Nico Muhly
Confessions
Release Date: Oct 21, 2016
Genre(s): Classical, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Chamber Pop, Vocal Music
Record label: Nonesuch
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Album Review: Confessions by Nico Muhly
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Confessions is the debut recording of a collaboration between Faroese singer/songwriter Teitur (Teitur Lassen) and American composer Nico Muhly that dates back to 2009 when Muhly was composer-in-residence at the Netherlands' Muziekgebouw Frits Philips. The project was inspired by the early days of social networking and the phenomenon of people uploading mundane, sometimes uniquely self-revealing home videos, specifically to YouTube. Originally conceived as a shorter set for multimedia live performance, it grew to 14 songs that they recorded with the Holland Baroque ensemble.
Based on rating 6/10
The confessions on Confessions, a collaboration between American composer Nico Muhly and Faroese singer-songwriter Teitur, are not of the sinful kind. Shock value and cheap thrills are eschewed in favor of creating beauty from the mundane, exposing unspoken thoughts and everyday secrets against a lacy backdrop of Baroque chamber music from Dutch ensemble Holland Baroque. As a singer, Teitur has always worn his heart on his sleeve, and that vulnerability is a necessity to breathe heartstring-tugging life into free verse that borders on rambling at times.
Opinion: Excellent
On Confessions, Teitur—a Faroese singer with a quintessentially Scandi-lilt to his voice, à la Sondre Lerche or a Jens Lekman—draws inspiration from the commoner stuff of life. “The cat is stuck, in a tree,” he bemoans, very matter-of-factly, on ‘"Cat Rescue". He contemplates the tribulations of nicotine addiction on "I Smoke": “I always start to smoke, in the summer, when I’m happy.” He depicts a passing sense of déjà vu: “don’t I know you from somewhere?”.
'Confessions'
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