Systems / Layers
Studio album by
Rachel's
ReleasedOctober 7, 2003 (U.S.)
RecordedJuly 2001 – June 2003
GenreChamber music, post-rock
Length1:02:21
LabelQuarterstick 75[1]
Rachel's chronology
Selenography
(1999)		 Systems / Layers
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

Systems/Layers is the final LP by the instrumental group Rachel's.[4] It was released on October 7, 2003, on Quarterstick Records. The album is a collaborative dance/theater piece with the New York ensemble SITI Company.[2][5]

The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart.[6]

Reception

Initial critical response to Systems/Layers was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 81, based on 14 reviews.[7] PopMatters called the album "one of the year's finest releases," writing that "its greatest gift ... is its sheer compatibility -- you can take Systems/Layers anywhere and it will speak to you."[8] Exclaim! called it "at once touching and haunted, intimate and disturbingly uncomfortable."[9] The Times deemed it the band's worst album.[10] The East Bay Express labeled it "the soundtrack to your most brilliant, reflective life."[11]

Track listing

  1. "Moscow Is in the Telephone" – 3:59
  2. "Water from the Same Source" – 6:18
  3. "Systems/Layers" – 3:11
  4. "Expect Delays" – 3:57
  5. "Arterial" – 1:45
  6. "Even/Odd" – 3:14
  7. "Wouldn't Live Anywhere Else" – 2:47
  8. "Esperanza" – 5:32
  9. "Packet Switching" – 1:09
  10. "Where_Have_All_My_Files_Gone?" – 2:49
  11. "Reflective Surfaces" – 2:00
  12. "Unclear Channel" – 2:47
  13. "Last Things Last" – 3:33
  14. "Anytime Soon" – 2:18
  15. "Air Conditioning / A Closed Feeling" – 3:39
  16. "Singing Bridge" – 2:13
  17. "And Keep Smiling" – 2:38
  18. "4 or 5 Trees" – 6:04
  19. "NY Snow Globe" – 2:28

Personnel

  • Kyle Crabtree – drums
  • Christian Frederickson – viola, keyboards
  • Edward Grimes – drums, keyboards
  • Rachel Grimes – piano, keyboards
  • Greg King – films
  • Eve Miller – cello
  • Jason Noble – bass, guitar, drums, toolbelt, keyboards
  • Matthew Annin – French horn
  • Wendy Doyle – cello
  • Doug Elmore – stand-up bass
  • Jane Halliday – violin
  • Sarah Hill – violin
  • Stephen Webber – spoken word on "4 or 5 Trees"
  • Shannon Wright – vocals on "Last Things Last"

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Systems/Layers". Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Systems/Layers - Rachel's | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 731.
  4. ↑ "Rachel's | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  5. ↑ "Interview: Rachel's". Tiny Mix Tapes.
  6. ↑ "Rachel's". Billboard.
  7. ↑ "Systems/Layers Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Rachel's: Systems/Layers". PopMatters. November 5, 2003.
  9. ↑ "Rachel's Systems/Layers". exclaim.ca.
  10. ↑ Lee, Stewart (3 October 2023). "Rachel's: Systems/Layers" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  11. ↑ Richard, Eric K. Arnold (26 November 2003). "The Best Records of 2003 | Holiday Guide | Oakland, Berkeley & Bay Area". East Bay Express.
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