Fading Frontier

Fading Frontier is the seventh studio album by the American indie rock band Deerhunter, released on October 16, 2015 on 4AD.[4] Produced by Ben H. Allen, who had previously worked with the band on Halcyon Digest (2010), and the band itself, the album was preceded by the singles "Snakeskin", "Breaker" and "Living My Life".

Fading Frontier
Studio album by
Deerhunter
ReleasedOctober 16, 2015 (2015-10-16)
Genre
Length36:02
Label4AD
Producer
  • Deerhunter
  • Ben H. Allen
Deerhunter chronology
Monomania
(2013)		 Fading Frontier
(2015)		 Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?
(2019)
Singles from Fading Frontier
  1. "Snakeskin"
    Released: August 16, 2015
  2. "Breaker"
    Released: September 15, 2015
  3. "Living My Life"
    Released: October 13, 2015

Background

In December 2014, Bradford Cox was involved in a car crash which left him "seriously injured, but also provided a perspective-giving jolt". Prior to the release of Fading Frontier, Cox stated that the accident "erased all illusions" and admitted that it was a definite turning point for him. Fading Frontier is Deerhunter's and Cox's first release since the accident.[5] This album saw the departure of Frankie Broyles, who left the band in 2015 to focus on his solo career.[6] The song "Ad Astra" contains a sample from Bascom Lamar Lunsford's "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground."[7][8]

Release and promotion

Fading Frontier was announced via a countdown timer on Deerhunter's website, which ended on 16 August 2015.[9]

The first single released was "Snakeskin" on August 17,[10] followed up with "Breaker" on September 15, of which the video was directed by Cox himself.[11]

The cover art for the album is a photograph titled "Zuma" by the artist John Divola.[12]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[13]
Metacritic81/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
The A.V. ClubA−[7]
The Guardian[16]
The Irish Times[17]
Mojo[18]
NME5/5[19]
Pitchfork8.4/10[3]
Q[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Spin9/10[22]

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 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[14]

Consequence of Sound critic Sheldon Pearce wrote that the album is "one more gem from a well-traveled band that’s still finding new territory to explore."[1] NME critic Barry Nicholson praised the record and gave it a perfect score, describing it as "a remarkable album, one that only grows more awesome with each listen."[19] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork awarded the album with a "Best New Music" tag and wrote: "If there isn't a Deerhunter sound, there's a Deerhunter perspective that runs through their work, best summed up in 'All the Same'—'take your handicaps/ Channel them and feed them back/ Until they become your strengths.' The weird era continues."[3] In The Guardian, Alex Petridis noted the album's more mainstream sound: "there are so many straightforwardly commercial-sounding songs here," he observed, "that Fading Frontier could conceivably be an album that turns Deerhunter from cult concern into mainstream success."[16] Citing a lack of angst and urgency in comparison to previous efforts, Exclaim!'s Anna Alger wrote that "On Fading Frontier, Deerhunter focus on their ability as a band to hypnotize and confound, which make the explosive moments here stand out that much more."[23]

In a less favorable review, Clash critic Sam Walker-Smart wrote that the record "is by no means a poor album, and truth be told really doesn't possess a bad number on it." Nevertheless, he added: "When the oddities on this album ride so high they should have let complete weirdness take over." [24]

Accolades
Publication Accolade Year Rank
The Guardian The Best Albums of 2015 2015
12[25]
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2015 2015
14[26]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
30[27]
Readers' Top 50 Albums 2015
14[28]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
42[29]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bradford Cox, except "Ad Astra" by Lockett Pundt.

No.TitleLength
1."All the Same"3:05
2."Living My Life"3:49
3."Breaker"3:31
4."Duplex Planet"2:40
5."Take Care"4:12
6."Leather and Wood"5:55
7."Snakeskin"4:20
8."Ad Astra"5:32
9."Carrion"2:58

Personnel

Credits for the album were adapted from a press release by 4AD.[4]

Deerhunter

Additional musicians
  • Tim Gane – electronic harpsichord (4)
  • James Cargill – synthesizers, tapes (5)
  • Zumi Rosow – treated alto saxophone (7)

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 74
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 75
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 89
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] 54
Irish Albums (IRMA)[34] 45
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 53
US Billboard 200[36] 72
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[37] 10

References
  1. Pearce, Sheldon (October 13, 2015). "Deerhunter – Fading Frontier". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  2. "Deerhunter - Fading Frontier". Uncut: 82. November 2015.
  3. Cohen, Ian (October 12, 2015). "Deerhunter: Fading Frontier". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  4. "'Fading Frontier', The New Album By Deerhunter". 4AD. 4AD. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  5. Rachel, T. Cole (20 August 2015). "Beyond Nostalgia: A Conversation with Deerhunter's Bradford Cox". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  6. Birnstengel, Grace (August 14, 2015). "Frankie Broyles – "Capturer"". Stereogum. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  7. Reiff, Corbin (October 16, 2015). "Deerhunter grows up and finds peace on Fading Frontier". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  8. Joffe, Justin. A Totally Batshit Conversation With Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox. Observer.com. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  9. Helman, Peter (August 14, 2015). "Deerhunter Launch Countdown For New Album Fading Frontier". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  10. "Deerhunter Announce New Album Fading Frontier, Share "Snakeskin"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  11. "Deerhunter Share Dreamy "Breaker" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  12. Helman, Peter. "Deerhunter – "Snakeskin" Video + Fading Frontier Details". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. "Fading Frontier by Deerhunter reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  14. "Reviews for Fading Frontier by Deerhunter". Metacritic. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  15. Phares, Heather. "Fading Frontier – Deerhunter". AllMusic. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  16. Petridis, Alexis (October 15, 2015). "Deerhunter: Fading Frontier review – Bradford Cox's poppiest album yet". The Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  17. Jones, Chris (October 16, 2015). "Deerhunter: Fading Frontier | Album Review". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  18. Chick, Stevie (October 16, 2015). "Deerhunter – Fading Frontier". Mojo. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  19. Nicholson, Barry (October 12, 2015). "Deerhunter – 'Fading Frontier'". NME. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  20. "Deerhunter: Fading Frontier". Q (352): 107. November 2015.
  21. Dolan, Jon (October 16, 2015). "Fading Frontier". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  22. Hogan, Marc (October 12, 2015). "Review: Deerhunter Destroy the World Just to Survive It on 'Fading Frontier'". Spin. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  23. Alger, Anna (October 14, 2015). "Deerhunter – Fading Frontier". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  24. Walker-Smart, Sam (October 9, 2015). "Deerhunter – Fading Frontier". Clash. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  25. "The Best Albums of 2015". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  26. "NME'S Albums of the Year 2015". nme.com. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  27. "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  28. "Readers' Poll Results 2015". Pitchfork. January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  29. "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". stereogum.com. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  30. Ryan, Gavin (October 24, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Hillsong Lands Second No 1 Album for 2015". Noise11. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  31. "Ultratop.be – Deerhunter – Fading Frontier" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  32. "Ultratop.be – Deerhunter – Fading Frontier" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  33. "Dutchcharts.nl – Deerhunter – Fading Frontier" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  34. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 43, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  35. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  36. "Deerhunter Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  37. "Deerhunter Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
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