Emotional Education is the debut full-length album by English singer-songwriter duo Ider, released on 19 July 2019 through Glassnote Records.

Emotional Education
Studio album by
Released19 July 2019 (2019-07-19)
Genre
Length40:52
LabelGlassnote
Producer
Ider chronology
Gut Me Like an Animal
(2017)
Emotional Education
(2019)
Shame
(2021)
Singles from Emotional Education
  1. "Body Love"
    Released: 3 November 2017
  2. "You've Got Your Whole Life Ahead of You Baby"
    Released: 27 July 2018
  3. "Mirror"
    Released: 18 October 2018
  4. "Brown Sugar"
    Released: 1 February 2019
  5. "Saddest Generation"
    Released: 29 August 2019

Background

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Emotional Education followed Ider's 2017 EP Gut Me Like an Animal, their only release through Aesop. The same year, they signed to Glassnote Records.[1]

The album's title comes from a lyric in its tenth track, "Saddest Generation": "One in four/one in four/where is the emotional education/we're all looking for?"[2]

The material was classified by Metacritic as pop rock, alternative rock and indie,[3] and described by The Independent as an exploration of "mid-20s melancholy".[4]

Singles

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The first single from the album, "Body Love", was released on 3 November 2017. HOAX remix of the song was released on 3 October 2018.

The second single, "You've Got Your Whole Life Ahead of You Baby", was released on 27 July 2018. The third single from the album, "Mirror", was released on 18 October 2018. It was followed by the Honors remix on 30 November 2018, and the 12welve remix on 11 January 2019.

The fourth single, "Brown Sugar", was released on 1 February 2019. "Wu Baby" was previewed as a promotional single on 17 May 2019, with a music video released on 21 June.

A new version of "Saddest Generation" from Mahogany Sessions was released as the final single in August 2019, along with a cover of Rihanna's "Kiss It Better".[5]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Mirror"MyRiot3:38
2."Wu Baby"
MyRiot3:39
3."Busy Being a Rockstar"
  • Markwick
  • Somerville
MyRiot3:31
4."Brown Sugar"
  • Markwick
  • Somerville
Rodaidh McDonald3:36
5."Invincible"
  • Markwick
  • Somerville
McDonald3:44
6."Clinging to the Weekend"
  • Markwick
  • Somerville
McDonald3:36
7."Swim"
  • Markwick
  • Somerville
McDonald3:22
8."You've Got Your Whole Life Ahead of You Baby"
  • Somerville
  • Markwick
McDonald3:45
9."Body Love"
  • Somerville
  • Markwick
Alex Parish3:41
10."Saddest Generation"
  • Markwick
  • Somerville
MyRiot4:09
11."Slide"
  • Markwick
  • Somerville
  • Daniel Holloway
  • Parish
  • McDonald
4:09
Total length:40:52

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[6]
Metacritic81/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
The 4058.5/10[7]
Clash8/10[8]
DIY     [9]
The Guardian     [10]
The Line of Best Fit10/10[11]
The Observer     [12]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81, based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[3] Pip Williams, writing for The Line of Best Fit, said that the album is "coherent despite a refusal to adhere to genre-based constraints, (...) heartbreaking yet hopeful, relatable yet precise."[11] Kitty Empire for The Observer said that "these 11 songs ping confidently around the post-genre electro-pop landscape."[12]

Narzra Ahmed of Clash described Emotional Education as "a very enjoyable, incomparable album, with moments of extraordinary depth."[8] Writing in The Guardian, Michael Hann wrote that the album "is full of good melodies and millennial anxiety. It just needs the grain of sand that makes the pearl."[10]

Charts

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Chart (2019) Peak
position
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[13] 76
UK Vinyl Albums (OCC)[14] 37
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[15] 23

References

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  1. ^ Gumble, Daniel (11 April 2017). "Glassnote Records adds Ider to UK roster". musicweek.com. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  2. ^ "IDER: Saddest Generation – Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Emotional Education by IDER". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  4. ^ White, Adam (22 July 2019). "IDER: The duo giving voice to mid-20s melancholy – 'We're so intertwined, we understand each other's language'". The Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Saddest Generation / Kiss It Better (Mahogany Sessions) - Single by IDER, Mahogany". Spotify. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Emotional Education – IDER". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  7. ^ McMullen, Chase (19 July 2019). "Review: IDER deliver the pop debut of the year with Emotional Education". The 405. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b Ahmed, Narzra (17 July 2019). "IDER – Emotional Education". Clash. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  9. ^ Goggins, Joe (19 July 2019). "IDER – Emotional Education Review". DIY Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  10. ^ a b Hann, Michael (19 July 2019). "Ider: Emotional Education review – a hair's breadth from brilliance". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  11. ^ a b Williams, Pip (17 July 2019). "IDER: Soul Sisters". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (21 July 2019). "Ider: Emotional Education review – sassy take on the millennial experience". The Observer. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart on 26/7/2019". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Official Vinyl Albums Chart on 26/7/2019". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 26/7/2019". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.