Unflesh

Unflesh is the second studio album by English electronic music project Gazelle Twin of composer, producer and musician Elizabeth Bernholz. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 September 2014 to critical acclaim.

Unflesh
Studio album by
Gazelle Twin
Released22 September 2014 (2014-09-22)
Recorded2014
Genre
Length38:36
Label
Producer
Gazelle Twin chronology
The Entire City
(2012)		 Unflesh
(2014)		 Pastoral
(2018)
Singles from Unflesh
  1. "Belly of the Beast"
    Released: 3 March 2014
  2. "Anti Body"
    Released: 7 April 2014
  3. "GUTS"
    Released: 2 May 2014
  4. "Human Touch"
    Released: 2 May 2014

Production

Bernholz discussed developing the tracks: "Beats are the most instinctive thing to begin with as I get sense of something moving forward. I always find that a beat and a baseline work best to form the skeleton of a track, but sometimes it's good to shake things up and do it differently. I really like to loop found or homemade samples and hear melodies, or beats or harmonic overtones in those, and start building from there. Other times I'll start with a vocal line and build outwards."[4]

Bernholz made Unflesh using the digital audio workstation Ableton. She wrote, recorded and produced all the material at home, and then went to MemeTune, an analogue studio in London, where she worked with Benge for additional production and mixing. All the tracks were mixed using a 1974 MCI console, Bernholz reasoning that "Anything sounds better through an analogue desk like that."[4]

Composition

The writing process of Unflesh was simplified from Gazelle Twin's previous albums, resulting in a more direct and lo-fi sound and sharing only minimal connections with The Entire City. The record is more spoken word than melodic.[2] Guy Mankowski described Unflesh lyrically as a "post-Kid A album, an extended critique of postmodern living".[5] Euthanasia, miscarriage, European colonization, personal upbringing, and body dysmorphia are among the subjects present on the album.[6]

The soundscapes were partly inspired by Bernholz' two-year study of science of medicine.[6] In the words of Drowned in Sound writer Tristan Bath, instrumentation of "skittering beats" and "squeamishly thin synth tones" remain present throughout the album, with Bernholz' vocals "on top more often than not twisted unrecognisably into that of a demonic robot." Her voice changes constantly, writing that there are "several songs applying layer upon layer of densely mutated vocal tracks (as on the title track) while others remain clean in favour of the lyrics ('I Feel Blood')."[7] The synths were noted to be influenced by Iggy Pop and John Carpenter.[6] Artrocker's Finola Doran described the record as "like a piece of art rather than music one would sing and dance to",[8] while in contrast, Robert Whitfield noted Unflesh to be "surprisingly danceable record amidst all the dark beats".[9]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[10]
Metacritic83/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
Drowned in Sound8/10[7]
Exclaim!9/10[2]
musicOMH[1]
NME7/10[12]
PopMatters9/10[5]
Q[13]
Uncut8/10[14]

Unflesh was met with critical acclaim upon release, holding an aggregated 83 out of 100 from Metacritic based on eight reviews.[11] It was named album of the year by The Quietus.[15]

Accolades
Year Country Publication/Author Accolade Rank
2014 United Kingdom The 405 The 30 Best Albums of 2014[16] 23
musicOMH Top 100 Albums of 2014[17] 79
United States NPR Music The Ten Best Electronic Albums of 2014[18] 4
United Kingdom The Quietus Albums of the Year 2014[19] 1
Uncut Top 75 Albums of 2014[20] 63

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gazelle Twin.

No.TitleLength
1."Unflesh"3:25
2."GUTS"3:02
3."Exorcise"4:20
4."Good Death"3:23
5."Anti Body"3:19
6."Child"2:30
7."Premonition"3:19
8."A1 Receptor"0:25
9."Belly of the Beast"3:00
10."Human Touch"4:00
11."I Feel Blood"3:32
12."Still Life"4:21
Total length:38:36

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Gazelle Twin's official bandcamp.[21]

Musician
  • Gazelle Twin – vocals

Technical personnel
  • Gazelle Twin – production, recording, mixing
  • Benge – additional production, mixing
  • Shawn Joseph – mastering

Artwork
  • Gazelle Twin – artwork
  • Barnbrook – typography

References
  1. Shepherd, Sam (8 October 2014). "Gazelle Twin – Unflesh". musicOMH. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. Simpson, Scott (19 September 2014). "Gazelle Twin – Unflesh". Exclaim!. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  3. Stasis, Spyros (17 September 2018). "'Pastoral' Sees Gazelle Twin Perform a Sardonic Reconfiguration of Avant-pop". PopMatters. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  4. "Talking Shop: Gazelle Twin". Future Music. MusicRadar. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  5. Mankowski, Guy (14 October 2014). "Gazelle Twin: Unflesh". Popmatters. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  6. Adams, Gregory (3 July 2014). "Gazelle Twin Details 'Unflesh,' Premieres New Track". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  7. Bath, Tristan (27 October 2014). "Album Review: Gazelle Twin – Unflesh". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  8. "Artrocker liked it". Gazelle Twin. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  9. Whitfield, Robert (19 September 2014). "Gazelle Twin – Unflesh". The 405. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. "Unflesh by Gazelle Twin reviews". AnyDecentMusic?.
  11. "Unflesh – Gazelle Twin". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  12. Huggett, Stuart (19 September 2014). "Gazelle Twin – 'Unflesh'". NME. Inspire. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  13. "Mr Simon Price for Q Magazine". Gazelle Twin. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  14. ""This is a rich, dark and gorgeous album, bristling with sonic challenge and literary depth" Uncut Magazine dish out a monster 8/10 review for Gazelle Twin's UNFLESH". Facebook. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  15. Doran, John (11 December 2014). "Quietus Albums Of The Year 2014 (In Association With Norman Records)". The Quietus. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  16. "The 30 Best Albums of 2014". The 405. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  17. Hubbard, Michael (6 December 2014). "musicOMH's Top 100 Albums Of 2014". musicOMH. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  18. Hart, Otis (20 December 2014). "The 10 Best Electronic Albums Of 2014". NPR Music. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  19. Doran, John (11 December 2014). "Quietus Albums Of The Year 2014 (In Association With Norman Records)". The Quietus. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  20. "Uncut's Top 75 Albums of 2014". Album of the Year. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  21. "UNFLESH by Gazelle Twin". Bandcamp. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
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