x Infinity, (pronounced Times Infinity) is the fourth studio album by American rapper, spoken word artist and author George Watsky, released on August 19, 2016. The album was recorded at Seahorse Studios in Los Angeles, Grand St. Recording in Brooklyn, and Aqua Vibea in Hadley, Massachusetts.[1]
| x Infinity | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 19, 2016 | |||
| Recorded |
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| Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
| Length |
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| Label | Steel Wool Media, Empire | |||
| Producer |
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| Watsky chronology | ||||
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| Singles from x Infinity | ||||
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The album, executive produced by Russell Simmons – who Watsky previously connected with as a guest on Season 6 of Simmons' HBO series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry – was produced by Kush Mody and features additional production from Anderson .Paak and drumming by Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots, among other collaborations.[2] Unlike Watsky's previous album, All You Can Do, which was almost entirely produced by .Paak, the album contains only one song, Midnight Heart, that features production from him. Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots accompanies Watsky on the drums in Track 13, Midnight Heart.
Background edit
On Twitter, Watsky described the album's thesis statement as a message "that embracing our insignificance in the vastness of time & space frees us to be joyful." He stated in another tweet that the album was his first in 2 years.[3]
Release edit
The lead single, Stick to Your Guns featuring Julia Nunes, was released on July 1, 2016, as a free download on Watsky's Bandcamp page.[4] A week later, the second single, Tiny Glowing Screens, Pt. 3, was released alongside the announcement of the album. An accompanying music video was released on YouTube.[5] On August 18, 2016, the day before the album's scheduled release, lyric annotation site Genius premiered the song Don't Be Nice, along with the lyrics for the entire album. This is not the first time Watsky premiered music right before the album through Genius; a similar promotion was done for the release of Cardboard Castles and All You Can Do.[6]
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [7] |
| The Musical Hype | [8] |
| SputnikMusic | [9] |
x Infinity was met with positive reviews.
Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave the album a three and a half out of five stars, adding that "Ultimately, this is his brightest, most accomplished release yet." SputnikMusic user RedHotRedd gave the album a similar score, saying "It seems as though Watsky really wanted x Infinity to be his best effort, and it most certainly was."
Track listing edit
Track listing adapted from the iTunes Store, and credits from Genius.[10][11]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tiny Glowing Screens, Pt. 3" (featuring Danny McClain & Camila Recchio) |
| Mody | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Talking to Myself" |
|
| 3:41 |
| 3. | "Chemical Angel" |
| Mody | 2:31 |
| 4. | "Little Slice" (featuring Danny McClain) |
|
| 3:24 |
| 5. | "Springtime in New York" |
|
| 2:23 |
| 6. | "Pink Lemonade" |
| Riera | 3:17 |
| 7. | "Don't Be Nice" |
| Mody | 3:18 |
| 8. | "Yes Britannia" |
| 3:37 | |
| 9. | "Love Letters" |
| Mody | 4:24 |
| 10. | "Stick to Your Guns" (featuring Julia Nunes) |
| Mody | 4:05 |
| 11. | "Brave New World" (featuring Chaos Chaos) |
| Mody | 4:04 |
| 12. | "Going Down" |
| Mikos | 5:16 |
| 13. | "Midnight Heart" (featuring Mal Devisa) |
| 4:37 | |
| 14. | "Lovely Thing Suite: Conversations" |
| Mody | 3:40 |
| 15. | "Lovely Thing Suite: Knots" |
| Mody | 3:06 |
| 16. | "Lovely Thing Suite: Roses" |
|
| 4:09 |
| 17. | "Lovely Thing Suite: Theories" |
| Mody | 6:17 |
| Total length: | 65:42 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Exquisite Corpse" (featuring Dumbfoundead, Grieves, Adam Vida, Wax, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, and Chinaka Hodge) |
| Mody | 9:40 |
| Total length: | 75:22 | |||
Charts edit
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[12] | 6 |
| US Billboard 200[13] | 58 |
References edit
- ^ BWW News Desk. "New Watsky Album 'x Infinity' Gets August 2016 Release". Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Watsky Delivers 'Tiny Glowing Screens Pt. 3' Video, Announces New Album 'x Infinity': Exclusive Premiere". Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "W▵TSKY on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ "Stick to Your Guns, by Watsky ft. Julia Nunes". gwatsky. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Watsky- Tiny Glowing Screens Part 3 ft. Camila Recchio & Danny McClain (x INFINITY)". YouTube. YouTube. July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "+ all the lyrics to Watsky's new album before it drops #xInfinity". Genius. Genius. August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ^ allmusic
- ^ the musical hype
- ^ sputnikmusic
- ^ "x Infinity by Watsky on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "x INFINITY Lyrics – Genius". Genius. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
- ^ "Watsky Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2016.