Monomania (Deerhunter album)

Monomania is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Deerhunter, released on May 7, 2013 on 4AD. Produced by both the band and Nicolas Vernhes, the album is the first to feature bassist Josh McKay, and is the only studio album to feature guitarist Frankie Broyles.[3][4][5]

Monomania
Studio album by
Deerhunter
ReleasedMay 7, 2013 (2013-05-07)
RecordedJanuary–February 2013,[1]
StudioRare Book Room
(Brooklyn, New York)
GenreGarage rock[2]
Length43:21
Label4AD
Producer
Deerhunter chronology
Halcyon Digest
(2010)		 Monomania
(2013)		 Fading Frontier
(2015)

The album received universal acclaim upon its release. Monomania reached number seventy-three on the UK Albums Chart.

Background

The album's title is a reference to lead singer Bradford Cox’s obsessive traits.[6] In 2015, Cox reflected on his life while writing, recording and promoting Monomania, stating: I was actually going through a deep period of passionate rage. [...] That was what I was like at that time: a mixed-up wreck. Monomania was a very hateful record, and I mistreated a lot of people around me. I was in a lot of pain and very lonely. But there was also a big sense of humor; I never lose my sense of humor."[7]

Recording and release

The album was recorded at Rare Book Room Studio in Brooklyn, with producer Nicolas Vernhes, who also produced Microcastle and Rainwater Cassette Exchange.[8][9][10]

The album's title is a reference to lead singer Bradford Cox’s obsessive traits.[6] According to Lockett Pundt and Cox, Pierre Schaeffer, Steve Reich, and Bo Diddley were major influences on the album, along with the artists such as Ramones and Ricky Nelson. Bradford Cox noted, "I can't hold a match to that stuff and I never will. I'll never be black, I'll never have that experience. That's what's missing from indie culture, though: Bo Diddley and blackness. There's a struggle that exists in black music and hillbilly music from a certain era. Old music resonates with me, new music doesn't."[11] Cox also described the album as "a very avant-garde rock & roll record".[9][12]

In 2015, Cox reflected on Monomania and its reception: "I really think Monomania was a successful record artistically, and I don’t think people view it that way. I think it’s viewed as an exhausted misstep. Frankly, I feel a lot stronger about Monomania [than 2015's Fading Frontier]. Monomania was a case where I set out to accomplish, and I was able to execute, very much what I wanted to. In that way it was a success. I don’t give a shit how many copies it sold or how it got reviewed."[13]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[14]
Metacritic81/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
The A.V. ClubB+[17]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[18]
The Guardian[19]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A[20]
NME8/10[21]
Pitchfork8.3/10[2]
Q[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Spin9/10[24]

Critical

Monomania received positive reviews from critics upon its release. 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 41 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

Ian Cohen of Pitchfork gave the album a "Best New Music" designation, writing "Monomania is certainly a strong effort on its own merits, and more importantly, they’ve avoided making their deflating "diminishing returns" record [..] that casts doubts about whether they’ve gone too far down the same path. They’ve pulled off something admirable in making an illogical left turn feel like the logical next step where one didn’t exist."[2] Spin's Marc Hogan also praised the album, writing "An impishly brilliant 12-song set of scruffy garage rock with moments of dreamy shimmer, Monomania leaves no confusion about what sort of band Deerhunter are: one that won't stoop to conquer."[24]

Slant Magazine's Kevin Liedel, on the other hand, gave the album a mixed review, writing "A catalogue of trailing ellipses and blank thought balloons, the album is hardly characteristic of the band's fastidious mien. Whereas both Deerhunter and Atlas Sound albums typically reflect the obsessive brilliance and meticulous pathos of Cox's personality, there's few signs of either on Monomania, which is in dire need of a little less impulse and a bit more OCD."[25]

In "Run It Back: Beats Per Minute's Top 50 Albums of 2013," John Amen wrote, "Throughout Monomania, Deerhunter showcase their versatility, drawing from multiple playbooks. Cox, meanwhile, revels in mysterious yet emotionally accessible songs, frequently occurring as a born-in-the-garage and punk-nursed reincarnation of John Lennon. Placing hi-fi concepts and compositions in a lo-fi setting, Monomania is arguably Deerhunter’s most consummate outing."[26]

Commercial

The album debuted at No. 41 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its release, selling around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week.[27] It also debuted at No. 12 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums,[28] and No. 10 on the Alternative Albums chart.[29] The album has sold 33,000 copies in the United States as of October 2015.[30]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bradford Cox except for "The Missing" written by Lockett Pundt

No.TitleLength
1."Neon Junkyard"2:52
2."Leather Jacket II"3:09
3."The Missing"3:41
4."Pensacola"4:00
5."Dream Captain"3:02
6."Blue Agent"3:30
7."T.H.M."4:19
8."Sleepwalking"3:08
9."Back to the Middle"2:37
10."Monomania"5:19
11."Nitebike"4:17
12."Punk (La vie antérieure)"3:27

Personnel

Deerhunter
  • Bradford Cox – vocals (1–2, 4–12), percussion (3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10), tapes (1, 2, 6, 10), acoustic guitar (1, 6, 11), electric rhythm guitar (4, 12), guitar (5), electric melody bass (12), synthesizer (3), organ (5), gamelan (2), treatments (3), little instruments (5), fog machine (1), metal box (9)
  • Lockett Pundt – electric rhythm guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8), electric lead guitar (3, 4, 9, 10), lead vocals (3), octave lead guitar (2), low guitar (7) acoustic guitar (9, 12), percussion (5), field recording (10)
  • Moses Archuleta – drums, percussion (1), videos (1), auxiliary hi-hat (3)
  • Frankie Broyles – electric lead guitar (1, 2, 5, 6, 8), electric guitar (3), electric rhythm guitar (9, 10), steel guitar (4), high guitar (7), acoustic guitar (12), field recording (10)
  • Josh McKay – bass guitar, farfisa (9), Wurlitzer (9), Baldwin organ (9)

Recording personnel

Artwork
  • Winston Parker – "Neon Calligraphy"
  • Robert Semmer – photography
  • Proenza Schouler – clothing and direction
  • Matt de Jong – art direction
  • Bradford Cox – art direction

Chart positions
Chart (2013) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 84
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 130
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] 79
Irish Albums (IRMA)[34] 68
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[35] 95
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 71
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[37] 17
US Billboard 200[38] 41
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[39] 10
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[40] 6
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[41] 12
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[42] 2

References
  1. Kane, Tyler (March 22, 2013). "Deerhunter announces new album, "Monomania"". Paste. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  2. Cohen, Ian (May 3, 2013). "Deerhunter: Monomania". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  3. Martins, Chris (March 22, 2013). "Deerhunter Reveal 'Monomania,' an Avant-Garde Album of 'Nocturnal Garage'". Spin. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  4. "Deerhunter announce details of new album "Monomania"". Fact. March 22, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  5. "Deerhunter Announces Fifth Album "Monomania" + New Lineup". Filter. March 22, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  6. "Bradford Cox Talks Nervous Breakdown, New Atlas Sound Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  7. "Beyond Nostalgia: A Conversation With Deerhunter's Bradford Cox". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  8. Pelly, Jenn and Amy Phillips (March 22, 2013). "Deerhunter Announce New Album, Monomania". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  9. Hudson, Alex (March 22, 2013). "Deerhunter Announce New Album: 'Monomania'". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  10. Vozick-Levinson, Simon. "Deerhunter Records New Album in Brooklyn". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  11. "Deerhunter - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  12. Young, Alex (March 22, 2013). "Deerhunter to release new album, Monomania, in May". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  13. Hyden, Steven (September 16, 2015). "The Not-So-Final 'Frontier': Deerhunter's Bradford Cox on His Band's New Album and Maturing in Indie Rock". Grantland. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  14. "Monomania by Deerhunter reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  15. "Reviews for Monomania by Deerhunter". Metacritic. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  16. Phares, Heather. "Monomania – Deerhunter". AllMusic. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  17. Ray, Austin L. (May 7, 2013). "Deerhunter: Monomania". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  18. Smith, Grady; Rahman, Ray; Collis, Clark (May 3, 2013). "Albums: May 10, 2013". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  19. Hann, Michael (May 9, 2013). "Deerhunter: Monomania – review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  20. Christgau, Robert (May 21, 2013). "Vampire Weekend/Deerhunter". MSN Music. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  21. Stevens, Jenny (April 26, 2013). "Deerhunter – 'Monomania'". NME. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  22. "Deerhunter: Monomania". Q (323): 96. June 2013.
  23. Anderson, Stacey (May 7, 2013). "Monomania". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  24. Hogan, Marc (May 7, 2013). "Deerhunter, 'Monomania' (4AD)". Spin. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  25. Liedel, Kevin (May 3, 2013). "Deerhunter: Monomania". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  26. Hakimian, Rob; Smirnov, Aleksandr; Johnston, Andy; Pickard, Joshua; Wohlmacher, John; Forstneger, Steve; Amen, John; Reis, Ethan; Thomas, Carlo (2023-07-17). "Run It Back: BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2013". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  27. "Billboard 200". Billboard. May 25, 2013.
  28. "Top Rock Albums". Billboard. May 25, 2013.
  29. "Alternative Albums". Billboard. May 25, 2013.
  30. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
  31. "Ultratop.be – Deerhunter – Monomania" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  32. "Ultratop.be – Deerhunter – Monomania" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  33. "Dutchcharts.nl – Deerhunter – Monomania" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  34. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 19, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  35. モノマニア (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  36. "Deerhunter | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  37. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  38. "Deerhunter Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  39. "Deerhunter Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  40. "Deerhunter Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  41. "Deerhunter Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  42. "Deerhunter Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
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