Night Call (album)

Night Call is the third studio album by British artist Years & Years, released on 21 January 2022 by Polydor Records. It serves as the follow-up to their second album Palo Santo (2018).[2] Marking the first album release of Years & Years as Alexander's solo project following the departure of Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen, it was preceded by three singles; "Starstruck", "Crave", "Sweet Talker" with Swedish DJ duo Galantis. Alexander embarked on the Night Call Tour in support of the album in the UK and Ireland.[3]

Night Call
Standard cover
Studio album by
Years & Years
Released21 January 2022
GenrePop[1]
Length33:57
LabelPolydor
Producer
Years & Years chronology
Palo Santo
(2018)		 Night Call
(2022)
Singles from Night Call
  1. "Starstruck"
    Released: 8 April 2021
  2. "Crave"
    Released: 28 September 2021
  3. "Sweet Talker"
    Released: 24 November 2021

Background

Years & Years released their second album Palo Santo on 6 July 2018, supported by four singles. The album was commercially and critically successful, receiving critical acclaim from music critics and debuting in the top 3 on the UK Albums Chart. They also embarked on the Palo Santo Tour (2018–19) in support of the album.

On 18 March 2021, the band announced a third Years & Years album to be released in 2021. It was simultaneously announced that Goldsworthy and Türkmen had stepped down as active members, and that the act would continue as Alexander's solo project.[4][5]

On 28 September 2021, the album's cover art, title, and release date were revealed on his social media accounts.[6] Speaking about Night Call, Alexander said in a statement: "I was writing from a fantastical space, stuck in the same four walls. I wanted to have as much pleasure as possible in the music."[7]

Singles

On 23 March 2021, Olly Alexander announced the lead single off the album "Starstruck", which was released on 8 April. It was Alexander's first song release with Years & Years being a solo project, following the departures of Goldsworthy and Türkmen. The song peaked at 31 on the UK Singles Chart, and was promoted with a music video, which was released on 12 April, and a variety of remixes, including one with Australian singer Kylie Minogue.

"Crave" was released on 28 September 2021 as the second single off the album, which was announced along with the album announcement. A music video for the song premiered on the same day.

"Sweet Talker", which features Swedish electronic music duo Galantis, was released as the third and final single off the album on 24 November 2021. The music video for the song premiered on 9 December, and the song peaked at 26 on the UK Singles Chart. It was hailed Billboard as "a romantic, glorious dancefloor anthem" and Dancing Astronaut labelling it "a tour de force".[8]

Other notable songs

Ahead of the album's release, "Sooner or Later" was released on 14 January 2022 with a lyric video being released on the same day. The song was co-written by Alexander, Clarence Coffee Jr., and Mark Ralph, who also produced the song. The track is a synth-pop track, with it lyrically talking about Alexander chasing after a lost love who broke his heart."[9][8][10]

"Hallucination" was released on 18 February 2022, which featured on a reissued deluxe edition of Night Call on Spotify. The song features Kosovo Albanian DJ Regard and lyrically finds Alexander "warning off serial heartbreakers."[11]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.6/10[12]
Metacritic71/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Clash7/10[15]
Evening Standard[16]
Gigwise[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[19]
musicOMH[1]
NME[20]
The Skinny[21]
The Telegraph[22]

Night Call has received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 71 based on 13 reviews.[13] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

AllMusic's Mark Collar said "While Night Call builds nicely upon Years & Years' indie electronic roots, it primarily feels like a new beginning for Alexander as he boldly embraces his pop future."[14]

In a positive review Robin Murray from Clash said that "It never quite transgresses those influences, yet in terms of sheer charm and bravura it places Olly right up there with his idols."[15]

Ben Devlin from musicOMH wrote that "Night Call, for all its merits, is a selection of pop songs that have no meaningful connection and which one could hear anywhere."[1]

In a mixed review writing for The Skinny Nadia Younes said "Unfortunately, Olly Alexander’s first solo outing as Years & Years doesn’t quite hit the mark, but even though they may be few and far between, there are still some glimmers of potential on Night Call."[21]

Track listing
Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Consequences"
  • Ralph
  • Ed Carlile[c]
3:05
2."Starstruck"
  • Ralph
  • DetoNate
3:27
3."Night Call"
2:50
4."Intimacy"
  • Alexander
  • Coffee Jr.
  • Ralph
  • Ledwidge
  • Ralph
  • DetoNate
2:35
5."Crave"
  • Alexander
  • Ralph
  • Ralph
  • DetoNate
3:17
6."Sweet Talker" (with Galantis)
2:57
7."Sooner or Later"
  • Alexander
  • Coffee Jr.
  • Ralph
Ralph3:20
8."20 Minutes"
  • Ralph
  • Reid
2:59
9."Strange and Unusual"
  • Alexander
  • Coffee Jr.
  • Ralph
  • Ledwidge
  • Ralph
  • DetoNate
3:15
10."Make It Out Alive"
3:03
11."See You Again"
Ralph3:09
Total length:33:57
Deluxe edition[23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Immaculate"
  • Alexander
  • Wolfgang
  • Ralph
  • Ralph
  • Reid
2:51
13."Muscle"
Little3:07
14."Reflection"
  • Alexander
  • Coffee Jr.
  • Ledwidge
DetoNate3:31
15."A Second to Midnight" (with Kylie Minogue)
  • Stannard
  • Blackwell
3:27
16."Starstruck" (Kylie Minogue remix)
  • Alexander
  • Coffee Jr.
  • Ralph
  • Ledwidge
  • Minogue
  • Ralph
  • DetoNate
3:26
Total length:50:19
Japanese edition bonus track[24]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Starstruck" (with Sirup; Sirup Remix)
  • Alexander
  • Coffee Jr.
  • Ralph
  • Ledwidge
  • SIRUP
  • Ralph
  • DetoNate
3:51
Total length:53:51
Streaming deluxe edition re-issue[25]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Hallucination" (with Regard)
  • Aliu
  • Ralph
  • Hal Ritson
  • Michele Baduzzi
  • Little
2:55
16."A Second to Midnight" (with Kylie Minogue)
  • Minogue
  • Alexander
  • Sjølie
  • Biffco
  • Stannard
  • Blackwell
  • Stannard
  • Blackwell
3:27
17."Starstruck" (Kylie Minogue remix)
  • Alexander
  • Coffee Jr.
  • Ralph
  • Ledwidge
  • Minogue
  • Ralph
  • DetoNate
3:26
Total length:53:14
New Year's Edition[26]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."King"
  • Ralph
  • Years & Years
  • Andy Smith[a]
3:35
2."Shine"
  • Years & Years
  • Ralph
4:15
3."If You're Over Me"
Steve Mac3:09
4."Desire"
3:26
5."Sanctify"
  • Alexander
  • Hull
Kid Harpoon3:12
6."Play" (with Jax Jones)
3:06
7."It's a Sin" (with Elton John)
4:44
Total length:1:15:46

Charts

Certifications
Certification for Night Call
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release dates and formats for Night Call
Region Date Version Format Label Ref.
Various 21 January 2022
  • Standard
  • deluxe
  • New Year's
Polydor [41][42][43]
 [44][45]
Japan 16 February 2022 Japanese Deluxe CD Universal Music Japan [24]

References
  1. Devlin, Ben (25 January 2022). "Years & Years – Night Call". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  2. "Years & Years Announces New Album Night Call, Shares Video for New Song "Crave": Watch". Pitchfork. 28 September 2021. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  3. "this is your night call 🧜 join me for a moment in the stars 💫 become your deepest destiny and transform your night into something spectacular 🎭 if you'd like to get exclusive access before the tickets are set live to the world, pre-order from the official store before 5pm on Tuesday 2nd November 💫 ps. if you've already pre-ordered you'll get automatic access 🌙 (link in bio)". Instagram. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  4. "Years & Years to continue as solo Olly Alexander project". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  5. "Instagram post announcing changes to the band, Years & Years". Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Instagram.
  6. "🌙🧜🏻‍♂️NIGHT CALL🌒✨ – let me take you far away 🌊🎶 my new album is out on the 7th January 🌘 I'm so happy this moment has finally come! Night Call has been my escape for the past couple of years, I put all my frustration, loneliness, hope, horniness, grief and optimism into making a really fun record I could dance to, I'm so excited to put this out and share it with you all 🥺 💜 pre-order the album, listen to CRAVE and watch the video NOW x". Instagram. 28 September 2021. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  7. "Years & Years announces third album 'Night Call' and shares new single 'Crave'". NME. 28 September 2021. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  8. Major, Michael (14 January 2022). "Years & Years Releases New Single "Sooner or Later"". Broadway World. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  9. Skinner, Tom (14 January 2022). "Listen to Years & Years' new single "Sooner Or Later"". NME. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  10. Mier, Tomás (14 January 2022). "Olly Alexander Chases After a Lost Love on Years & Years Song "Sooner or Later"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  11. Paul, Larisha (18 February 2022). "Years & Years Joins Regard On 'Hallucination' To Warn Off Serial Heartbreakers". UDiscoverMusic. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
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  15. Murray, Robin (21 January 2022). "Years & Years – Night Call". Clash. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  16. Smyth, David (21 January 2022). "Years & Years – Night Call review: Pure pop fun? We're more than ready". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  17. England, Adam (18 January 2022). "Album Review: Years & Years – Night Call". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  18. Cragg, Michael (23 January 2022). "Years & Years: Night Call review – Olly Alexander hits the dancefloor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  19. Brown, Helen (21 January 2022). "Years & Years review, Night Call: Olly Alexander album channels neon liberation". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022.
  20. Hunt, El (21 January 2022). "Years & Years – 'Night Call' review: escapism rules on Olly Alexander's solo debut". NME. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  21. Younes, Nadia (18 January 2022). "Years & Years – Night Call". The Skinny. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  22. Flick, Larry (21 January 2022). "Years & Years, Night Call, review: Olly Alexander turns the hedonism up loud". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  23. "Night Call (Deluxe)". Apple Music (NZ). 28 September 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  24. "ナイト・コール" (in Japanese). Universal Music Group. 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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