way of new ground, while timely lyrical takes command attention yet lack the frequency to shake off neighbouring songs sinking under their own unwieldy mass.[4] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork wrote: "Alec Ounsworth's latest album is a world of divorce, substance abuse, callous indifference to murder, and also bittersweet nostalgia for that bygone indie-rock era that gave him a platform in the first place."[9]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hesitating Nation" | Alec Ounsworth | 3:13 |
| 2. | "Thousand Oaks" | Alec Ounsworth | 4:47 |
| 3. | "Dee, Forgiven" | Alec Ounsworth | 4:08 |
| 4. | "New Fragility" | Alec Ounsworth | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Innocent Weight" | Alec Ounsworth | 3:58 |
| 6. | "Mirror Song" | Alec Ounsworth | 4:32 |
| 7. | "CYHSY, 2005" | Alec Ounsworth | 3:35 |
| 8. | "Where They Perform Miracles" | Alec Ounsworth | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Went Looking for Trouble" | Alec Ounsworth | 5:46 |
| 10. | "If I Were More Like Jesus" | Alec Ounsworth | 3:27 |
Personnel[edit]
Credits adapted from AllMusic.[13]
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Musicians
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Technical
Production
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References[edit]
- ^ a b c Collar, Matt. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ a b Hamilton-Peach, Chris (28 January 2021). "DIY Magazine Review". DIY. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Murphy, Lauren (January 29, 2021). "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: New Fragility review – Emotions run high". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ Horton, Ross (February 12, 2021). "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's sixth outing is both rewarding and their strongest for some time". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Cotsell, Matt (February 11, 2021). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Danton, Eric (February 11, 2021). "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Confront Big Questions on New Fragility". Paste. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Cohen, Ian (February 17, 2021). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Roberts, Christopher (October 14, 2020). "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Announce New Album, Share "Hesitating Nation" & "Thousand Oaks"". Under the Radar. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Announce New Album". DIY. October 14, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Release New Single". DIY. December 18, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "New Fragility - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 26, 2021.