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The Architect (Paloma Faith album)

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The Architect
Studio album by
Released17 November 2017
RecordedMarch 2015 – July 2017
Genre
Length48:42
Label
Producer
Paloma Faith chronology
A Perfect Contradiction
(2014)
The Architect
(2017)
Infinite Things
(2020)
Singles from The Architect
  1. "Crybaby"
    Released: 31 August 2017
  2. "Guilty"
    Released: 26 October 2017
  3. "'Til I'm Done"
    Released: 16 February 2018
  4. "Make Your Own Kind of Music"
    Released: 20 April 2018
  5. "Warrior"
    Released: 6 July 2018
Singles from Zeitgeist Edition
  1. "Lullaby"
    Released: 23 February 2018
  2. "Loyal"
    Released: 11 October 2018

The Architect is the fourth studio album by British singer Paloma Faith, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 17 November 2017.[1]

Faith stated, "The Architect is a social observation record. I was adamant that I wouldn't write about love. I wanted to look outside of myself. I'm coming at politics from the perspective of the common man or woman, observing why people are suffering. Each song on the record is about a different pocket of the socio-political world that I've been delving into. I wanted to write something more modern. On previous albums I've been more concerned with the past, but now I'm looking forward because of motherhood and wanting to change things for a better future. It's a marriage of old and new."

The Architect debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 40,000 copies,[2] becoming Faith's first UK chart-topping album and pushing Reputation by Taylor Swift from the top spot.[3] Following the release of the Zeitgeist Edition in November 2018, The Architect re-entered the UK Albums Chart Top 40 at number twenty-two.[4]

Background

[edit]

In June 2015, during her Glastonbury Festival performance, Faith confirmed having started the process of creating her fourth studio album. "Now we're going to bring to your attention what I've been listening to a lot when making album number four," she told the crowd, before performing a cover of "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix.[5] In addition to the inspiration from Hendrix, Faith has also stated she has been listening to "a lot of psychedelic rock", including Janis Joplin.[6] In another interview Faith stated she is very happy and hasn't "anything to moan about" in her current relationship, which led her to conclude that "there's a lot of things going on in the world that are [just] as important as love". As a result, Faith attempted to write songs which "aren't about love or heartache", something the singer found challenging.[7] In a Facebook post dated 10 June 2016, Faith indicated that the new album would have a full orchestra on part of it, "composed by David Arnold".[8]

On 22 August 2016, in a letter to fans (handwritten by Faith) was posted on her website, announcing that she was pregnant, after spending her "whole life" wanting to be a mother. The "Update" also says that, after working with the "amazing" Jesse Shatkin her fourth album would be entitled "The Architect" and released in 2017.[9] After her maternity break, Faith said she would return "full of energy and excited to come and sing for you again".

Faith released the first single from the album, "Crybaby" on 31 August 2017,[10] in the process announcing the release date, before putting the album up for pre-order on 22 September 2017, along with the tracklisting and album artwork. She also confirmed a collaboration with actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Singles

[edit]

The album's first single was the disco-tinged "Crybaby", written in collaboration with the producer Starsmith. It was made available for streaming and download on 31 August 2017. The song's dystopian-themed music video was directed by Thomas James, and was released on 22 September 2017 alongside the album pre-order and the release of tour dates for Faith's 2018 UK arena tour. The song peaked at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart. On 22 October it was announced that "Guilty" would be the second single.[11] On 24 January, Faith announced through an Instagram post that "'Til I'm Done" would be released the following day as the third single from the recording;[12] this information was later posted on different websites, in which it was stated that the single would impact radio stations on 16 February[13] while a remix EP would be released on 2 February.[14] Faith's cover of "Make Your Own Kind of Music" was announced in April 2018 to be included on the album's digital track listing, thus becoming its fourth official single. The song was included on the track listing on 20 April 2018, over a month after the cover's original release date.[15] "Warrior" was released as the fifth single on 6 July 2018. "Loyal" was released as the first single from the Zeitgeist Edition with an accompanying lyric video on 11 October 2018.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.1/10[16]
Metacritic72/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
The Guardian[19]
NME[20]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Architect received an average score of 72 based on six reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[17]

Track listing

[edit]
The Architect – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Evolution" (featuring Samuel L. Jackson)1:04
2."The Architect"3:25
3."Guilty"
4:19
4."Crybaby"
Starsmith3:53
5."I'll Be Gentle" (with John Legend)
  • Starsmith
  • Shatkin
4:15
6."Politics of Hope" (featuring Owen Jones)Faith
  • Starsmith
  • Faith
0:54
7."Kings and Queens"
  • Shatkin
3:51
8."Surrender"
  • Green
  • Ghostwriter
  • James Reynolds
3:33
9."Warrior"
  • Dixon
  • Shatkin
  • Emre Ramazanoglu
3:44
10."Til I'm Done"
  • Shatkin
  • TMS
3:44
11."Lost and Lonely"
3:41
12."Still Around"
3:47
13."Pawns" (featuring Baby N'Sola, Janelle Martin & Naomi Miller)
  • Faith
  • Starsmith
  • Faith
0:51
14."WW3"
  • Shatkin
3:10
15."Love Me as I Am"
  • Ahlund
  • Birgisson
4:31
Total length:48:42
The Architect – Digital Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Make Your Own Kind of Music"
  • Barry Mann
  • Cynthia Weil
2:43
Total length:51:25
The Architect – Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Power to the Peaceful"
  • Hartman
3:18
17."Tonight's Not the Only Night"
  • Faith
  • White
  • White
  • Shatkin
3:47
18."My Body"
  • Starsmith
  • Reynolds
  • Brown
3:48
19."Price of Fame"
  • Shatkin
  • Brenneck
  • Steinweiss
3:00
Total length:62:35
The Architect – Digital Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
20."Make Your Own Kind of Music"
  • Barry Mann
  • Cynthia Weil
2:43
Total length:65:18
The Architect – Zeitgeist Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
20."Loyal"
3:40
21."Final Breath"
  • Starsmith
3:12
22."Your Ex"
3:36
23."Older"
  • Faith
  • Dow-Smith
  • Tighe
Starsmith3:06
24."Make Your Own Kind of Music"
  • Barry Mann
  • Cynthia Weil
  • TMS
  • Chris Bishop
  • Kelpner
  • Cook
  • David Arnold
2:43
25."Lullaby" (with Sigala)
  • Joe Ashworth
  • Sigala
  • Joakim Jarl
3:24

Notes

  • ^a signifies an additional producer
  • ^b signifies a co-producer

[1][21][22]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 450,000[34]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Paloma Faith unwraps artwork, tracklisting for new album 'The Architect'". 22 September 2017.
  2. ^ White, Jack (24 November 2017). "Paloma Faith has bagged her first Number 1 album". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  5. ^ Corner, Lewis (28 June 2015). "Paloma Faith wows Glastonbury 2015 with powerful Pyramid Stage set". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  6. ^ Virgin Media (30 October 2015). "Watch Paloma Faith talk about taking inspiration from the internet - Vivid - Virgin Media". YouTube.
  7. ^ Mark Sieving (27 May 2015). "Paloma Faith Interview March 2015 720p HD". YouTube.
  8. ^ "Paloma Faith Facebook Post".
  9. ^ Waring, Olivia (22 August 2016). "Paloma Faith says she's NOT returning to The Voice as she announces she's pregnant". Metro. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Paloma Faith unveils new single Crybaby".
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Update Top 100 - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  12. ^ "Instagram post by Paloma Faith • Jan 24, 2018 at 7:44pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
  13. ^ Pip Ellwood-Hughes (5 January 2018). "Paloma Faith announces February release for new single Til I'm Done". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  14. ^ "'Til I'm Done (Remixes) – Single by Paloma Faith on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). 2 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  15. ^ "The Architect by Paloma Faith on iTunes". iTunes. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  16. ^ "The Architect by Paloma Faith reviews | Any Decent Music". www.anydecentmusic.com. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Reviews for The Architect by Paloma Faith". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  18. ^ AllMusic review
  19. ^ Dave Simpson (16 November 2017). "Paloma Faith: The Architect review – big-voiced pop trounces small 'p' politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Paloma Faith - 'The Architect' Album Review". NME. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  21. ^ "The Architect (Deluxe) by Paloma Faith on Apple Music". iTunes Store (NZ). Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  22. ^ "Paloma Faith Will Release Her New Album 'The Architect' on November 17: Pressparty". Pressparty.
  23. ^ "ARIA Chart Watch #448". auspOp. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Paloma Faith – The Architect" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 24 November 2017". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  26. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  28. ^ "Scottish Albums Chart 23-29 November 2018". Official Charts Company.
  29. ^ "UK Albums Chart 23-29 November 2018". Official Charts Company.
  30. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  31. ^ "UK Digital Albums Chart 23-29 November 2018". Official Charts Company.
  32. ^ White, Jack (3 January 2018). "The Top 40 biggest albums of 2017 on the Official Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  33. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  34. ^ Paine, George Garner (14 October 2020). "Inside some of the biggest albums still to come in 2020". Music Week. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  35. ^ "British album certifications – Paloma Faith – The Architect". British Phonographic Industry.