2 is the second full-length album by the Austrian singer-songwriter Luise Gruber, better known as Saint Lu.[1][2][3] The album is noteworthy for its music direction change, from the blues and rock of its predecessor toward a more soul-oriented aesthetic with elements of funk, jazz and baroque pop.[4][5] The album was released on 15 February 2013 via Warner Music.[6][7] The album was intended to accompany Saint Lu's representation of Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö but the selection jury in Hannover selected Cascada instead.[8][9]

2
Studio album by
Released15 February 2013
GenreSoul, Pop, Soft rock
LabelWarner Music
ProducerPatrik Majer
Saint Lu chronology
Saint Lu
(2009)
2
(2013)

Track listing

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2 – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Waterfall"Shelly Peiken, Luise Gruber, Xandy Berry3:12
2."Craving"Gruber, Stefan Skarbek3:52
3."Falling for Your Love"Jimmy Messer, Roxanne Seeman, Gruber2:43
4."I Got a Feeling"Gruber, Tim Baxter3:37
5."No One Loves You Like I do"Charlie Midnight, Gruber4:39
6."Revive This Flower"Gruber, Baxter3:56
7."The Letter"Gruber2:58
8."Postcard from Hell"Midnight, Messer, Gruber3:05
9."Mrs. Suffer"Midnight, Gruber3:28
10."Why Do I Want Love"James Bryan, Nicholas Whitecross, Gruber3:51
11."Lady of the Lanterns"Gruber, Baxter3:57
Total length:39:23
2 – iTunes edition (bonus track)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Craving (Saint Lu Bathroom Remix)"Gruber, Skarbek3:45

An acoustic EP, named "2 (Acoustic EP)" was released shortly after the release of the album. It contains new, acoustic arrangements of six of the songs from the album

2 (Acoustic EP)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Falling for Your Love (Acoustic Version)"Messer, Seeman, Gruber2:52
2."Waterfall (Acoustic Version)"Peiken, Gruber, Berry3:16
3."Postcard From Hell (Acoustic Version)"Midnight, Messer, Gruber3:15
4."I Got a Feeling (Acoustic Version)"Gruber, Baxter4:03
5."Craving (Acoustic Version)"Gruber, Skarbek3:28
6."Lady of the Lanterns (Acoustic Version)"Gruber, Baxter3:48
Total length:20:45

[1][4][10]

Personnel

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  • Patrik Majer – producer, engineer, percussion
  • Sven Teichmann – engineer
  • Steve Price – engineer
  • Saint Lu – co-producer, glockenspiel
  • Ben Hamilton – acoustic guitar
  • Alex Grube – bass
  • Philipp Schwär – co-producer
  • Jan Burkamp – drums
  • James Bryan – electric guitar
  • Jimmy Messer – electric guitar
  • Lars Cölln – electric guitar
  • Christian Löhr – keyboards
  • Philipp Schwär – keyboards, programming
  • Philipp Steinke – keyboards
  • Tim Baxter – keyboards
  • Sebastian Borowski – saxophone
  • Steve Sidwell – strings
  • Christoph Titz – trumpet

Critical reception

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Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, Austria, describes the album as "abounding with emotions and ideas. Soul Pop and Blues combine with the dark, versatile grater-like voice of the 30-year old into a fascinating fusion".[11]

Tracks Magazin, Switzerland, writes: "2 keeps what the self-titled debut from 2009 brought into view. At that time, she sang confident pop rock. Now it is more confident and more rock pop with a lot of soul in it".[12]

Steve Braun of Rock Times writes: "2 offers magical moments that reveal Luise Gruber's huge potential. 'Falling For Your Love' must be mentioned first".[13]

Charts

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Chart (2013) Peak
position
Germany (German Albums Chart)[14] 42
Austria (O3 Austria Top 40)[15] 27
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 36

References

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  1. ^ a b 2 - Saint Lu | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2021-07-12
  2. ^ "Saint Lu | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  3. ^ Andi. "CDs - Saint Lu setzt auf ihre Powerstimme und betitelt das neue Album kämpferisch mit "2" - Musicheadquarter - Internet Musikmagazin - Hier ist Musik zuhause!" (in German). Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  4. ^ a b "Saint Lu on Apple Music". Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  5. ^ Redaktion (2019-09-16). "Redaktionsbesuch Saint Lu im Interview". womenweb.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  6. ^ "MusicLine". www.musicline.de. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  7. ^ "ROCKTIMES - CD-Review / Saint Lu - 2". www.rocktimes.info. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  8. ^ "Saint Lu". Warner Music Germany (in German). 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  9. ^ Vom Bauernhof ans Mikro Archived 2013-03-29 at the Wayback Machine "Im NDR 2 Soundcheck Musikszene Deutschland wird Saint Lus markant-rauchige Stimme am Mittwoch live zu hören sein. Bei Pascal Hillgruber spricht sie ab 21 Uhr über ihr aktuelles Album "2" und ihre Pläne nach dem Aus im ESC-Vorentscheid."
  10. ^ 2 on Spotify, retrieved 2021-07-12
  11. ^ "Saint Lu: Die Janis Joplin aus Steinhaus bei Wels". nachrichten.at (in German). Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  12. ^ Hug, Christian (2013-02-23). "SAINT LU 2". Tracks Magazin. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  13. ^ "ROCKTIMES - CD-Review / Saint Lu - 2". www.rocktimes.info. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  14. ^ "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  15. ^ "Discographie Saint Lu - austriancharts.at". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  16. ^ "Discographie Saint Lu - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2021-07-12.