Volcanic Sunlight is the fourth solo studio album by Saul Williams.[1] It was released by Columbia Records in 2011.
| Volcanic Sunlight | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 10, 2011 | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop | |||
| Length | 55:16 | |||
| Label | Columbia Records | |||
| Producer | Renaud Létang | |||
| Saul Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album features a different approach than his previous albums, embracing a dance-pop direction,[2] with various influences from funk, disco, '60s garage rock, new wave, and dubstep.[3]
Critical reception edit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 73/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Okayplayer | 85/100[5] |
| PopMatters |   [6] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73% based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[4]
Alexander Heigl of PopMatters gave the album 6 stars out of 10, calling it "a solid, finely-tuned album that reveals new turns and tricks with every listen."[6] Dylan Grier of Okayplayer gave the album an 85 out of 100, writing: "this album is, in many ways, much simpler than many of his previous offerings, but may leave listeners more confounded than ever."[5]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Saul Williams, except "Girls Have More Fun" by Williams and CX KiDTRONiK
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Look to the Sun" | 4:08 |
| 2. | "Patience" | 3:52 |
| 3. | "Explain My Heart" | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Triumph" | 6:03 |
| 5. | "Diagram" | 3:47 |
| 6. | "Girls Have More Fun" (also known as "Girls on Saturn") | 2:27 |
| 7. | "Give It Up" | 4:12 |
| 8. | "Dance" (featuring Janelle Monáe) | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Volcanic Sunlight" | 3:56 |
| 10. | "Rocket" | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Fall Up" | 4:17 |
| 12. | "Innocence" | 5:43 |
| 13. | "New Day" | 5:14 |
Personnel edit
Credits adapted from liner notes.
- Saul Williams – lead vocals, songwriting, arrangement, guitar (3), bass guitar (13), keyboards (2–5, 7–11, 13), percussion (3)
- Renaud Létang – production, arrangement, keyboards (1–8, 10–13), guitar (1–5, 7, 8, 10–13), bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 12), percussion (3, 6), tambourine (13), piano (13), mixing
- David Sztanke – keyboards (1, 5–11, 13)
- Vincent Taeger – drums (1, 2, 4–9, 12, 13), tambourine (13)
- Vincent Taeger – percussion (1, 12)
- Lippie – backing vocals (2)
- Julien Chirol – brass (2, 9, 10, 13), trombone (3), flute (3)
- Lionel Segui – brass (2, 9, 10, 13), trombone (3), tuba (3)
- Misha Cliquennois – brass (2, 9, 10, 13), trumpet (3), horn (3)
- Mamané Thiam – percussion (3, 4)
- Denis Teste – keyboards (4)
- Saturn – backing vocals (6, 8)
- Deep Cotton – backing vocals (12)
- Janelle Monáe – backing vocals (12)
- Thomas Moulin – recording
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
References edit
- ^ Adams, Gregory (December 21, 2011). "Saul Williams to Take 'Volcanic Sunlight' on North American Tour". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ Brown, Marisa (2012-01-24). "A Different Kind of Dance: Saul Williams' Volcanic Sunlight". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Volcanic Sunlight - Saul Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ a b "Volcanic Sunlight by Saul Williams". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ a b Grier, Dylan. "Saul Williams". Okayplayer. Archived from the original on November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Heigl, Alexander (November 30, 2011). "Saul Williams: Volcanic Sunlight". PopMatters. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
External links edit
- Volcanic Sunlight at Discogs (list of releases)
- Volcanic Sunlight at MusicBrainz (list of releases)