Fatigue
Studio album by
L'Rain
ReleasedJune 25, 2021
Recorded2018–2019
Studio
  • Black Lodge Recording (Brooklyn)
  • The Honey Jar (Brooklyn)
  • Hook & Fade Studios
  • Sunset Sound Recorders (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length29:55
LabelMexican Summer
Producer
  • Taja Cheek
  • Andrew Lappin
L'Rain chronology
L'Rain
(2017)		 Fatigue
(2021)		 I Killed Your Dog
(2023)

Fatigue is the second record by Brooklyn-based experimental musician Taja Cheek, under the moniker of L'Rain. It is her first recording with record label Mexican Summer. Fatigue builds on Cheek's experimental compositional approach, drawing from an eclectic collection of genres and employing field recording elements. Instrumentally, it has help from twenty collaborators, who lend the record clavinet, saxophone, and more.

Upon its release, Fatigue was greeted with rave reviews. It was named the best album of the year by British magazine The Wire.[1]

Background

Taja Cheek planned on naming her second record Suck Teeth because she "loved how it encapsulated a very black sound of disapproval, annoyance, and disappointment."[2]

Composition

Fatigue has musical footing in experimental pop, as well as orchestral pop.[3][4] However, the record contains diverse songs that bend genre. Ambient music, gospel, jazz, post-punk, neo soul, R&B, shoegazing, soft rock and sound collage have all been melded into L'Rain's own aesthetic.[5][6][7]

Fatigue makes significant use of field recordings.[3][7] The latter half of "Find It" samples a pastor singing at a funeral Cheek attended.[8] "Black Clap" has sounds from a hand game she created alongside co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Chapoteau-Katz. About it, she said that "in the studio, I was thinking about ways that play can improve your life, and I was like, 'I'll just make up a hand game, because that's something I used to do when I was a kid.'"[8]

It is also shaded in psychedelia,[4][5][9] with its songs working in neo-psychedelia.[5] Psychedelic musicians like Syd Barrett and quartet Animal Collective have been noted as spiritual touchstones for L'Rain's music.[4] L'Rain has cited the latter's early recordings as informative to her.[8]

The second song, "Find It", digs into "warped, genre-mashing" pop-soul and "sweet, distorted" shoegaze pop.[4][10] Experimentation continues even when songs dip into conventional pop and dance sounds, like on "Kill Self" and "Two Face".[3] The latter song's R&B yields a "heady cacophony".[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[12]
Metacritic86/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Beats Per Minute65%[15]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[5]
Paste8.7/10[16]
Pitchfork8.5/10[3]
Spectrum Culture72%[17]

Fatigue was welcomed with critical applause upon its release. On Metacritic, the record holds a score of 86 out of 100, based on seven reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[13]

Paul Simpson for AllMusic applauded the record, seeing it as "even bolder and dreamier than [her] self-titled debut" and "a uniquely powerful expression of her uncompromising vision."[14] Aymeric Dubois for The Line of Best Fit called it "reflective and exposing...a transformative listen".[5]

Accolades

Semester-end lists

Accolades for Fatigue
Country Publication Work List Rank Ref.
US Bandcamp Daily Fatigue The Best Albums of Spring 2021
--
Paste The 10 Best Albums of June 2021
"Suck Teeth" The 15 Best Songs of June 2021
UK The Quietus Fatigue The Quietus Albums Of The Year So Far Chart 2021
31

Year-end lists

Country Publication Work List Rank Ref.
US AllMusic Fatigue AllMusic Best of 2021
—
Bandcamp Daily Best of 2021: The Year's Essential Releases
UK Crack Magazine The Top 50 Albums of the Year
20
Our Culture The 50 Best Albums of 2021
10
US Paste
38
Pitchfork
2
The Best Jazz and Experimental Music of 2021
—
"Find It" The 100 Best Songs of 2021
26
UK The Quietus Fatigue Quietus Albums Of The Year 2021
15
Rough Trade US Albums of The Year 2021
9
US Treble The 50 Best Albums of 2021
46
"Two Face" The 100 Best Songs of 2021
13
UK The Wire Fatigue Rewind: Top 50 Releases of 2021
1

Track listing

All tracks are written by Taja Cheek

No.TitleLength
1."Fly, Die"2:00
2."Find It"6:17
3."Round Sun"0:21
4."Blame Me"3:31
5."Black Clap"0:26
6."Suck Teeth"3:56
7."Love Her"0:17
8."Kill Self"1:51
9."Not Now"0:10
10."Two Face"4:06
11."Walk Through"0:17
12."I V"2:25
13."Need Be"1:01
14."Take Two"3:09
Total length:29:55

Personnel

Adapted from the record's Bandcamp page.[34]

L'Rain
  • Taja Cheek – vocals, air horn, bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, piano, programming, samples, synthesizers (all songs)

Additional musicians

  • Jon Bap – background vocals (4)
  • Quinton Brock – monologue and vocal performance (1, 10)
  • E.T. Cali – radio announcer (10)
  • Ben Chapoteau-Katz – air horn (1), saxophone (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14), percussion (2, 6), synth (2, 8, 14), vocals (10)
  • Tiger Darrow – cello (2)
  • Buz Donald – drums and percussion (2, 6)
  • Alex Goldberg – drums and percussion (1, 10, 12)
  • Travis Haynes – organ and vocals (2)
  • Carlos Hernandez – assistant engineer (2, 10)
  • Devin Hobdy – background vocals (2)
  • Andrew Lappin – programming (2, 12), guitar (6, 8)
  • Alita Moses – background vocals (2, 12)
  • Taj Sapp – background vocals (2, 12)
  • Jake Sherman – organ and clavinet (2, 6)
  • Mike Stephenson – background vocals (2, 12)
  • Abby Swidler – viola (2)
  • Zosha Warpeha – violin (2)
  • Anna Wise – background vocals (4)
  • Gabriel Zucker – string arrangement (2)

Technical

  • Taja Cheek – production
  • Jake Aron – mixing
  • Ben Chapoteau-Katz – co-production
  • Heba Kadry – mastering
  • Andrew Lappin – engineering, executive production, mixing, production
  • Slauson Malone – additional production, sequencing

Artwork and design

  • Jason Omar Al-Taan – front cover photograph
  • Bailey Elder – design, layout

References

  1. ↑ "The Wire's Releases of the Year 2021". The Wire. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  2. ↑ James Rettig (June 9, 2021). "L'Rain – "Suck Teeth"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Eric Torres. "L'Rain: Fatigue Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Noah Berlatsky (June 1, 2021). "L'Rain creates glittering, warped pop collages on Fatigue". Chicago Reader. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Aymeric Dubois (June 25, 2021). "L'Rain's reflective and exposing Fatigue is a transformative listen that leaves you wanting more". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kiana Mickles (July 8, 2021). "L'Rain - Fatigue · Album Review". Resident Advisor. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Marcus J. Moore (June 24, 2021). "L'Rain's 'Fatigue' Captures the Everyday Nuances of Black Life". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Jenn Pelly (June 28, 2021). "L'Rain Wants to Confuse You". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  9. ↑ Brian Kiwanuka (July 6, 2021). "Review: L'Rain's 'Fatigue'". PostGenre. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Pitchfork (December 6, 2021). "The 100 Best Songs of 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  11. ↑ Georgie Brook (June 25, 2021). "The Quietus - Reviews - L'Rain". The Quietus. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Fatigue by L'Rain reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Fatigue by L'Rain Reviews and Tracks | Metacritic". metacritic.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Paul Simpson. "Fatigue - L'Rain". AllMusic. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  15. ↑ Jeremy J. Fisette (June 29, 2021). "ALBUM REVIEW: L'RAIN – FATIGUE". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  16. ↑ Max Freedman (December 16, 2021). "L'Rain: 'Fatigue' Album Review - Paste". Paste. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  17. ↑ Daniel Bromfield (29 June 2021). "L'Rain: Fatigue - Spectrum Culture". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  18. ↑ Bandcamp Daily Staff (July 2, 2021). "The Best Albums of Spring 2021". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  19. ↑ Paste Staff (June 29, 2021). "The 10 Best Albums of June 2021: Japanese Breakfast, Backxwash, The Mountain Goats and more - Paste". Paste. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  20. ↑ Paste Staff (June 30, 2021). "The Best Songs of June 2021: Yves Tumor, Little Simz, Pom Pom Squad and more - Paste". Paste. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  21. ↑ John Doran (July 5, 2021). "The Quietus Albums Of The Year So Far Chart 2021". The Quietus. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  22. ↑ "AllMusic Best of 2021". AllMusic. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  23. ↑ Bandcamp Daily Staff (December 17, 2021). "Best of 2021: The Year's Essential Releases". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  24. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of the Year". Crack Magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  25. ↑ Our Culture (December 9, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Our Culture. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  26. ↑ Paste Staff (November 29, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021 - Paste". Paste. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  27. ↑ Pitchfork (December 7, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  28. ↑ Pitchfork (December 17, 2021). "The Best Jazz and Experimental Music of 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  29. ↑ John Doran (December 6, 2021). "Quietus Albums Of The Year (In Association With Norman Records)". The Quietus. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  30. ↑ "US Albums of The Year 2021". Rough Trade. November 16, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  31. ↑ Treble Staff (December 6, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Treble. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  32. ↑ Treble Staff (December 5, 2021). "The 100 Best Songs of 2021". Treble. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  33. ↑ Wire staff (January 2022). "2021 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 455. London. pp. 30–35 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
  34. ↑ "Fatigue by L'Rain". Bandcamp. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
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