''Courtesy of Choice'' is the second studio album by electronic music artist
Leila, released by
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.
It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...
in 2000. It features vocal contributions from Roya Arab, Donna Paul, and Luca Santucci.
Critical reception
Denise Benson of ''
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' called the album "creative, highly listenable, unpretentious electronic music at its best."
[ Peter Murphy of '']Hot Press
''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
History
''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...
'' described it as "a master class in designer distortion and dynamic range."[ Jim Carroll of '']The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' wrote that "Leila's warm and bittersweet electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
entices and enthralls in slow, swinging, stinging sweeps," stating that "she prefers to use colour and shade and fragments of songs rather than simply relying on monochrome beats and moods."AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
stated that "the material isn't memorable and it doesn't take enough of a stance in any one genre to make much of an impact ..the overall effect is more of a drugged stupor than the desired atmospheric soundscape."[
'']NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' named it the 38th best album of 2000.
Track listing
The vinyl version contains an additional track, titled "Relax the Pleasure Dome", between "From Before... What?" and "Sodastream".
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
* Leila – production
* Tim Giles – drums
* Benet Walsh – clarinet
* Luca Santucci – vocals (on "Brave", "Sodastream", "To Win Her Love", and "To Tell a Lie")
* Donna Paul – vocals (on "Work" and "I Won't Forget")
* Roya Arab – vocals (on "Different Time")
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2000 albums
Leila (music producer) albums
XL Recordings albums