Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[2]
Exclaim!8/10[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Independent[5]
Pitchfork7.3/10[6]
Resident Advisor4.0/5[7]
Vice (Expert Witness)A−[8]

Listening to Pictures is a studio album by Jon Hassell. It was released on his own record label, Ndeya, on June 8, 2018.[9] It peaked at number 34 on the UK Dance Albums Chart,[10] as well as number 34 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.[11]

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84% based on 10 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[1]

John Lewis of The Guardian gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "Hassell's electronic soundscapes recall the work of Oneohtrix Point Never, Boards of Canada or Aphex Twin."[4] He added, "Hassell is into exploring the multiple layers that exist in his sound, what he calls 'vertical listening' – and this is certainly dense, endlessly mutating music that rewards multiple listenings."[4] Dave Beech of The Independent gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "it's not an album that strives for immediacy, but is best soaked in over multiple listens."[5] Robert Ham of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.3 out of 10, saying: "Its eight tracks are teeming with strands of melody and unbound rhythms that have been meticulously constructed into groaning towers of sound."[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jon Hassell

No.TitleLength
1."Dreaming"6:08
2."Picnic"5:58
3."Slipstream"2:54
4."Al Kongo Udu"5:12
5."Pastorale Vassant"3:59
6."Manga Scene"5:44
7."Her First Rain"1:38
8."Ndeya"7:06

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Charts

Chart Peak
position
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[10] 34
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[11] 34

References

  1. ^ a b "Listening to Pictures (Pentimento Volume I) by Jon Hassell". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  2. ^ May, Chris (April 23, 2018). "Jon Hassell: Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume One)". All About Jazz. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Sylvester, Daniel (June 5, 2018). "Jon Hassell: Listening to Pictures (Pentimento Volume One)". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, John (May 25, 2018). "Contemporary album of the month – Jon Hassell: Listening to Pictures (Pentimento Volume I)". The Guardian. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Kaplan, Ilana; Beech, Dave (June 6, 2018). "Album reviews: Lykke Li's 'so sad, so sexy', Gruff Rhys's 'Babelsberg' and more". The Independent. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Ham, Robert (June 8, 2018). "Jon Hassell: Listening to Pictures (Pentimento Volume One)". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Coultate, Aaron (June 12, 2018). "Jon Hassell - Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume One)". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 15, 2018). "Robert Christgau on Jon Hassell's "Anxiety-Easing, Life-Enhancing" New LP". Noisey. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  9. ^ Coultate, Aaron (April 5, 2018). "Jon Hassell returns with Listening To Pictures, his first album in nine years". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40: 15 June 2018 - 21 June 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50: 15 June 2018 - 21 June 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
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