''Time'' is the third studio album by American musician

Louis Cole Louis Maxwell Cole (born December 5, 1986) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and video producer who is the drummer, keyboardist, bassist and occasional singer of the independent electronic jazz-funk duo Knower. He is sp ...

. It was released on August 10, 2018, on

Brainfeeder Brainfeeder is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California, founded by Flying Lotus in 2008, focusing on electronic music and instrumental hip hop. It has signed artists such as Ras G, Samiyam, The Gaslamp Killer, Thundercat, ...

Background and release

''Time'' was Louis Cole's first album released through

, and his first studio album since his 2011 release ''Album 2''. He was signed to Brainfeeder by the label's founder

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), better known as Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker, and rapper. He has released seven critically acclaimed albums: ''1983'' (2006), ''Los Angeles'' (2008), '' Co ...

, another collaborator of Thundercat, who co-wrote and featured on ''Time'' track "Tunnels in the Air". In an interview with ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site featuring music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 in ...

'', Cole said his influences for the album ranged from the score of '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' to soundtracks of video games such as ''

Star Fox ''Star Fox'' is a rail shooter, space flight simulator, and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto and developed and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic a ...

'' and ''

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''. Cole wrote, recorded, and mixed the album himself in his

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garage over the course of two and a half years. In 2016, Cole released a music video for the album's lead single "Weird Part of the Night" on YouTube. In the lead-up to the album's release in 2018, he also released music videos for "When You're Ugly", "Things", and "Phone". In 2022, "Weird Part of the Night" was included on the soundtrack of the video game ''

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''.

Critical reception

''Time'' was met with critical acclaim. At

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 received an aggregate score of 81 based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". In a positive review for

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 ...

, reviewer Andy Kellman called ''Time'' Louis Cole's "most refined batch of animated pop yet," praising the album's varied combination of "hyperactive and robust numbers" and "elegant, heartfelt material with an equal level of skill." Writing for ''

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 ...

'', reviewer

Philip Sherburne Philip Sherburne is an American journalist, musician and DJ based in Barcelona. He coined the term "Microhouse" (in a 2001 article for ''The Wire'')Cox, Christoph; Daniel Warner (Eds.) (2004). ''Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music''. Continuu ...

also praised the album, stating "Louis Cole's sidelong blend of hard funk and soft pop—aided by guest spots from Thundercat and

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, touring and recording while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's quar ...

—remains delightfully sly and off-kilter." In a review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', staff writer Randall Roberts praised the "chops and wit" of the album, writing that its "14 tracks merge synthetic funk, hip-hop, indie soul and a love of life." In a mostly positive review for ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'', contributor Simon Edwards called ''Time'' "imperfect but refreshing," describing the album as "funny, funky, and unconcerned by looking like a bit-of-a-dick on the dancefloor."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 2018 albums Brainfeeder albums Funk albums by American artists Louis Cole albums