Broken (Soulsavers album) explained

Broken
Type:studio
Artist:Soulsavers
Cover:Soulsavers Broken.jpg
Released:17 August 2009
Recorded:2008–2009
Studio:
  • Glenwood Place Studios, Los Angeles
  • The Hobby Shop, Los Angeles
  • Mike Patton's place, San Francisco
  • Gibby Haynes' place, New York City
  • Dustin O'Halloran's place, Berlin
  • Strongroom, London
  • Assault and Battery, London
  • Casa G, London
  • First Love Studios, Nottingham
  • Highfield St. Studios, Liverpool
  • 301 Studios, Sydney
Genre:
Length:64:52
Label:
  • V2
  • Cooperative Music
Producer:Soulsavers
Prev Title:It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land
Prev Year:2007
Next Title:The Light the Dead See
Next Year:2012

Broken is the third full-length studio album by English-American production team Soulsavers, and their second album predominantly featuring Mark Lanegan as lead vocalist. The album was released by V2 and Cooperative Music in the UK on 17 August 2009, and released by Columbia Records in the US in September 2009 as a digital download.[1]

Broken features a roster of guest musicians, including Mike Patton, Gibby Haynes, Richard Hawley, Jason Pierce, Richard Warren and Dustin O'Halloran. In addition to Lanegan, the album also includes several songs featuring Australian singer-songwriter Rosa Agostino, who performs under the moniker Red Ghost, as lead vocalist.

Background

As with their 2007 album It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land, a collaboration with Mark Lanegan and a host of guest vocalists, Broken once again features Lanegan as the primary vocalist, as well as contributions from Bonnie "Prince" Billy (Will Oldham), Jason Pierce (of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3), Mike Patton (of Faith No More), Richard Hawley, and Gibby Haynes (of Butthole Surfers).[2] The non-album single "Sunrise", a song written by Lanegan and sung by Will Oldham, preceded the album release on 3 August 2009. The AA-side is a cover of Palace Brothers' "You Will Miss Me When I Burn", written by Oldham and sung by Lanegan, that also features on the album. Additionally, the album features a cover of Gene Clark's 1974 opus "Some Misunderstanding", and a cover of Lanegan's own "Praying Ground" from his 1998 album Scraps at Midnight.

In a press release for the album, Rich Machin described Broken as the result of Soulsavers' live incarnation. "Touring has definitely brought the guitars to the front of Broken and it's got a more soulful twist too. And though it clearly has some very dark overtones, I don't think it's quite as dark as the last.[3] The album was recorded over 2008 and 2009 in Los Angeles and North England, and also features the vocals of newcomer Red Ghost, the performing moniker of Rosa Agostino. According to Rich, "This young Australian girl from Sydney kept on sending me demos... and she was better than most everything else we'd heard. We traded ideas, and it really gelled."[3]

Critical reception

Critical response to Broken was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 78, based on 11 reviews.[4]

Singles

Credits

Musicians
Production

Notes and References

  1. https://pitchfork.com/news/35600-news-in-brief-soulsavers-matthew-sweet-and-susanna-hoffs-the-howling-bells-teenbeat-takeover/ News in Brief: Soulsavers, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, the Howling Bells, Teenbeat Takeover
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/04/mark-lanegan-soulsavers-album Mark Lanegan and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy for new Soulsavers album
  3. Web site: Soulsavers' Broken – Press Release . 2 July 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090720042908/http://www.onewhiskey.com/articles/soulsavers0609.htm . 20 July 2009 . dead .
  4. https://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/soulsavers/broken?q=soulsavers Broken reviews at Metacritic.com