Fading Frontier

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Fading Frontier
Deerhunter - Fading Frontier album artwork.jpg
Studio album by Deerhunter
Released October 16, 2015 (2015-10-16)
Genre
Length 36:02
Label 4AD
Producer
  • Deerhunter
  • Ben H. Allen
Deerhunter chronology
Monomania
(2013)Monomania2013		 Fading Frontier
(2015)
Singles from Fading Frontier
  1. "Snakeskin"
    Released: August 16, 2015
  2. "Breaker"
    Released: September 15, 2015
  3. "Living My Life"
    Released: October 13, 2015

Fading Frontier is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Deerhunter. It was released on October 16, 2015 via 4AD.[4]

Background

In December 2014, Bradford Cox was involved in a car crash which left him "seriously injured, but also provided a perspective-giving jolt". Prior to the release of Fading Frontier, Cox stated that the accident "erased all illusions" and admitted that it was a definite turning point for him. Fading Frontier is Deerhunter's and Cox's first release since the accident.[5] This album saw the departure of Frankie Broyles, who left the band in 2015 to focus on his solo career.[6]

Release and promotion

Fading Frontier was announced via a countdown timer on Deerhunter's website, which ended on 16 August 2015.[7]

The first single released was "Snakeskin" on August 17,[8] followed up with "Breaker" on September 15, of which the video was directed by Cox himself.[9]

The cover art for the album is a photograph titled "Zuma" by the artist John Divola.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 81/100[11]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[12]
The A.V. Club A–[13]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[14]
Mojo 4/5 stars[15]
NME 5/5[16]
Pitchfork Media 8.4/10[2]
Q 3/5 stars[17]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[18]
Slant Magazine 4/5 stars[19]
Spin 9/10[20]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 81, based on 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[11]

Consequence of Sound critic Sheldon Pearce wrote that the album is an "one more gem from a well-traveled band that’s still finding new territory to explore."[1] NME critic Barry Nicholson praised the record and gave it a perfect score, describing it as "a remarkable album, one that only grows more awesome with each listen."[16] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media awarded the album with a "Best New Music" tag and wrote: "If there isn't a Deerhunter sound, there's a Deerhunter perspective that runs through their work, best summed up in 'All the Same'—'take your handicaps/ Channel them and feed them back/ Until they become your strengths.' The weird era continues."[2] In The Guardian, Alex Petridis noted the album's more mainstream sound: "there are so many straightforwardly commercial-sounding songs here," he observed, "that Fading Frontier could conceivably be an album that turns Deerhunter from cult concern into mainstream success."[14] Citing a lack of angst and urgency in comparison to previous efforts, Exclaim!'s Anna Alger wrote that "On Fading Frontier, Deerhunter focus on their ability as a band to hypnotize and confound, which make the explosive moments here stand out that much more."[21]

In a less favorable review, Clash critic Sam Walker-Smart wrote that the record "is by no means a poor album, and truth be told really doesn't possess a bad number on it." Nevertheless, he added: "When the oddities on this album ride so high they should have let complete weirdness take over." [22]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
The Guardian The Best Albums of 2015 2015
12[23]
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2015 2015
14[24]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
30[25]
Readers' Top 50 Albums 2015
14[26]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
42[27]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Bradford Cox, except "Ad Astra" by Lockett Pundt. 

No. Title Length
1. "All the Same"   3:05
2. "Living My Life"   3:49
3. "Breaker"   3:31
4. "Duplex Planet"   2:40
5. "Take Care"   4:12
6. "Leather and Wood"   5:55
7. "Snakeskin"   4:20
8. "Ad Astra"   5:32
9. "Carrion"   2:58

Personnel

Credits for the album were adapted from a press release by 4AD.[4]

Deerhunter

Additional musicians

  • Tim Gane - electronic harpsichord (4)
  • James Cargill - synthesizers, tapes (5)
  • Zumi Rosow - treated alto saxophone (7)

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 74
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29] 75
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] 89
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[31] 54
Irish Albums (IRMA)[32] 45
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 53
US Billboard 200[34] 72
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[35] 10

References

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External links

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  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Deerhunter – Fading Frontier" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Deerhunter – Fading Frontier" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Deerhunter – Fading Frontier" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  32. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 43, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Deerhunter – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Deerhunter. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Deerhunter – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Deerhunter. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
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