Legerdemain (album)

Legerdemain
An outline of a man's shadow standing in front of a large metallic circle that is covered in machine parts
Studio album by
Duncan Sheik
ReleasedOctober 9, 2015 (2015-10-09)
StudioSneaky Studios, Garrison, New York, US
GenreElectronic music[1]
Length69:54
LanguageEnglish
LabelSneaky
ProducerDuncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik chronology
Covers 80s Remixed
(2012) 		Legerdemain
(2015) 		American Psycho
(2016)

It's this album of two parts, the first half of it reflects my kind of renewed excitement about electronic music, and it's really I guess my own strange hybridization of pop song structure with EDM aesthetics. And then the second half of the record is more what I call typical Duncan Sheik self-indulgent art songs and it's more organic, sparse, internal and darker. But the whole thing is like a battery, the first half has a positive charge and the second half has a negative charge but it kind of works together as a whole.

—Sheik on the concept behind Legerdemain[2]

Legerdemain is a 2015 studio album by American singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik. The album has received positive reviews from critics and is a transitional one for Sheik as a songwriter, borrowing from his love of electronic music as well as his work scoring musical theater.[3] The music was written contemporaneously to scoring American Psycho,[4] and is his first album of original popular music in almost a decade[5] and was supported by live performances around his Broadway theatre schedule.[6]

Reception

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Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writing that while this album "may carry some of the sighing melodicism and soft, hazy surfaces that turned [Sheik] into a AAA smash... [Ledgerdemain] is a... like a hybrid between his Broadway work... and his 2011 salute to the '80s" with the "gravity of a stage production" and new wave music sounds.[7] Jim Allen of NPR's First Listen wrote that there was an "ambition and uncompromising nature" to this music with an "unpredictable nature" that shows that Sheik "cares little about the songs' commercial potential".[8] In Paste, Laura Stanley rated this work a 6.6 out of 10, stating that while "the diverseness of the record is praiseworthy, its immensity is obvious and ultimately fumbles the delivery rather than using sleight of hand as the album title would suggest".[9]

Track listing

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All songs written by Duncan Sheik.

  1. "Selling Out" – 3:45
  2. "Avalanche" – 4:46
  3. "Photograph" – 3:33
  4. "Birmingham" – 3:31
  5. "Sometimes" – 5:04
  6. "Hey You" – 4:19
  7. "Warning Light" – 4:21
  8. "Distant Lovers" – 4:26
  9. "Bicycle Thief" – 4:42
  10. "Acquaintance" – 3:52
  11. "Brutalized" – 5:03
  12. "Circling" – 6:05
  13. "Summer Mourning" – 5:25
  14. "No Happy End" – 3:52
  15. "Half a Room" – 4:56
  16. "So There" – 2:14

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

  2. "After All" – 4:58
  3. "Wish for the Sun" – 5:06

Personnel

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  • Duncan Sheik – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, tape echo, piano, marimba, organ, vocals, additional engineering, production
  • Nora Ariffin – photography
  • Milo Decruz – bass guitar on "Hey You"
  • John Duckworth – creative direction
  • Nyla Durdin – backing vocals
  • Thomas Freeman – creative direction
  • Jason Hart – keyboards
  • Jon Hassell – trumpet on "Brutalized" and "No Happy End"
  • Marshall Hudson – album package design
  • Stitch – album package design
  • Michael Tudor – engineering; mixing at Mama's Place, Woodstock, New York, United States; additional production; mastering at Mama's Place
  • Alvin Witarsa – violin on "So There"
  • Doug Yowell – drums

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Eclectic World Of Duncan Sheik, From Billboard To Broadway". NPR Music. Weekend Edition. NPR. October 4, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  2. ^ Romero, Angie (December 15, 2015). "10 Questions With Duncan Sheik". News. Broadcast Music, Inc. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  3. ^ Taylor, Katherine Yeske (November 5, 2020). "Duncan Sheik Discusses His Writing Evolution, Premieres "Circling"". Reviews > Album Reviews. American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Newman, Melinda (March 23, 2016). "Duncan Sheik: How He Went From 'Spring Awakening' to 'American Psycho' on Broadway". Music News. Billboard. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Wood, Mikael (September 24, 2015). "'Spring Awakening' composer Duncan Sheik returns to pop with 'Legerdemain'". Music. Los Angeles Times. ISSN 2165-1736. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Powers, Ann (October 16, 2014). "Hear Two Songs From Duncan Sheik's Next Album". NPR Music. The Record. NPR. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (n.d.). "Duncan Sheik – Ledgerdemain". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Allen, Jim (September 30, 2015). "Review: Duncan Sheik, 'Legerdemain'". NPR Music. First Listen. NPR. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  9. ^ Stanley, Laura (October 15, 2015). "Duncan Sheik: Legerdemain". Music > Reviews. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
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