Churches
Cover art of the album
Studio album by
LP
ReleasedDecember 3, 2021 (2021-12-03)
Genre
Length52:48
Label
  • SOTA
  • Dine Alone
Producer
LP chronology
Heart to Mouth
(2018)		 Churches
(2021)		 Love Lines
(2023)
Singles from Churches
  1. "The One That You Love"
    Released: July 23, 2020[3]
  2. "How Low Can You Go"
    Released: November 19, 2020[4]
  3. "One Last Time"
    Released: March 11, 2021[5]
  4. "Goodbye"
    Released: July 9, 2021[6]
  5. "Angels"
    Released: October 8, 2021[7]
  6. "Conversation"
    Released: December 3, 2021[8]

Churches is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter LP, released on December 3, 2021, through SOTA/Dine Alone.[9][2][10][11][12] It was produced by Mike Del Rio and co-written by Nate Campany.[12][13][9]

The album was originally planned for an October 2020 release.[8] It was later announced for October 6, 2021,[12] then postponed to the following month[7] and finally pushed back to December 3.[14] Four additional songs were written throughout the additional 14 months that the album spent in the making.[8]

Background

LP composed much of the album in San José del Cabo, Mexico. The hotel where they stayed, El Ganzo, is featured in the video for "How Low Can You Go".[15] The singer used all their guitars and ukuleles in Nashville tuning.[14] The final track list combines songs written before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

Title

The title is taken from one of the album's tracks, which was the first to be written.[9] LP was barred from entering a church in Saint Petersburg unless they covered their head, and that got them thinking that they don't want to be told how to believe in God and live their religion. It further made them reflect on what is sacred for them and that love could act as a religion for people in general.[12][10][9]

Song information

The opening track "When We Touch" was the first song to be written after the Coronavirus spread.[9] "Goodbye" was released on July 9, 2021,[6] and had its video shot near Marina del Rey and Malibu, California.[15]

"The One That You Love" was the first single to be released, on July 23, 2020. It was accompanied by a video shot at Big Sky Ranch in which LP is seen riding a horse around the place.[3] A video for an acoustic version of the song was released later that year, in October.[16]

"Rainbow" was inspired by LP's decision to break up with their fiancée, and its lyrics discuss "the battles we choose to fight and how long we're willing to fight them", which is inspired by LP's reluctance as a teenager to come out to their alcoholic, abusive father.[12]

"One Last Time" was released as a single on March 11, 2021, and its video features Jaime King.[13][5] "How Low Can You Go" was filmed at the Hotel El Ganzo, in San José del Cabo, where they composed much of the album.[4] In the video, they are cast opposite Mexican actress Julieta Grajales, with whom they have a "sentimental relationship".[15]

"Angels" and "Conversation" were released as singles on October 8[7] and December 3,[8] respectively, and their videos were shot on the same day at Steve Vai's house.[15] The latter shows two versions of LP discussing with each other.[8] The lyrics are a self-conversation in which they try to convince themself to carry on with a relationship, and they also saw the song as a love letter to their ex-girlfriend and fellow musician Lauren Ruth Ward.[15][13] It was co-produced by Nate Campany and Kyle Shearer.[13][11]

"Yes" tells the story of how John Lennon and Yoko Ono met during a latter's art exhibit.[15] "Can't Let You Leave" was inspired by the same person who inspired their 2015 hit "Lost on You". Its initial chords are performed on the same guitar LP used to compose the song years before.[15] "Poem", the closing track, was the last song to be written and performed for the album.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Independent[1]

Helen Brown from The Independent called the album "confidently genre-fluid, it fills its sails with powerful blasts of synth pop; tilts and tumbles on the choppier waves of indie rock and drifts on peaceful currents of ukulele-plucked folk." She finished the review by saying that "Churches is LP at their best: cursing and worshipping at love’s altar."[1]

Writing for Renowned for Sound, Mike Corner compared the title track to Hozier's "Take Me to Church" and pointed out the diversity of the album (instrumentally-wise) while commenting that love remains its main subject matter.[17]

Track listing

All music produced by Mike Del Rio, except where noted

Churches track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When We Touch"
2:52
2."Goodbye"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Campany
  • Gonzalez
3:46
3."Everybody's Falling in Love"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Campany
  • Gonzalez
3:55
4."The One That You Love"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Campany
  • Gonzalez
3:43
5."Rainbow"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Campany
  • Gonzalez
3:51
6."One Last Time"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Alexander Feder
  • Gonzalez
3:13
7."My Body"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Nicholas Leng
  • Gonzalez
4:02
8."Angels" (co-produced by Valley Girl)
  • Pergolizzi
  • Campany
  • Kyle Shearer
  • Gonzalez
3:39
9."How Low Can You Go"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Campany
  • Gonzalez
3:23
10."Yes"
  • Pergolizzi
  • Lars Stolfer
3:07
11."Conversation" (produced by Valley Girl)
  • Pergolizzi
  • Campany
  • Shearer
4:46
12."Safe Here" (produced by Nigro)
3:42
13."Can't Let You Leave" (co-produced by Summers)
4:20
14."Churches" (co-produced by Dan Wilson)
3:13
15."Poem"Pergolizzi1:16
Total length:52:48

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Churches
Chart (2021–2022) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 54
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 75
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] 88
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[21] 73
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[22] 39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 33

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brown, Helen (December 2, 2021). "LP review, Churches: Celestial pop with a rock'n'roll edge". The Independent. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  2. 1 2 LaPierre, Megan (December 3, 2021). "LP Transcends Genre on New Album 'Churches'". Exclaim!. 1059434 Ontario Inc. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Milligan, Kaitlin (July 23, 2020). "LP Releases New Song & Video 'The One That You Love'". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Mims, Taylor (November 19, 2020). "LP Unveils Haunting New Video For 'How Low Can You Go': Watch". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Michaud, Sarah; Aderoju, Darlene (March 11, 2021). "LP Releases Music Video for 'One Last Time' Starring Pal Jaime King: 'We Are Really Close'". People. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "LP announces new album "Churches", shares video for "Goodbye"". All Around New Music. July 9, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "LP's Single 'Angels' Coming October 8th". AlterLatino Music. 6 October 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mims, Taylor (December 3, 2021). "LP Premieres New 'Conversation' Video, Talks Finally Releasing 'Churches' Album". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mosk, Mitch (December 10, 2021). "On Love, Songwriting, Spirituality & 'Churches': An Interview with LP". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Uitti, Jacob (September 2021). "LP on Her Diverse New LP, 'Churches'". American Songwriter. Savage Media Holdings. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 Major, Michael (November 29, 2021). "LP Announces New Album 'Churches'". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Grant, Sarah (July 29, 2021). "The Church of LP". Spin. Next Management Partners. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Churches: LP estrena su nuevo álbum". Revista VOS (in Spanish). December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Uitti, Jacob (September 22, 2021). "LP: "The ukulele is a serious instrument and it has range – It doesn't have to be cutesy"". Guitar World. Future plc. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "LP lanza "Churches", un álbum mayormente compuesto en México". Infobae. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  16. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (October 11, 2020). "LP Releases Acoustic Performance Video for 'The One That You Love'". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  17. ↑ Corner, Mike. "Album Review: LP – Churches". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – LP – Churches" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Lescharts.com – LP – Church". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – LP – Churches". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  21. ↑ "2022 38-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – LP – Churches". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
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