Flock (Jane Weaver album)

Flock
Studio album by
Jane Weaver
Released5 March 2021 (2021-03-05)
Recorded2020
StudioEve Studios (Bredbury, Stockport)
GenrePop[1]
Length44:29
LabelFire
Producer
Jane Weaver chronology
Fehérlófia
(2019) 		Flock
(2021) 		Love in Constant Spectacle
(2024)
Singles from Flock
  1. "The Revolution of Super Visions"
    Released: 13 October 2020
  2. "Heartlow"
    Released: 13 January 2021

Flock is the eleventh album by the English musician Jane Weaver, released on 5 March 2021 by Fire Records.[1] Inspired by Lebanese torch songs, 1980s Russian Aerobics records and Australian punk, the album incorporates a pop-leaning production in comparison to Weaver's previous works. Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim, with praise towards its experimental sound.

Background and release

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Flock follows Weaver's ambient ensemble Fenella's project Fehérlófia, delivered in 2019 that was inspired by Marcell Jankovics's 1981 Hungarian animated film of the same name.[2] It also marks her first studio album release since, Loops in the Secret Society (2019).[3] As opposed to her previous works which incorporated synth-pop, cosmic folk, experimental electronics, and avant-garde indie rock,[4] Flock has a pop-indebted sound.[5] According to Weaver, the record was inspired by Lebanese torch songs, 1980s Russian Aerobics records and Australian punk.[6][3]

[...] Flock is a collection of pop songs that I don't think lend themselves to just one thing, I just went with the flow and looked at each song individually. The artwork features me in a peacock chair surrounded by birdboxes waiting for the flock to return.

— Weaver on the album, Louder Than War[7]

The record was announced in October 2020, alongside the cover art and track listing.[8][9] "The Revolution of Super Visions", a Prince-esque funk track, was simultaneously served as the lead single from the album.[6] In lead-up to the release, the album opener, "Heartlow" was served as the second single on 13 January 2021.[10] Flock was released on 5 March 2021 by Fire Records.[8] The album was released in three vinyl editions: olive-green, cream, and standard light rose vinyl editions.[11]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[12]
Metacritic85/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Arts Desk[14]
The Guardian[1]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[15]
Loud and Quiet8/10[16]
Mojo[13]
musicOMH[17]
The Quietus[18]
Under the Radar[3]
Uncut9/10[13]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 85, based on 10 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[13] At AnyDecentMusic?, which collates album reviews from websites, magazines and newspapers, they gave the release a 8 out of 10, based on a critical consensus of 11 reviews.[12]

In The Guardian, music critic Alexis Petridis listed it as the best album of its release week. He lauded the album for experimenting with diverse pop styles and incorporating a "hallucinatory" production. Petridis noted similarities in the music to the works of Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa. He also praised the lyricism and described the record as "genuinely different and exhilarating".[1] Janne Oinonen of The Line of Best Fit wrote that the album portrayed "the sweet revenge of the melody: dancefloor-friendly pop music, but of a variety that remains intoxicatingly unmoored to the conventions and codes of the earthly realm."[15] Richard Foster of The Quietus felt the album recalled "'60s girl groups, '90s grooves, and '50s sound effects". He said that it acted as a "a midwife, delivering the feeling of delight you get when listening to things that have been sat glumly in the back of the cabinet, or reassessing careworn memories given a good polish."[18]

Tim Sendra of AllMusic commended the album for exploring various genres and dubbed it as Weaver's "greatest-hits" album. He further wrote, "Flock is the work of a daring artist, a crafty writer and performer, and someone who is always worth following to see what kind of great things she might do in the future.[4] Similarly, Under the Radar's Dom Gourlay considered it "the best of all Weaver's diverse genre colliding worlds in one glorious sitting."[3] Loud and Quiet writer Alex Francis praised the album for its retro stylings and wrote that "Flock is a record which is invested in the production of a better future.[16]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Weaver[19]

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Heartlow"4:12
2."The Revolution of Super Visions"5:01
3."Stages of Phases"5:01
4."Lux"1:29
5."Modern Reputation"5:59
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Flock"3:25
7."Sunset Dreams"4:28
8."All the Things You Do"4:25
9."Pyramid Schemes"5:08
10."Solarised"5:21
Total length:42:29

Charts

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Chart performance for Flock
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] 7
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 24

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Petridis, Alexis (4 March 2021). "Jane Weaver: Flock review – triumphantly twisting pop music to her own ends". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  2. ^ Roberts, Christopher (22 August 2019). "Jane Weaver Project Fenella Announce First Album, Share Video for New Song "Bright Curse"". Under the Radar. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Gourlay, Dom (5 March 2021). "Jane Weaver: Flock - review". Under the Radar. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Sendra, Tim (5 March 2021). "Flock – Jane Weaver". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Jane Weaver announces new LP 'Flock' (stream "The Revolution Of Super Visions")". BrooklynVegan. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  6. ^ a b Eede, Christian (13 October 2020). "Jane Weaver Details New Album, 'Flock'". The Quietus. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  7. ^ Britton, Amy (5 March 2021). "Interview: Jane Weaver talks about her new album, Flock + album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b Roberts, Christopher (13 October 2020). "Jane Weaver Announces New Album, Shares New Song "The Revolution of Super Visions" Flock Due Out March 5, 2021 via Fire". Under the Radar. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ^ Murray, Robin (13 October 2020). "Jane Weaver Announces New Album 'Flock'". Clash. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  10. ^ Eede, Christian (13 January 2021). "Jane Weaver Reveals New Single, 'Hartlow'". The Quietus. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Jane Weaver shares 'Heartlow' video from new album 'Flock'". Folk Radio UK. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  12. ^ a b "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  14. ^ Tyler, Kieron (27 February 2021). "Album: Jane Weaver - Flock". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  15. ^ a b Oinonen, Janne (3 March 2021). "The high priestess of eccentric exploration Jane Weaver goes pop with superlative results on Flock". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  16. ^ a b Frnacis, Alex (2 March 2021). "Jane Weaver - Flock". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  17. ^ Cotsell, Matt (4 March 2021). "Jane Weaver – Flock". musicOMH. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  18. ^ a b Foster, Richard (5 March 2021). "Jane Weaver - Flock". The Quietus. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Flock – Jane Weaver". Tidal. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
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