Græ

Græ (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Moses Sumney. The double album was released in two parts by Jagjaguwar. The first part was released digitally on February 21, 2020, followed by the full album, including its second part, on May 15, 2020.

Græ
Studio album by
Moses Sumney
ReleasedMay 15, 2020 (2020-05-15)
Length65:44
LabelJagjaguwar
Producer
Moses Sumney chronology
Aromanticism
(2017)		 Græ
(2020)
Singles from Græ
  1. "Virile"
    Released: November 14, 2019
  2. "Polly"
    Released: December 13, 2019
  3. "Me in 20 Years"
    Released: January 6, 2020
  4. "Cut Me"
    Released: February 7, 2020
  5. "Bless Me"
    Released: May 11, 2020

Græ features contributions from a wide range of musicians, writers and producers, including Daniel Lopatin, Thundercat, Jill Scott, James Blake, Taiye Selasi, John Congleton, Rob Moose, Ezra Miller, Michael Chabon, Matthew Otto, Ian Chang, and FKJ.

The album was preceded by five singles: "Virile", "Polly", "Me in 20 Years", "Cut Me", and "Bless Me".

Background and recording

Some of the songs on Græ, including "Virile", were recorded by Sumney with drummer Ian Chang of Son Lux and producer/engineer Ben Baptie at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, North Carolina.[1] Sumney first lived in Asheville before and during the making of Aromanticism,[2][3] and Græ is Sumney's first album since officially relocating to Asheville from Los Angeles.[4] The album was mixed by Ben Baptie at Strongroom and mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound.[5]

Release

"Virile" was released as the album's first single on November 14, 2019.[6] The album was announced the same day.[7]

"Polly" was released as the second single on December 13, 2019,[8] followed by "Me in 20 Years" on January 6, 2020,[9][10] and "Cut Me" on February 7.[11][12] Sumney made his US television debut with a performance of the latter track on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 11.[13][14][15] The album's first part was released digitally on February 21.

"Bless Me" was released as the album's fifth and final single on May 11, 2020,[16][17] with the full album released four days later.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.4/10[18]
Metacritic90/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
The A.V. ClubB+[21]
DIY[22]
Entertainment WeeklyA[23]
The Independent[24]
NME[25]
The Observer (Part 1)[26]
(Part 2)[27]
Pitchfork8.6/10[28]
Q (Part 1)[29]
(Part 2)[30]
Uncut8/10[31]

Græ received rave reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 from reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 90, based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[19] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[18]

A. D. Amorosi of Variety praised the album, calling it a "magnificent, multi-genre mess in a dress of many colors" and "one of the year's boldest and best."[32] Jenessa Williams of DIY gave the album a perfect score, calling it "complex, unconventional and ultimately, essential."[22] Marcus J. Moore of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A, writing, "græ finds him trying to be, well, everything, and through a convergence of folk, jazz, classical, and art-rock, along with his probing lyricism, Sumney has managed to produce a sonic marvel."[23]

Max Freedman of The A.V. Club praised Part 1 for showcasing Sumney "step outside previous comfort zones" with "Conveyor", "Neither/Nor", and "Virile". However, Freedman criticized Part 2 as lacking the stylistic and thematic variety of Part 1 and for occupying "shockingly familiar musical territory" to that of the songs on Aromanticism.[21]

Accolades
Accolades for Græ
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Paste Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
5
[33]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
24
[34]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Græ.[5]

Part 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Insula"
  • Sumney
  • Daniel Lopatin[a]
0:46
2."Cut Me"
  • Sumney
  • Adult Jazz
  • Lopatin
4:10
3."In Bloom"Sumney
  • Sumney
  • Matthew Otto[a]
3:02
4."Virile"
  • Sumney
  • YVETTE
  • Sumney
  • Andrew Chugg[a]
  • Ben Baptie[a]
  • Lopatin[a]
4:16
5."Conveyor"
  • Sumney
  • YVETTE
  • Sumney
  • Andrew Chugg[a]
  • Ben Baptie[a]
  • Lopatin[a]
3:23
6."Boxes"
  • Sumney
  • Lopatin[a]
1:22
7."Gagarin"
  • Sumney
  • Baptie[a]
5:54
8."Jill/Jack" (featuring Jill Scott)
  • Sumney
  • Lopatin[a]
1:33
9."Colouour"
  • FKJ
  • Sumney
  • Lopatin[a]
3:07
10."Also Also Also And And And"
  • FKJ
  • Sumney
  • Selasi
  • Miller
  • FKJ
  • Sumney
1:31
11."Neither/Nor"Sumney
5:26
12."Polly"
Sumney3:38
Total length:38:08
Part 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Two Dogs"
  • Lopatin
  • Sumney
  • Lopatin
  • Sumney
3:56
14."Bystanders"
  • Sumney
  • Otto
  • Lopatin
  • Otto
  • Sumney
  • Lopatin[a]
4:14
15."Me in 20 Years"
  • Sumney
  • Otto
  • Otto
  • Sumney
  • Lopatin[a]
3:40
16."Keeps Me Alive"SumneySumney2:56
17."Lucky Me"
4:57
18."And So I Come to Isolation"
  • Selasi
  • Sumney
  • Sumney
  • Lopatin[a]
0:49
19."Bless Me"Sumney
  • Sumney
  • Congleton
4:59
20."Before You Go"
Sumney2:05
Total length:27:36

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
  • "Insula", "Boxes", "Jill/Jack", "Also Also Also And And And", "And So I Come to Isolation" and "Before You Go" are stylized in all lowercase.
  • "Gagarin" contains elements from "Gagarin's Point Of View", written by Esbjörn Svensson, Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström.
  • "Jill/Jack" contains interpolations from "Cross My Mind", written by Jill Scott.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Græ.[5]

References
  1. "Moses Sumney Releases New Single and Video from Upcoming Album "græ"". Echo Mountain Recording. November 14, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  2. Wallace, Carvell (April 30, 2020). "Moses Sumney Is a Natural Wonder". Here Magazine. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  3. Easter, Makeda (April 12, 2018). "Moses Sumney is taking his 'space hammock' music to the Coachella stage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  4. Edwin, Oliver (April 7, 2020). "Moses Sumney on fame, masculinity and new album græ". Russh. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  5. Græ (PDF) (booklet). Moses Sumney. Jagjaguwar. 2020. JAG348. Retrieved May 19, 2020.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Kaye, Ben (November 14, 2019). "Moses Sumney announces double album græ, shares "Virile": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  7. Monroe, Jazz (November 14, 2019). "Moses Sumney Announces New Double Album græ, Shares New Song "Virile"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  8. Breihan, Tom (December 13, 2019). "Moses Sumney – "Polly"". Stereogum. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  9. Renshaw, David (January 6, 2020). "Moses Sumney shares new song "Me in 20 Years"". The Fader. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  10. Sodomsky, Sam (January 6, 2020). "Listen to Moses Sumney's New Song "Me in 20 Years"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  11. Bloom, Madison (February 7, 2020). "Moses Sumney Shares New Song "Cut Me": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  12. Corcoran, Nina (February 7, 2020). "Moses Sumney drops new song "Cut Me": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  13. Minsker, Evan (February 12, 2020). "Watch Moses Sumney Perform "Cut Me" on Colbert". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  14. Droke, Carolyn (February 12, 2020). "Moses Sumney Showcases His Incredibly Dynamic Vocal Range With A Performance Of 'Cut Me' On 'Colbert'". Uproxx. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  15. Jones, Austin (February 12, 2020). "Watch Moses Sumney Perform "Cut Me" on Colbert". Paste. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  16. Minsker, Evan (May 11, 2020). "Moses Sumney Shares New Song "Bless Me": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  17. Neale, Matthew (May 12, 2020). "Moses Sumney shares dreamy new track 'Bless Me'". NME. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  18. "græ by Moses Sumney reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  19. "græ by Moses Sumney Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  20. Crone, David. "græ – Moses Sumney". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  21. Freedman, Max (May 13, 2020). "Moses Sumney's ambitious Grae destroys binaries from within". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  22. Williams, Jenessa (May 14, 2020). "Moses Sumney – græ". DIY. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  23. Moore, Marcus J. (May 14, 2020). "Moses Sumney's græ is a sonic marvel". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  24. O'Connor, Roisin; Bray, Elisa (May 14, 2020). "Album reviews: Perfume Genius, Sparks and Moses Sumney". The Independent. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  25. Aubrey, Elizabeth (May 14, 2020). "Moses Sumney – 'grae' review: complex two-part double album defies boundaries and genre". NME. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  26. Empire, Kitty (March 1, 2020). "Moses Sumney: Grae review – double album's stunning first instalment". The Observer. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  27. Empire, Kitty (May 10, 2020). "Moses Sumney: Græ Part Two review – introspective magic". The Observer. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  28. Greene, Jayson (May 15, 2020). "Moses Sumney: græ Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  29. Howe, Rupert (May 2020). "The Promised Land". Q. No. 410. p. 102.
  30. Barton, Laura (July 2020). "Moses Sumney: Grae (Part 2)". Q. No. 412. p. 113.
  31. Anderson, Jason (June 2020). "Moses Sumney: Græ". Uncut. No. 277. p. 38.
  32. Amorosi, A. D. (May 14, 2020). "Moses Sumney's 'Græ': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  33. "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  34. "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
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