Broken (Soulsavers album)

Broken is the third full-length studio album by British electronic music production duo Soulsavers, and their second album predominantly featuring Mark Lanegan as lead vocalist. The album was released by V2 and Cooperative Music in the UK on 17 August 2009, and released by Columbia Records in the US in September 2009 as a digital download.[1]

Broken
Studio album by
Soulsavers
Released17 August 2009
Recorded2008–2009
Studio
Genre
Length64:52
LabelV2/Cooperative Music
ProducerSoulsavers
Soulsavers chronology
It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land
(2007)		 Broken
(2009)		 The Light the Dead See
(2012)
Mark Lanegan chronology
Sunday at Devil Dirt
(2008)		 Broken
(2009)		 Blues Funeral
(2012)
Singles from Broken
  1. "Sunrise"/"You Will Miss Me When I Burn"
    Released: 3 August 2009
  2. "Death Bells"
    Released: 14 September 2009
  3. "Unbalanced Pieces"
    Released: 2 November 2009
  4. "Some Misunderstanding"
    Released: 22 March 2010

Broken features a roster of guest musicians, including Mike Patton, Gibby Haynes, Richard Hawley, Jason Pierce, Richard Warren and Dustin O'Halloran. In addition to Lanegan, the album also includes several songs featuring Australian singer-songwriter Rosa Agostino, who performs under the moniker Red Ghost, as lead vocalist.

Background

As with their 2007 album It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land, a collaboration with Mark Lanegan and a host of guest vocalists, Broken once again features Lanegan as the primary vocalist, as well as contributions from Bonnie "Prince" Billy (Will Oldham), Jason Pierce (of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3), Mike Patton (of Faith No More), Richard Hawley, and Gibby Haynes (of Butthole Surfers).[2] The non-album single "Sunrise", a song written by Lanegan and sung by Will Oldham, preceded the album release on 3 August 2009. The AA-side is a cover of Palace Brothers' "You Will Miss Me When I Burn", written by Oldham and sung by Lanegan, that also features on the album. Additionally, the album features a cover of Gene Clark's 1974 opus "Some Misunderstanding", and a cover of Lanegan's own "Praying Ground" from his 1998 album Scraps at Midnight.

In a press release for the album, Rich Machin described Broken as the result of Soulsavers' live incarnation. "Touring has definitely brought the guitars to the front of Broken and it's got a more soulful twist too. And though it clearly has some very dark overtones, I don't think it's quite as dark as the last.[3] The album was recorded over 2008 and 2009 in Los Angeles and North England, and also features the vocals of newcomer Red Ghost, the performing moniker of Rosa Agostino. According to Rich, "This young Australian girl from Sydney kept on sending me demos... and she was better than most everything else we'd heard. We traded ideas, and it really gelled."[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[4]
Metacritic78/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
BBCpositive[6]
Clash8/10[7]
Drowned in Sound9/10[8]
The Guardian[9]
musicOMH[10]
NME8/10[11]
Pitchfork6.3/10[12]
PopMatters7/10[13]
The Scotsman[14]
The Times Online[15]

Critical response to Broken was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 78, based on 11 reviews.[16]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
1."The Seventh Proof"Ian Glover, Rich MachinInstrumental3:03
2."Death Bells"Glover, Lanegan, Machin, Richard WarrenMark Lanegan & Gibby Haynes4:50
3."Unbalanced Pieces"Glover, Lanegan, MachinMark Lanegan & Mike Patton4:07
4."You Will Miss Me When I Burn"Will OldhamMark Lanegan & Red Ghost3:48
5."Some Misunderstanding"Gene ClarkMark Lanegan7:57
6."All the Way Down"Glover, Lanegan, MachinMark Lanegan4:49
7."Shadows Fall"Glover, Lanegan, Machin, WarrenMark Lanegan & Richard Hawley6:36
8."Can't Catch the Train"Glover, Lanegan, MachinMark Lanegan3:34
9."Pharaoh's Chariot"Glover, Lanegan, MachinMark Lanegan & Jason Pierce4:32
10."Praying Ground"Mike Johnson, Lanegan, Keni RichardsRed Ghost3:44
11."Rolling Sky"Glover, Lanegan, MachinMark Lanegan & Red Ghost7:05
12."Wise Blood"Glover, MachinInstrumental5:37
13."By My Side"Rosa Agostino, Glover, MachinRed Ghost5:15
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
14."Sunrise"LaneganWill Oldham3:41
15."Highway Kind"Townes Van ZandtMark Lanegan2:48
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
14."Highway Kind"Van ZandtMark Lanegan2:51
15."Death Bells" (Mogwai Remix)Glover, Lanegan, Machin, WarrenMark Lanegan5:00

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[17] 28
Dutch Albums Chart[18] 58
UK Albums Chart[19] 78

Singles
  • "Sunrise"/"You Will Miss Me When I Burn" (7" vinyl, 3 August 2009)
    1. "Sunrise" (Lanegan) – 3:42
    2. "You Will Miss Me When I Burn" (Oldham) – 3:48
  • "Death Bells" (digital download, 14 September 2009)
    1. "Death Bells" – 4:49
    2. "Death Bells" (Mogwai Remix) – 4:59
  • "Unbalanced Pieces" (promo CD and music video only, 2 November 2009)
    1. "Unbalanced Pieces" (Radio Edit) – 3:58
  • "Some Misunderstanding" (promo CD only, 22 March 2010)
    1. "Some Misunderstanding" (Radio Edit) – 4:07

Credits
Musicians
  • All music by Rich Machin and Ian Glover.
  • Strings arranged by Daniele Luppi.
  • Mark Lanegan – vocals on tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11.
  • Rosa Agostino – vocals on tracks 4, 10, 11, and 13.
  • Jason Pierce – vocals on track 9.
  • Mike Patton – vocals on track 3.
  • Richard Hawley – vocals on track 7.
  • Gibby Haynes – vocals on track 2.
  • Wendi Rose, Carmen Stuart, T'jae Cole, and Eleanor Palmer – vocals on tracks 5, 6, and 7.
  • Dustin O'Halloran – additional piano on tracks 4 and 8.
  • Martyn LeNoble – additional bass on tracks 5, 6, 7, 9, and 13.
  • Kev Bales – additional drums on tracks 2, 5, 7, 11, and 12.
  • Ian Compton – additional organs on tracks 5, 7, and 10.
  • Ray Dickaty – additional saxophone on tracks 2, 3, and 11.
  • Anton Riehl – additional cedar flute on track 12.
  • Sonus Quartet – additional strings on tracks 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 13.
  • Rich Warren – additional guitar on tracks 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 13; additional bass on track 2; and additional harmonica on track 7.
Production
  • Produced by Soulsavers.
  • Mixed by Danton Supple and Soulsavers, except "Death Bells" mixed by Soulsavers.
  • Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange.
  • Engineered by Eric Weaver, Josh Blanchard, Anton Riehl, Peter Fletcher, Phil Hartley, and Mike Morgan.
  • Recorded 2008–2009 at:
    • Glenwood Place Studios and The Hobby Shop, Los Angeles
    • Mike Patton's place, San Francisco
    • Gibby Haynes' place, New York
    • Dustin O'Halloran's place, Berlin
    • Strongroom; Assault and Battery; Casa G; First Love Studios; Highfield St., England
    • 301 Studios, Sydney
  • Design by Ryan Besch at Hero Design Studio.
  • Live audio engineer for '09 tour — John Lee Hardee

References
  1. News in Brief: Soulsavers, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, the Howling Bells, Teenbeat Takeover
  2. Mark Lanegan and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy for new Soulsavers album
  3. "Soulsavers' Broken – Press Release". Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  4. "Soulsavers: Broken". AnyDecentMusic?. anydecentmusic.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  5. "BROKEN by Soulsavers". Metacritic CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  6. BBC review
  7. Clash review
  8. Takru, Radhika (17 August 2009). "Soulsavers: Broken". Drowned in Sound. drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  9. The Guardian review
  10. Hogwood, Ben (17 August 2009). "Soulsavers – Broken". musicOMH. musicomh.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  11. NME review
  12. Pitchfork Media review
  13. PopMatters review
  14. "Album review: Soulsavers - Broken". The Scotsman. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  15. The Times Online review
  16. Broken reviews at Metacritic.com
  17. "Soulsavers – Broken" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  18. "Soulsavers – Broken". http://dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  19. "The Official Charts Company - Broken by Soulsavers Search". The Official Charts Company. 12 April 2015.
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