Ruins
Studio album by
Grouper
ReleasedOctober 31, 2014
Recorded
  • 2004 ("Made of Air")
  • 2011
Genre
Length39:41
LabelKranky
ProducerLiz Harris
Grouper chronology
The Man Who Died in His Boat
(2013)		 Ruins
(2014)		 Grid of Points
(2018)
Singles from Ruins
  1. "Call Across Rooms"
    Released: September 10th, 2014
  2. "Holding"
    Released: October 24th, 2014[1]

Ruins is the tenth studio album by American musician Liz Harris under the stage name Grouper. It was released in the United States on October 31, 2014 on Kranky.

Recording

In a statement accompanying the announcement of the album's release, Liz Harris described its recording process:

Ruins was made in Aljezur, Portugal in 2011 on a residency set up by Galeria Zé dos Bois. I recorded everything there except the last song, which I did at mother's house in 2004. Iʼm still surprised by what I wound up with. It was the first time Iʼd sat still for a few years; processed a lot of political anger and emotional garbage. Recorded pretty simply, with a portable 4-track, Sony stereo mic and an upright piano. When I wasnʼt recording songs I was hiking several miles to the beach. The path wound through the ruins of several old estates and a small village. The album is a document. A nod to that daily walk. Failed structures. Living in the remains of love. I left the songs the way they came (microwave beep from when power went out after a storm); I hope that the album bears some resemblance to the place that I was in.[2]

While in Portugal, where she stayed in a house owned by the aunt of music director Sérgio Hydalgo, Harris listened to records by Carlos Paredes, Nina Simone and Leonard Cohen.[3]

Regarding "Call Across Rooms", Harris stated that "the song is on one level very plain and literal, about a letter I wrote for someone I loved and could not get along with. On a more subconscious, poetic level, it is a letter to myself, as aspiration to love better."[4]

The "microwave beep" occurs at the end of "Labyrinth".

Release

On August 14, 2014, Harris announced the album's title.[2] Prior to the album's October 31 release, the tracks "Call Across Rooms" and "Holding" were released, both of which were awarded Pitchfork's "Best New Track" status.[5][6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[7]
Metacritic80/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Clash9/10[10]
Consequence of SoundB[11]
Drowned in Sound8/10[12]
Fact4.5/5[13]
Mojo[14]
NME8/10[15]
Pitchfork8.8/10[16]
PopMatters7/10[17]
Uncut6/10[18]

Upon its release, Ruins received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an average score of 80, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 19 reviews.[8] Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork awarded Ruins the site's "Best New Music" title and dubbed it "achingly beautiful and, given the intensely private nature of most of Grouper's work... almost unnervingly direct."[16] Ruins was later named the fifth best album of 2014 on Pitchfork. The album also placed 13th in The Wire's annual critics' poll.[19]

In 2018, Pitchfork ranked Ruins at number 18 on its list of the 30 best dream pop albums.[20]

Track listing

All music is composed by Liz Harris

No.TitleLength
1."Made of Metal"1:39
2."Clearing"4:42
3."Call Across Rooms"2:59
4."Labyrinth"3:48
5."Lighthouse"5:44
6."Holofernes"1:33
7."Holding"7:57
8."Made of Air"11:24
Total length:39:41

References

  1. ↑ Minsker, Evan. "Tracks: "Holding" - Grouper". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 Gordon, Jeremy (August 14, 2014). "Grouper Announces New Album Ruins". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ Finlayson, Angus (October 30, 2014). ""I felt incapable of finding love": Grouper opens up about isolation and her stunning new album Ruins". Fact. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ Alex, Frank. "Listen to Grouper's Lullaby of a New Song, "Call Across Rooms"". Vogue. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  5. ↑ Geffen, Sasha (September 10, 2014). "Grouper: "Call Across Rooms"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ Minsker, Evan (October 24, 2014). "Grouper: "Holding"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ruins by Grouper reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Reviews for Ruins by Grouper". Metacritic. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  9. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Ruins – Grouper". AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  10. ↑ Diver, Mike (October 13, 2014). "Grouper – Ruins". Clash. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  11. ↑ Corcoran, Nina (October 28, 2014). "Grouper – Ruins". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  12. ↑ Lewis, Sam (October 28, 2014). "Album Review: Grouper – Ruins". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  13. ↑ Kalev, Maya (November 10, 2014). "Ruins". Fact. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Grouper: Ruins". Mojo (253): 92. December 2014.
  15. ↑ Levine, Nick (November 9, 2014). "Grouper – 'Ruins'". NME. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Sherburne, Philip (October 28, 2014). "Grouper: Ruins". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  17. ↑ Heaton, Dave (November 5, 2014). "Grouper: Ruins". PopMatters. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Grouper: Ruins". Uncut (212): 71. January 2015.
  19. ↑ "2014 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 371. London. January 2015. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
  20. ↑ "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums". Pitchfork. April 16, 2018. p. 2. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
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