Infinite Things

''Infinite Things'' is the fifth studio album by British singer Paloma Faith, released through Sony Music on 13 November 2020.

Background

Faith's fourth studio album '' The Architect'' became her first album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. Almost a year later, she released a special edition of the album, named the ''Zeitgeist Edition'', containing other songs that were made during the making of the songs from the standard album. Aside from her album, she also became a figure for automobile manufacturing company Å koda, recording two covers " Make Your Own Kind of Music" and "I've Gotta Be Me" for two of their adverts that ran in 2018 and 2019, respectively. At the end of 2019, she said she would like to release a new album next year.

In early 2020, she released the song " Mistakes" in collaboration with tropical house record producer Jonas Blue, which sparked the first rumours on possibly releasing an album. She talked about the song, saying "I feel so excited about 'Mistakes'. I am a huge fan of MNEK who co-wrote the song and also of the dance power of Jonas. I can't help but move to this tune. It's a banger!" Just before announcing the album in September 2020, she revealed on her social media that she was pregnant with her second child with her current partner Leyman Lahcine, with whom she already had a three-year-old daughter.

She announced the album under the title ''Infinite Things'' on 25 September 2020 and revealed that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she learned how to engineer the entirety of the record before she penned it to be released and nearly went as far as scrapping it and starting all over again from scratch. She also revealed that, as well as exploring relationships and love, the record is also reflective in topics of sickness and loss. Faith has also worked with a host of songwriters on the album, including Faouzia, MNEK and Josef Salvat. Sigrid also wrote a song on the album and is the only one that wasn't written by Faith herself, as stated on iTunes.

Singles

The album's lead single, " Better Than This" was released on 5 September 2020, along with an accompanying music video, directed by David Wilson, published onto YouTube a few days after. Faith described the song as one of "enduring love" in a time of violence. "Gold" was made the album's second single on 29 October 2020. The song is accompanied by a video filmed in Hackney, which sees Paloma using an abandoned building site as the stage for a dramatic performance alongside a choir and a host of dancers. Faith said about the song, "'Gold' is the only song on the album which wasn't recorded in my basement. It was recorded at Steve Mac's studio, who penned the song with the wonderful Sigrid. As a result it embodies freedom and joy and a celebration of life, perfect escapism for a time when we need to remember we are free spirits. 'Gold' is a song about how the spirit conquers everything and whatever you are going through your true virtues are inside you." "Monster" was made the album's third single on 7 May 2021. The official music video was released on the same day.

Promotional singles

On 16 October 2020, Faith released "Falling Down" as the first promotional single from the album. "Last Night on Earth" followed on 23 October.

Critical reception

Matt Collar of AllMusic praised ''Infinite Things'' for its emotional depth and memorable choruses, describing the album as a successful outcome of Faith's artistic choices. Will Hodgkinson of ''The Times'' offered a more critical perspective, suggesting that despite the album’s artistic presentation and promises of creative reinvention, the music ultimately falls back on predictable, mainstream pop conventions.

Track listing

Notes

* signifies a vocal producer.
* signifies an additional producer.
* signifies a miscellaneous or co-producer

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Infinite Things''.

Performers and musicians

*Paloma Faith – vocals
*Nosa Apollo – programming
*Kevin Banks – electric guitar
*Zara Benyounes – violin , viola
*Ryan Coughlin – bass guitar , acoustic guitar , electric guitar
*Peter Daley – keys , piano
*Rosie Danvers – cello
*Sam Dixon – bass
* Louis Dowdeswell – trumpet
*Jack Duxbury – synths , guitar , organ , bass
*Grades – drums , bass , keyboards , synthesizer , programming
*Ed Harcourt – background vocals , drums , organ , percussion , piano , synthesizers
*Jamie Hartman – piano
*Jamie N Commons – keys , programming , background vocals
*Tre Jean-Marie – drums , bass , keyboards , synthesizer , programming , piano , guitar , rhodes
*Gita Langley – violin
*Chris Laws – drums
*Nathaniel "Detonate" Ledwidge – keyboard programming , pianos , bass , guitars , drums
*Martin Lovatt – trumpet
*Steve Mac – keyboards
*Janelle Martin – background vocals
*Howard McGill – saxophones
*Naomi Miller – background vocals
*Baby N'Sola – background vocals
*Nayla "Sillkey" Nyassa – piano , organ
*John Parricelli – guitars
*Kerenza Peacock – violin , viola
*Richard Pryce – double bass
*Jordan Riley – drums , keyboards , bass , programming
* Davide Rossi – all strings
* Josef Salvat – background vocals
* Starsmith – guitars , synthesizers , keyboards , drum programming
*Dave Stewart – trombone
*Aisha Stuart – background vocals
*TommyD – keyboard
*Dylan Wiggins – guitar
*Martin Williams – saxophones
*Patrick Wimberly – synths , drum programming , drums , piano , keys
*Wired Strings – strings
*Andy Wood – trombone

Production

*Paloma Faith – vocal production , engineering
*Charlie Handsome – production
*Khaya Cohen – additional production
* Mark Crew – production , recording , mixing
*James Cunningham – assistant mix engineering
*Rosie Danvers – string arranging , brass arranging , arranging
*Nat Dunn – vocal production , engineering
*Duncan Fuller – assistant engineering
*Chris Gehringer – mastering
*Serban Ghenea – mixing
*Grades – production
*John Hanes – mix engineering
*Ed Harcourt – production , engineering , recording
*Jamie Hartman – production
*Tre Jean-Marie – production , additional production
*Chris Laws – engineering
*Nathaniel "Detonate" Ledwidge – production , engineering
*Steve Mac – production
*Jamie McEvoy – vocal production , engineering
*Dann Pursey – engineering
*James F. Reynolds – mixing
*Jordan Riley – production
*Miles B.A. Robinson – engineering
*Jamie Snell – mixing
* Starsmith – production
* Styalz – production
*TommyD – string session production
*Ewan Vickery – mixing assistant
*Martin Williams – brass arranging
*Patrick Wimberly – production , engineering
*Lewis Wright – engineering

Design and art direction

*Theo Adams – creative direction
*Phoebe Arnold – styling
*Louie Banks – cover photography
*Chieska Fortune-Smith – photography
*Danny Hyland – set design
*Eamonn Hughes – hairstyling
*Imarni – nails
*Chris Murdoch – creative production
*Nick Royal – styling
*Masumi Saito – movement direction
*Daniel Sällström – makeup
*Leandro Pitz Schroeder – art direction

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

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2020 albums
Paloma Faith albums
Sony Music UK albums
Albums produced by Tre Jean-Marie