''Pageant'' is the second and final studio album by American queer punk duo

Pwr Bttm Pwr Bttm (disemvoweling of Power Bottom), stylized PWR BTTM, was an American queer punk duo formed in 2013 at Bard College by Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce. The duo's debut album, ''Ugly Cherries'', was released in 2015. Their second studio album, ...

. Originally released by

Polyvinyl In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers are ...

and

Big Scary Monsters Big Scary Monsters Recording Company (often known simply as Big Scary Monsters or BSM Records) is an independent record label based in Oxford, England. Its releases include American Football, Lambrini Girls, La Dispute, Modern Baseball, La ...

, the album's release was preceded by sexual abuse allegations against Pwr Bttm member Ben Hopkins. Both labels dropped the band from their rosters and ceased production and distribution of ''Pageant'', providing refunds to those who pre-ordered the record. ''Pageant'' was also pulled from music streaming services. The album debuted on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

on May 19, 2017, at no. 46.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the album holds an average critic score of 85, based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". With respect to the allegations of sexual abuse against band member Ben Hopkins, Sasha Geffen of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' commented on ''Pageant'', saying, "What was a document of queer exuberance has now become a hollow sequence of songs, from a band whose sentiments were maybe always shallow."

Commercial performance

''Pageant'' charted for one week at position 5 on the US Heatseekers Albums chart for the week of June 3, 2017. It also charted for one week at position 31 on the US Independent Albums chart for the week of June 3, 2017. In the UK, the album debuted on the Indie Chart on May 19, 2017 at position 46.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Pageant'' album liner notes. * Cameron West – arrangement, French horn * Christopher Daly – production, arrangement (7) * Rami Dahdal – arrangement * Kiley Lotz – backing vocals * Adele Stein – cello * New Paltz BTTMs Choir – choir (5) * Travis DeJong – engineering * Isabel Gleicher – flute * Jamal Ruhe – mastering, guitar * Chris Hopkins – soprano vocals * Nicolas Davis – trumpet * Sarah Haines – viola * Jennifer Hinkle – bass trombone

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Pwr Bttm albums Polyvinyl Record Co. albums Big Scary Monsters Recording Company albums