| In Amber | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 17, 2022 | |||
| Recorded | Blackbird Studios (Berlin), Vox-Ton (Berlin), Dampoort Studios (Ghent) | |||
| Length | 56:30 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Hercules and Love Affair chronology | ||||
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| Singles from In Amber | ||||
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In Amber is the fifth studio album by Hercules and Love Affair, released digitally and physically on June 17, 2022, by Skint Records/BMG.[1] The band's founder, singer and musician, Andy Butler worked again with singer Anohni (previously of Anohni and the Johnsons): Anohni appeared on several tracks, including the singles "Poisonous Storytelling",[2] and "One".[3] "Grace", the first song released ahead of the album, was sung by Butler with Icelandic singer Elin Ey.
AllMusic wrote that In Amber, "pivoted away from upbeat, dance-oriented tracks into a more reflective style. Featuring Anohni for the first time since 2008, the record channeled emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness while retaining the pristine production that Butler has cultivated throughout his career".[4]
In Amber received critical acclaim. It was named "Album of the Year 2022" by The Arts Desk,[5] and Slant Magazine included "One" in "The 50 Best Songs of 2022" list.[6]
- ^ Minsker, Evan (April 6, 2022). "Anohni Joins Hercules & Love Affair on New Song 'Poisonous Storytelling'". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "The 15 Best Songs of April 2022". Paste. May 3, 2022. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ Brodsky, Rachel (May 3, 2022). "Hercules & Love Affair – "One" (Feat. ANOHNI)". Stereogum. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ Kellman, Andy. "Biography - Hercules & Love Affair". AllMusic. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ Muggs, Joe (December 16, 2022). "Album of the Year 2022: Hercules & Love Affair - In Amber". The Arts Desk. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ Lyons, Burt (December 6, 2022). "32. Hercules & Love Affair featuring Anohni, "One"". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
"One" is the pièce de résistance of Hercules & Love Affair's In Amber. It's a doom-y kind of house music—forceful yet ethereal, done up with flighty woodwinds, a stomping drumbeat, and the insistent ringing of a triangle. Anohni's theatrical, commanding, and singular vocal articulates every syllable of the enigmatic yet evocative lyrics—"Mouth and volcano, one…feeding upon my own flesh"—whose confounding nature only teases us to return to the song over and over.