Sirens (Nicolás Jaar album)

Sirens
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
Genre
Length41:47
LabelOther People
ProducerNicolas Jaar
Nicolás Jaar chronology
Pomegranates
(2015)
Sirens
(2016)
2012–2017
(2018)
Alternative cover
Deluxe edition album cover
Deluxe edition album cover

Sirens is the second studio album by composer and electronic music artist Nicolás Jaar, released on September 30, 2016 by Other People. Influenced by Chilean history and politics, as well as his own personal life, Sirens has received acclaim from both independent music and electronic music publications.

On December 8, 2017, Sirens Deluxe was issued, featuring three bonus songs woven into the album. Jaar said of this version: "this deluxe version of the record is what it should have been all along but i got scared of "coin [In Nine Hands]" and decided against it at the last minute.. but then i started performing coin at every show... i couldn't get it out of me..everything floats to the surface at some point.."[1]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[2]
Metacritic79/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Consequence of SoundB[5]
Exclaim!8/10[6]
The Guardian[7]
Mixmag9/10[8]
Pitchfork8.7/10[9]
PopMatters9/10[10]
Q[11]
Resident Advisor4.5/5[12]
XLR8R9/10[13]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Sirens received an average score of 79, based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3] Jonah Bromwich, writing for Pitchfork, gave Sirens a positive review, stating, "Sirens is a thoughtful study in contrasts, both musical and political. It's only Nicolas Jaar's second LP, but it is the mark of an enduring electronic composer"; he gave the album a "Best New Music" designation.[9] Nina Corcoran, writing for Consequence of Sound, said, "Though it seems fleeting, Jaar’s hypnotizing songs cradle you until you reach a point of illumination, a bubble of sound that feels limitless in its elongated, looped second, a dance to softened fragments."[5]

Rolling Stone named it the #1 Electronic Album of 2016.

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
Rolling Stone The 20 Best Electronic Albums of 2016 2016
1
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
29
Pitchfork The 20 Best Electronic Albums of 2016 2016
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
20
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2016
44
The Skinny Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
27

Track listing

[edit]

CD and digital

[edit]

All tracks are written by Nicolas Jaar

Original pressing
No.TitleLength
1."Killing Time"11:14
2."The Governor"6:50
3."Leaves"3:30
4."No"6:34
5."Three Sides of Nazareth"9:55
6."History Lesson"3:44
Total length:41:47

Some digital editions include "Wildflowers" as a 5:34-long, unsegued bonus track, whereas the pressings listed below include segues in and out of that song.

Japanese CD pressing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Killing Time" 11:14
2."Wildflowers"
5:28
3."The Governor" 6:50
4."Leaves" 3:30
5."No" 6:34
6."Three Sides of Nazareth" 9:55
7."History Lesson" 3:44
Total length:47:21

Vinyl

[edit]

Original pressing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mirrors" 3:18
2."Killing Time" 6:48
3."Sirens" 1:16
4."Wildflowers"
5:28
5."The Governor" 6:50
Total length:23:38
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Leaves"3:30
2."No"6:34
3."Three Sides of Nazareth"9:55
4."History Lesson"3:44
Total length:23:43

"Mirrors", "Killing Time" and "Sirens", together, are the same as "Killing Time" on the standard CD pressing.

Sirens Deluxe

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Killing Time" 11:14
2."Wildflowers"
5:28
3."The Governor" 6:50
4."A Coin in Nine Hands" 8:03
5."Leaves" 3:30
6."No" 6:34
7."Three Sides of Nazareth" 9:55
8."History Lesson" 3:44
9."America/I'm for the Birds" (listed as "America! I'm for the Birds" on digital copies) 4:06
Total length:59:29

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 118
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 78
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 66
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[24] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 92

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Pearl, Max (5 December 2017). "Nicolas Jaar to release new version of his Sirens album with unheard material". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Sirens by Nicolas Jaar reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Reviews for Sirens by Nicolas Jaar". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Sirens – Nicolas Jaar". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b Corcoran, Nina (5 October 2016). "Nicolas Jaar – Sirens". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  6. ^ Carlick, Stephen (6 October 2016). "Nicolas Jaar: Sirens". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ^ Muggs, Joe (29 September 2016). "Nicolas Jaar: Sirens review – electronic noodling hypnotises, frustrates, dazzles". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Nicolas Jaar 'Sirens' (Other People)". Mixmag. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ^ a b Bromwich, Jonah (29 September 2016). "Nicolas Jaar: Sirens". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  10. ^ Smith, Tanner (23 November 2016). "Nicolas Jaar: Sirens". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  11. ^ McEwen, Simon (December 2016). "Nicolas Jaar: Sirens". Q (366): 109.
  12. ^ Ryce, Andrew (30 September 2016). "Nicolas Jaar – Sirens". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  13. ^ Murphy, Ben (30 September 2016). "Nicolas Jaar: Sirens". XLR8R. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  14. ^ "20 Best EDM and Electronic Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. December 16, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  15. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2016". Consequence of Sound. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  16. ^ "The 20 Best Electronic Albums of 2016". Pitchfork. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  17. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016 - Page 4". Pitchfork. December 16, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  18. ^ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  19. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2016". The Skinny. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nicolas Jaar – Sirens" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nicolas Jaar – Sirens" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nicolas Jaar – Sirens" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nicolas Jaar – Sirens" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  24. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Nicolas Jaar – Sirens". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2016.