Wikipedia

Fountain Baby

Fountain Baby is the second album by the Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae. It was released by Interscope Records on June 9, 2023. The album, released to widespread critical acclaim, was supported by three singles, "Reckless & Sweet", "Co-Star", and "Wasted Eyes".

Fountain Baby
A woman wearing a white dress being sprayed by shower water
Studio album by
Amaarae
ReleasedJune 9, 2023
Genre
Length39:33
LabelInterscope
Amaarae chronology
The Angel You Don't Know
(2020) 		Fountain Baby
(2023)
Singles from Fountain Baby
  1. "Reckless & Sweet"
    Released: March 17, 2023
  2. "Co-Star"
    Released: May 3, 2023
  3. "Wasted Eyes"
    Released: June 9, 2023
  4. "Angels in Tibet"
    Released: March 13, 2024[4]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic95/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
And It Don't StopA−[6]
Clash9/10[7]
The Daily Telegraph     [8]
Exclaim!8/10[2]
NME     [9]
The Observer     [10]
Pitchfork8.7/10[1]

Fountain Baby was released to overwhelmingly positive reception. Metacritic, a review aggregator, awarded a score of 95/100 based on eight critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5]

Pitchfork named the record "Best New Music" with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd writing, "The Ghanaian American singer's dazzling second album is a confident and unconventional record that flows, saunters, and boasts its way to one of the best pop albums of the year."[1]

Tarisai Ngangura for NPR enjoyed the variety between songs and was impressed by the cohesive fusion of various genres.[11]

Robert Christgau, reviewing in his "Consumer Guide" column on Substack, appreciated Amaarae's grounded gratitude for the same-sex obsession "she can afford" to have as a successful artist:

Her portion of fame proud and earned, her voice simultaneously fragile and self-possessed, her star-time comforts and advantages acknowledged without vanity or apology, she doesn't so much boast about her crushes, trysts, and conquests as lay them out lubriciously or matter-of-factly as the cherished rewards of a lifestyle I wouldn't be surprised to learn she's exaggerating ... she appreciates what she's got without taking it for granted, and without assuming there are no more chapters to her story.[6]

In September, Rolling Stone listed the album as one of the best albums of 2023 so far.[12]

Year-end lists edit

Select year-end rankings of Fountain Baby
Publication List Rank Ref.
Slant The 50 Best Albums of 2023
4
[13]
The Line of Best Fit The Line of Best Fit's Albums of the Year 2023
5
[14]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2023
7
[15]
NME NME's Best Albums of 2023
8
[16]
The New Yorker Amanda Petrusich's Best Albums of 2023
9
[17]
Crack Magazine The Top 50 Albums of the Year
11
[18]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2023
26
[19]
Exclaim! Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2023
43
[20]

Track listing edit

Fountain Baby track listing
No.TitleLength
1."All My Love"0:43
2."Angels in Tibet"2:23
3."Co-Star"2:47
4."Princess Going Digital"3:09
5."Big Steppa"2:57
6."Reckless & Sweet"2:40
7."Wasted Eyes"2:29
8."Counterfeit"2:36
9."Disguise"2:50
10."Sex, Violence, Suicide"4:13
11."Sociopathic Dance Queen"2:20
12."Aquamarie Luvs Ecstasy"4:39
13."Water from Wine"2:36
14."Come Home to God"3:20
Total length:39:33

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Shepherd, Julianne (June 12, 2023). "Amaarae: Fountain Baby Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Harmony, A. (June 8, 2023). "Amaarae Is a Clever Alchemist on Fountain Baby". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  3. ^ "Album Review: Fountain Baby by Amaarae and the Spiritual Opulence of the Club". July 13, 2023.
  4. ^ "Amaarae - Angels in Tibet (Official Music Video)". YouTube. March 13, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Fountain Baby by Amaarae Reviews on Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (August 11, 2023). "Consumer Guide: August, 2023". And It Don't Stop. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  7. ^ Hussain, Shahzaib (June 13, 2023). "Amaarae – Fountain Baby review". Clash. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  8. ^ McCormick, Neil; Platt, Poppie; Grant, Kirsten. "Janelle Monáe gets physical, Niall Horan feels the weight of the world – the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  9. ^ Yemi, Christine (June 9, 2023). "Amaarae – Fountain Baby review: electric anthems from a fearless cultural disruptor". NME. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Joshi, Tara (June 12, 2023). "Amaarae: Fountain Baby review – sexy, sparkling dream pop". The Observer. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Ngangura, Tarisai (June 12, 2023). "A review of Amaarae's second album: 'Fountain Baby'". NPR. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  12. ^ M. C. (September 1, 2023). "The Best Albums of 2023 So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  13. ^ Slant Staff (December 7, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Slant. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "The Line of Best Fit's Albums of the Year 2023". The Line of Best Fit. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  15. ^ Lindert, Hattie (December 5, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  16. ^ "NME's Best Albums of 2023". NME. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  17. ^ Petrusich, Amanda (December 4, 2023). "The Best Music of 2023". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  18. ^ Ellwood, Maya. "The Top 50 Albums of the Year". Crack Magazine. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  19. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". Rolling Stone. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  20. ^ "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2023". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
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