Joyland (Trust album)
| Joyland | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Trust | ||||
| Released | March 4, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, EBM, coldwave | |||
| Length | 50:04 | |||
| Label | Art & Craft Records | |||
| Producer | Robert Alfons | |||
| Trust chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 73/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Consequence of Sound | B-[1] |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Pitchfork Media | 6.8/10[3] |
Joyland is the second studio album by the Canadian synthpop project Trust, fronted by Robert Alfons. It was released on March 4, 2014 through Arts & Crafts Records in North America.[4] A video for the song 'Rescue, Mister', directed by Sabrina Ratté, premiered in January 2014.[5]
The album received generally favourable reviews so far[6] and debuted at No. 12 of Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[7]
Development
The album was developed solely by Robert Alfons since Austra's Maya Postepski left Trust shortly after the release of their first album TRST. Joyland was "written in different places in the world while touring" as opposed to the first album which was primarily developed in Toronto. In Alfons's opinion that made a big difference, because the album was now influenced by the vast "energy from the live shows" and a boost of self-confidence. Alfons also states that this boost has led him to be "a bit more playful with many aspects of the record", especially his vocals.[8][9]
Robert Alfons listed video game soundtracks, acid house and early techno music, Kate Bush, Elizabeth Fraser from the Cocteau Twins and Lee Hazlewood as influences for Joyland.[10][11]
Critical reception
Pitchfork gave the album a score of 6.8, stating that "Joyland" shares "many similarities" in comparison to Trust's previous record, "TRST" (2012), but "little growth".[3]
Track listing
All tracks written by Robert Alfons.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Slightly Floating" | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Geryon" | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Capitol" | 4:53 |
| 4. | "Joyland" | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Are We Arc?" | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Icabod" | 4:29 |
| 7. | "Four Gut" | 5:11 |
| 8. | "Rescue, Mister" | 4:31 |
| 9. | "Lost Souls/Eelings" | 4:33 |
| 10. | "Peer Pressure" | 5:20 |
| 11. | "Barely" | 5:25 |
| 12. | "Mar (Bonus Track)" | 3:03 |
Personnel
- Robert Alfons – vocals
- Technical personnel
- Robert Alfons – engineering and production
- Damian Taylor – mixing
- Emily Lazar – mastering
- Rich Morales – mastering
- Design
- Jenn Kitagawa – graphic design
- Seth Fluker – photography
References
- ↑ Porter, Zander. "Album Review: Trust – Joyland". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved Mar 6, 2014.
- ↑ Heather Phares, 'Joyland – Trust review, AllMusic.com, March 4, 2014.
- 1 2 Thompson, Paul (March 14, 2014). "Trust: Joyland". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ↑ "news" News item on the official bandpage announcing the album.
- ↑ Director website entry. Accessed March 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Metacritic" Metacritic entry for the album. Accessed March 7, 2014.
- ↑ "Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ↑ Sylvester, Daniel. "Trust – Dancing in the Dark". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ↑ García, Amaya (March 11, 2014). "Trust Makes Dance Music for a Dark Room". MTV Iggy. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ↑ Darville, Jordan (March 6, 2014). "INFLUENTIA: Robert Alfons of Trust on the influences behind Joyland". Chart Attack. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ↑ "5 Minutes With Trust". Flare. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.