''Live Forever'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by English-born American musician

Bartees Strange Bartees Leon Cox Jr. (born 1989), known professionally as Bartees Strange, is an English-born American musician. Strange was born in Ipswich, England, raised in Mustang, Oklahoma, and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. Early life Strange was bo ...

. It was released on October 2, 2020, by Memory Music.

Production

The album was recorded in a barn studio in

Wassaic, New York Wassaic ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Amenia, Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 210. Located in southeastern New York in the valley of the Ten Mile River, Wassaic is b ...

, and mastered by American producer Will Yip.

Release

On July 23, 2020, Strange released the first single from the album "Mustang". The single has been described as "something of an indie rock anthem wrapped up in mesmerizing synths, catchy riffs and bombastic vocals." The music video was shot at Bartees Strange's apartment in Washington DC, with director Drew Horen. It was also featured as the Top 8 Best Song of the week by Paste (magazine), Paste on July 24, 2020. and Top 9 Songs of the Week by Under the Radar (magazine), Under the Radar. On August 12, 2020, Strange announced the release of his debut album, along with the second single "Boomer". The single has been described "a tight indie rock track driven by jangly guitars" while the music video shows Strange performing all the song's instruments from his home studio. The third single "Kelly Rowland" was released on September 18, 2020. Along with the deluxe edition, Strange released the new version of the song titled "Free Kelly Rowland" with hip hop group Armand Hammer (music group), Armand Hammer on October 1, 2021.

Composition

The songs on ''Live Forever'' weave in sundry sounds and styles. "Mustang" works in "infectious" guitar-pop, "sweltering" punk rock, punk and "hooky" synth-rock. "Boomer" digs into "giddy" blues rock and hip hop music, hip hop verses. "Flagey God" channels experimental rock and witch house (genre), witch house while working in "propulsive" dance-pop with a R&B chorus.

Critical reception

''Live Forever'' was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an weighted arithmetic mean, average score of 83 based on 6 reviews. At AnyDecentMusic?, which collates album reviews from websites, magazines and newspapers, they gave the release a 7.7 out of 10, based on a critical consensus of 7 reviews. Gareth O'Malley of Beats Per Minute (website), Beats Per Minute wrote: "There’s so much ground covered on Live Forever that its easy to forget that it’s 35 minutes long. Strange’s genreless approach to making music means that its eventual follow-up could explore any of the sonic avenues the album heads down – or something else entirely" Writing for Exclaim!, Adam Feibel explained: "As intriguing as Strange's music already is, Live Forever demonstrates that there's still tremendous potential left to unlock." He went on to say that the release "is itself not quite a masterpiece, but it's a clear picture of someone who's destined for greatness. Bartees Strange is a visionary artist worth watching closely."

Accolades

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2020 debut albums Bartees Strange albums Jazz albums by American artists Jazz rap albums