Angel Milk

Angel Milk is the second album from French electronic group Télépopmusik. It was released on June 21, 2005. The album was met with positive reviews from music critics, who praised the record's production and Angela McCluskey's guest vocals. Additionally, the album spawned a single, "Into Everything."

Angel Milk
Studio album by
Télépopmusik
ReleasedJune 21, 2005
GenreElectronic, Trip hop, Downtempo
LabelCapitol
Télépopmusik chronology
Genetic World
(2001)		 Angel Milk
(2005)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Drowned in Sound[3]
IGN[4]
MuzObzor[5]
PopMatters[6]
SpinB-[7]

Background

Prior to their recording of Angel Milk, Telepopmusik had achieved some mainstream success with "Breathe." The song was used in a Mitsubishi advertisement[6] and became a top 50 hit in the UK,[8] also entering the Billboard Hot 100.[9] The song's parent album, Genetic World, also proved a success, charting in both the US and the UK.

For their second record, Telepopmusik reunited with Angela McCluskey, who had provided vocals on several of the tracks on the group's debut, including "Breathe."[10] They also enlisted English rapper Mau (of trip-hop band Earthling)[11] and English vocalist Deborah Anderson.[6] The final two songs on the record include long gaps of silence, which drew criticism.[6]

Release

Ahead of the album's release, the group released "Into Everything," featuring Anderson, as the lead single.[12] Though the song had an accompanying music video,[13] it failed to chart. The album, which was released on 21 June 2005 by Capitol Records, experienced similarly disappointing chart performance.[8][9] The album also spawned a second single, "Don't Look Back."[14]

Critical reception

The album garnered generally positive reviews upon its release. On review aggregate site Metacritic, the album holds a score of 68/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[1] IGN's W. Fry stated that if he "had to choose one adjective for Telepopmusik's it would be: chill," going on to criticize the last two tracks on the album for their silence but concluding that "the tracks go down effortlessly, leaving you with a nice taste in your mouth."[4] PopMatters' Justin Cober-Lake singled out Angela McCluskey's vocals as a highlight, commenting that she "steals the show," but noting that the other vocalists (particularly Mau) don't "fare as well as McCluskey." Cober-Lake concluded that "The music’s not flawless, but it serves its role as come-down music quite nicely," and awarded the album 6 stars out of 10.[6]

However, some critics were more negative towards the album. AllMusic's David Jeffries awarded the album 2 out of 5 stars and felt, although the album has "beautiful backing tracks," that the music was unoriginal.[2] Spin's review was similarly critical of the album; they gave it a "B-" and, though likening it to Moby and Bjork, felt that the album was ultimately nondescript.[7] Drowned in Sound's Julian Ridgeway gave the album a 6/10 and, though praising the record's production and stylistic range, concluded that "it’s a record that feels like it’s missing something vital. It might be a bit of heart."[3]

Track listing
  1. "Don't Look Back" (featuring Angela McCluskey) – 0:11 + 3:50
  2. "Anyway" (featuring Mau) – 2:34
  3. "Into Everything" (featuring Deborah Anderson) – 4:25
  4. "Love's Almighty" (featuring Angela McCluskey) – 4:28
  5. "Last Train To Wherever" (featuring Mau) – 0:23 + 5:02
  6. "Brighton Beach" (featuring Angela McCluskey) – 4:23
  7. "Close" (featuring Deborah Anderson) – 3:18
  8. "Swamp" – 2:05
  9. "Ambushed" – 1:34
  10. "Tuesday" (featuring Mau) – 1:26
  11. "Another Day" – 5:35
  12. "15 Minutes" (featuring Mau) – 1:05 + 15:38 of silence

Notes
  • On some editions of the album, "Don't Look Back" is preceded by a short hidden track, a voice saying "Who can not play a musical instrument. Who do not care to dance." Rewind from track 1 to play the track.
  • The pregap to "Last Train to Wherever" contains a short intro.
  • "Another Day" contains audio for 1:36, followed by four minutes of silence.
  • The pregap to "15 Minutes" contains the song. The rest of track 12 consists of silence.

Japanese edition
  • There is a different arrangement of "Into Everything"
  • Track 12 is called "15 Seconds," rather than "15 Minutes"
  • There is a bonus track: "Baboons" – 2:39

References
  1. "Reviews for Angel Milk". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  2. Allmusic review
  3. Ridgeway, Julian. "Télépopmusik Angel Milk review". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  4. "IGN review". Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved 2009-01-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Cober-Lake, Justin. "Télépopmusik Angel Milk review". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  7. "SPIN Jun 2005 (page 108)". Google Books. Spin Media. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  8. "Telepopmusik - Chart history". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. "Telepopmusik - US Chart History". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  10. Semioli, Tom. "Genetic World overview". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  11. Wheaton, Robert. "Mau Review: Insomniacs' Ball". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  12. ""Into Everything" overview". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  13. ""Into Everything" Music Video". YouTube. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  14. ""Don't Look Back" overview". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
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