Spirituals
Studio album by
Santigold
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2022
Recorded2020 – April 2021
Genre
Length30:37
LabelLittle Jerk Records (worldwide)
Producer
Santigold chronology
I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions
(2018)		 Spirituals
(2022)
Singles from Spirituals
  1. "High Priestess"
    Released: May 18, 2022
  2. "Ain't Ready"
    Released: June 15, 2022
  3. "Nothing"
    Released: July 13, 2022
  4. "Shake"
    Released: August 10, 2022
  5. "Fall First"
    Released: September 21, 2022
  6. "My Horror"
    Released: November 18, 2022
  7. "Witness"
    Released: January 11, 2023

Spirituals is the fourth studio album by American musician and singer Santigold. It was released digitally and physically on vinyl on September 9, 2022, through Little Jerk Records. The CD was out on September, 30.

The lyrics address human resilience. Santigold promoted Spirituals with singles and videos for "High Priestess", "Ain't Ready", "Nothing", "Shake", "Fall First", "My Horror" and "Witness".

The album received favorable reviews.

Background

Santigold had released the I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions mixtape in July 2018 and she had additionally appeared on two Tyler, the Creator releases, Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss' The Grinch in late 2018 and Igor in mid 2019, contributing vocals. Spirituals was recorded largely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, between 2020 and 2021 with lyrics inspired in part by the present time in the US. The album was a nod to the traditional Negro spirituals.[1]

She stated: "I called it "Spirituals" because, for me, making this record was my own salvation, really. It was an opportunity to step out of survival mode. And the idea of using art and music in particular to transcend my circumstances and experience freedom and joy and beauty in the absence of it in my environment to me was the same thing that Negro spirituals did for slaves in a time where they were able to experience freedom and joy through this music when their - in their environments, they were not free, and there wasn't - it wasn't joyous."[2]

Santigold explained that the writing process was cathartic. It was "creating light for me to move towards"; "I'm so lucky to know that creating, just the act of creating, can do that for me, can save me that way, can lift me up."[3] She described Spirituals as a "celebration of human resilience."[4]

In mid-April 2021, Santigold shared a picture of her final days in the studio to social media.[5] In June 2021, Santigold featured on Mark Ronson's The Fader Uncovered podcast.[6][7] She confirmed details of her upcoming album, which was being mixed at the time, sharing the title and stating:

There's a lot of beats. I definitely made it in a room by myself, virtually with everyone, which was hard... I ended up being in Canada for five months in a cabin in the woods really by myself, which was interesting because then the whole nature thing really opened up and became another element that found its way into the music... It's just all over the place... It's got some punk. It's got some rap. It's got everything.

Music

Spirituals incorporates pop beats,[8] electronica,[8] tropicalia,[9] gospel,[8] punk,[8] rap,[8] funk,[8] post-punk,[10] and reggae.[8]

Rolling Stone wrote that on Spirituals opener "My Horror", "she combines subtle electronica with flashes of ukulele". "High Priestess" was described as s a "powerful slice of glitchy rap pop, pitted against fierce lyrical wordplay".[11] Heather Phares described it as "a deceptively sweet lullaby of stasis that unleashes its dread slowly".[12] Alternative Press wrote about the songs: "She shares her journey to ascension and invites us to participate with tropical rhythms that simultaneously haunt and uplift".[13] NME wrote that Santigold opened to love on the closing track "Fall First", saying: "her passion is channelled through an unlikely vintage post-punk lens, complete with a motorik beat, an ominous bassline and cavernous reverb".[10]

Release

The album was released worldwide on CD. A picture disc edition vinyl LP - limited to 7,500 copies- was also made available from various retailers including Amazon, "Roughtrade", Juno, "Imusic", and Fnac.[14]

Short music videos were shot and uploaded on Santigold's YouTube channel for the six singles taken from the album: "High Priestess", "Ain't Ready", "Nothing", "Shake", "Fall First" and "My Horror".

The lead single, "High Priestess", was released in May 2022,[15][16] later followed by "Ain't Ready", alongside the album's announcement,[17] and "Nothing".[18] Spirituals was released via Little Jerk Records label.[17][19][20]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
And It Don't StopA–[22]
Clash Music7/10[23]
Glide Magazine8/10[24]
The Guardian[25]
musicOMH[26]
NME[9]
Paste7.3/10[27]
The Skinny[28]
The Telegraph[29]

Spirituals was met with mostly positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 14 reviews.[21]

NME rated it 4 out of 5 stars, saying that "fearless sonic pioneer leads the pack once again",[9] and The Telegraph published a glowing review, praising the diversity of the styles, rating it 8 out of 10.[29] The Guardian rated it 4 out of 5 stars, sayining it was "a heartfelt lockdown journey through loneliness, triumph and rage".[25] Pitchfork reviewer Heven Haile considered that Santigold "is pioneering an innovative soundscape" on Spirituals with "unsettlingly ethereal vocals", concluding that she "reimagines the type of music that can comfort people in times of grief and stagnation".[8] Another writer of the NME praised in particular the song "Fall First", saying: "Santi's signature yelp fits like a glove over this sonic mixture".[10] Heather Phares of AllMusic noted in general "hypnotic" songs "with ear-catching production choices aplenty" and how "Santigold also excels at bridging the past, present, and future of her own music".[12] Reviewer Robert Christgau hailed Spirituals as Santigold's best album yet, crediting her with "transmuting the atmospheric midtempo rock-as-electrodance she's long fiddled with so engagingly into something more ominous, almost as if she's observant enough to notice that she's living in history".[22]

Track listing

Spirituals track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."My Horror"
2:36
2."Nothing"
2:49
3."High Priestess"
3:13
4."Ushers of the New World"
3:28
5."Witness"
2:35
6."Shake"
SBTRKT1:41
7."The Lasty"
  • Psymun
  • Santigold
2:41
8."No Paradise"
  • P2J
  • Dre Skull
  • Santigold
3:59
9."Ain't Ready"
  • White
  • Montagnese
  • Hershey
  • Foulds
  • Santigold
  • Illangelo
  • Dre Skull
  • SBTRKT
3:26
10."Fall First"
  • White
  • Batmanglij
  • McKinney
  • Ricard Pernord
  • Santigold
4:09
Total length:30:37

Personnel

  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • Alex Tumay – mixing (tracks 1–5, 7, 10)
  • Andrew Kim – mixing (1–5, 7, 10)
  • Julian Picado – mixing (1–5, 7, 10)
  • Mike BLoom – mixing (1–5, 7, 10)
  • Noah Goldstein – mixing (6, 8, 9)
  • Chris Kasych – recording

References

  1. ↑ Kawalik, Tracy (September 9, 2022). "The Last Word: Santigold on her Beyoncé co-sign and new album Spirituals [Interview]". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ Rascoe, Ayesha (September 11, 2022). "Santigold releases new album Spirituals [Interview]". NPR. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  3. ↑ Broadsky, Rachel (September 1, 2022). "We've Got A File On You: Santigold [Interview]". Stereogum.com. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  4. ↑ Meir Grossman, David (September 16, 2022). "The Solitude of Santigold". Tabletmag. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ "@santigold on Instagram • "final days in the studio..."". Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Instagram.
  6. ↑ "Santigold on staying true to her intentions and never, ever conforming". The Fader. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  7. ↑ The Fader Uncovered – Episode 8 Santigold, retrieved June 20, 2022
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Haile, Heven (September 13, 2022). "Spirituals Santigold". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Beaumont, Mark (September 8, 2022). "Spiritals review – Santigold". NME. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "NME Radio Roundup 20 September 2022". NME. September 20, 2022. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ↑ "11 albums you need to hear this week". Rollingstone.co.uk. September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 Phares, Heather. "Spirituals Santigold". AllMusic. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  13. ↑ Rodriguez, Leah (September 16, 2022). "How Santigold channeled religious ecstasy to create her comeback album Spirituals". Rollingstone.co.uk. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Spirituals - vinyl and cd (for the US)". roughtrade.com - (US version). Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Spirituals - vinyl and cd (for the UK)". Roughtrade.com - (UK version). Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Spirituals - vinyl and cd (for the UK and worldwide)". Normanrecords.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Spirituals - vinyl and cd". Resident-music.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Santigold Spirituals CD and picture disc LP (for the US)". Amoeba.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Spirituals - vinyl and cd (for the UK and worldwide)". Hmv.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Santigold Spirituals CD and picture disc LP (for the UK and Europe)". Juno.co.uk. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Santigold Spirituals CD and picture disc LP (for France and Europe)". Fnac.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Santigold Spirituals CD and picture disc LP (for Scandinavia and Europe)". Imusic.co. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
    "Santigold Spirituals picture disc LP". Santigold.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Santigold returns with new single "High Priestess": Stream". Consequence. May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Santigold shares new single "High Priestess"". The Fader. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Santigold Announces New Album Spirituals, Shares Video for New Song". Pitchfork. June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Santigold Shares New Song "Nothing": Listen". Stereogum. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Santigold announces fourth album 'Spirituals' with new single, 'Ain't Ready'". NME. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  20. ↑ Blistein, Jon (June 15, 2022). "Santigold Steps Into Her Own Power on New Song 'Ain't Ready'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  21. 1 2 "Spirituals – Santigold". Metacritic. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  22. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (September 14, 2022). "Consumer Guide: September, 2022". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  23. ↑ Walker-Smart, Sam (September 6, 2022). "Spiritals review – Santigold". Clash Music. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  24. ↑ Dillon, Ryan (September 6, 2022). "Santigold Melts Artistic Spark With Uptempo Flair On Spirituals – review". Glide Magazine. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  25. 1 2 Morris, Kadish (September 11, 2022). "Spiritals review – Santigold". The Guardian. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  26. ↑ Hogwood, Ben (September 8, 2022). "Spiritals review – Santigold". musicOMH.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  27. ↑ Soutar, Elise (September 7, 2022). "Spiritals review - Santigold". Paste. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  28. ↑ Bhadani, Anita (September 5, 2022). "Spiritals review – Santigold". The Skinny. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  29. 1 2 Madden, Emma (September 9, 2022). "Spiritals review – Santigold". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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