Solastalgia is the fifth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released on 27 April 2018. The album's title references an "existential distress caused by environmental change, such as mining or climate change"(Glenn Albrecht 2005).

Solastalgia
Studio album by
Released27 April 2018 (2018-04-27)
GenrePop
LabelEleven
Missy Higgins chronology
Oz
(2014)
Solastalgia
(2018)
The Special Ones
(2018)
Singles from Solastalgia
  1. "Futon Couch"
    Released: 8 February 2018
  2. "Cemetery"
    Released: 13 April 2018

The first single from the album, "Futon Couch", was released on 8 February 2018 with an accompanying video. The song has peaked at number 100 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

The album's second single "Cemetery" was released on 13 April 2018.[1][2] The music video was released on 27 April 2018.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, the album was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album.[3]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Australian     [4]
The Music     [5]
auspOp     

Sophie Benjamin from The Australian said "Solastalgia's best moments come from Higgins taking a long look at the world she's bringing her children into, wrestling with the guilt and fear from that decision, then going to her piano to work out her feelings about it." adding "The album's weakest moments are when Higgins mines her past for inspiration and gets carried away with the bells and whistles of laptop production." Benjamin concluded that "Old fans who loved her early work may be put off by the electronic production, but it's worth pushing through any discomfort and sitting with Solastalgia, an album that only underscores her talent."[4]

Liz Giuffre from The Music said "Although there's quite a bit of thematic doom and gloom on this record, expect plenty of highs, too", adding "A departure into the electro fringe, this is Missy Higgins as far away from organic/acoustic pop as she has ever ventured, and it's well worth the journey." Giuffre named the track "49 Candles" as the bold standout.[5]

David from auspOp gave the album 4 out of 5, saying "Overall [Higgins] has created a collection of songs which are interesting, dynamic and lyrically intriguing." He also called the album "magical".[6]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Starting Again"Missy Higgins, Pip Norman4:17
2."Cemetery"Higgins, Norman, Daniel Kyriakides, Steph Jones4:09
3."Futon Couch"Higgins, Norman3:25
4."Red Moon"Higgins, Alex Hope3:29
5."How Was I to Know"Higgins, Daniel Dodd Wilson4:04
6."Yesterday Must Die"Higgins, Butterfly Boucher, Cason Cooley4:04
7."The Difference"Higgins, Norman4:07
8."Don't Look Down"Higgins, Boucher, Cooley4:12
9."Hallucinate"Higgins, Hope3:07
10."49 Candles"Higgins, Daniel Parker3:16
11."Strange Utopia"Higgins, Norman, Joelma4:33
12."The Old Star"Higgins, Boucher2:44

Charts

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Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 3
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[8] 6

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label Catalogue
Australia 27 April 2018[9][10] CD, download Eleven ELEVENCD140
Vinyl ELEVENV140

References

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  1. ^ "Missy Higgins 'Cemetery'". Mushroom Music. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Missy Higgins - 'Cemetery' (teaser)". Facebook. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  3. ^ Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (28 November 2018). "And the ARIA Award Goes To..." Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Review: Missy Higgins, Tina Harrod, Mat Jodrell". The Australian. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Missy Higgins – Solastalgia". The Music AU. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  6. ^ "It's David's Review of Missy Higgins' 'Solastalgia'". auspOp. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Missy Higgins – Solastalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Solastalgia". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Solastalgia (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 23 March 2018.