Excelsior
A faint green flipped Mars/male symbol on a grey square, with several small squares of colour in the bottom left-hand corner.
Studio album by
Slauson Malone 1
ReleasedOctober 6, 2023
Length42:03
LabelWarp
Producer
  • Jasper Marsalis
  • Andrew Lappin
  • Nicky Wetherell
Slauson Malone 1 chronology
A Quiet Farwell, 2016–2018
(2019)		 Excelsior
(2023)

Excelsior is the second studio album by American musician Jasper Marsalis, and his first under the alias Slauson Malone 1. The album was released on October 6, 2023, by Warp Records, Marsalis' first release with the label.

Background and release

On August 15, 2023, Warp Records announced that they had signed Marsalis, and released his debut single with the label, "Voyager".[1][2] "Voyager" came with a music video directed by Ryosuke Tanzawa.[1] The song was described as sounding "like the familiar aesthetics of hip-hop and soul fed into a wormhole and pulled out the other end, indelibly stretched and scarred by the ordeal."[2]

On September 5, Marsalis announced the album, set for an October 6 release by Warp, and released the album's second single, "New Joy", with a music video codirected by himself and Injury Reserve and By Storm's Parker Corey.[3] On October 3, Marsalis released the third single, "Half-Life", with a lyric video.[4]

The album is Marsalis' first under the alias Slauson Malone 1, having previously released A Quiet Farwell, 2016–2018 as just Slauson Malone.[4] The song "Undercommons" is named after an essay collection by the Black cultural theorists Fred Moten and Stefano Harney.[5]

Style

The album includes a long list of genres, including no wave,[5][6] free jazz,[5][6] chamber music,[5] modern classical,[5][6] psychedelic rock,[5][7] bedroom pop,[5][6] noise rock,[5] reggae,[5][7] indie folk,[5] lo-fi hip hop,[8][6] surf-pop,[8] indie pop,[8] avant rock,[7] dub,[7] and baroque pop.[7] Bandcamp Daily's Stephanie Barclay described the genre span as a "shapeshifting restlessness" where "you never know what you'll get next".[6] Marsalis sings and plays several instruments on the album, including guitar, theremin, Mellotron, and Wurlitzer, while Nicky Wetherell provides cello.[5] Other instruments include tape loops,[5][7] harpsichord,[5] bass,[5] drums,[7] electronics,[8] strings,[7][8] and synthesizers.[7][8]

Reception

Excelsior ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Pitchfork7.4/10[5]

The Quietus' Arusa Qureshi called the album "a fascinating and hypnotic listen."[8] AllMusic's Paul Simpson called the album "another vulnerable expression of raw truth that takes dozens of listens to begin to decipher, but it's entirely worth the effort."[7] Barclay wrote that Marsalis' "restless searching" on the album "doesn't get exhausting", and that "it's easy enough to press play on this album and find yourself along for the ride, wherever it's going."[6]

Year-end lists

Excelsior on year-end lists
Publication # Ref.
Crack 27 [9]
The Quietus 14 [10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jasper Marsalis except where noted. All tracks produced by Marsalis and Andrew Lappin except where noted.

Excelsior track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducersLength
1."The Weather"  2:41
2."House Music"  3:11
3."Undercommons"  1:49
4."Olde Joy"  2:29
5."New Joy"  3:17
6."Arms, Armor" Marsalis1:05
7."Fission for Drums, Piano and Voice" Marsalis0:36
8."Love Letter Zzz"  2:12
9."Half-Life"
  • Marsalis
  • Group Climate
 4:45
10."The Great Wedge" Marsalis0:28
11."I Hear a New World"
 2:32
12."No! (Geiger Dub)"
  • Marsalis
  • Meek
 3:13
13."Destroyer X" 
  • Lappin
  • Nicky Wetherell
1:54
14."Voyager"  3:10
15."Divider"  2:02
16."Challenger"  1:27
17."Decades, Castle Romeo"
  • Marsalis
  • Lappin
  • Wetherell
  • Marsalis
  • Lappin
  • Wetherell
3:47
18."Us (Tower of Love)"
  • Marsalis
  • Lappin
  • Wetherell
 1:25
Total length:42:03

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Murray, Robin (August 16, 2023). "Slauson Malone 1 Signs to Warp Records". Clash. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Helfand, Raphael (August 15, 2023). "Song You Need: Slauson Malone 1 reflects on pain from a place beyond time". The Fader. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ Helfand, Raphael (September 5, 2023). "Slauson Malone 1 announces new album Excelsior". The Fader. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Darville, Jordan (October 3, 2023). "Slauson Malone 1 shares new single "Half-Life"". The Fader. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Brown, T.M. (October 16, 2023). "Slauson Malone 1: Excelsior Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Barclay, Stephanie (October 27, 2023). "Essential Releases, October 27, 2023". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Simpson, Paul. "Slauson Malone 1 - Excelsior". AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Qureshi, Arusa (October 5, 2023). "Slauson Malone 1 - Excelsior". The Quietus. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. ↑ Kalia, Ammar (December 4, 2023). "The Top 50 Albums of the Year". pp. Crack. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  10. ↑ Qureshi, Arusa (December 4, 2023). "Quietus Albums of the Year 2023". The Quietus. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
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