Noir (Blue Sky Black Death album)

Noir (stylized as NOIR) is a studio album by American hip hop production duo Blue Sky Black Death. It was released on Fake Four Inc. in 2011.[1]

Noir
Studio album by
Blue Sky Black Death
ReleasedApril 26, 2011 (2011-04-26)[1]
GenreInstrumental hip hop
Length62:48
LabelFake Four Inc.
ProducerBlue Sky Black Death
Blue Sky Black Death chronology
Third Party
(2010)		 Noir
(2011)		 Glaciers
(2013)

Release

Noir was originally released on Fake Four Inc. on April 26, 2011.[1] Screwed versions of several of the tracks were released on Blue Sky Black Death's Bandcamp, as Noir + Violet.[2] Later, the group also released a deluxe digital reissue of the album, titled Noir Dlxe, which includes the screwed versions, four alternate tracks from the original Noir release, and three more tracks, for a total of 29 tracks at a length of more than 2 hours.[3]

In 2013, a limited-run two-disc vinyl pressing was done, featuring the original track listing, two alternates, as well as a previously unreleased track, "Thirteen", which does not appear on the deluxe digital release. It also features a new album cover. It was followed by a later re-pressing in 2014. A 10-year vinyl reissue was announced in March 2021.[4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Alarmfavorable[5]
Beats Per Minute81/100[6]
Pitchfork7.5/10[7]
URB[8]

Brett Uddenberg of URB gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a brilliant culmination of reverb-coated keys and lush string arrangements".[8] Marc Hogan of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, writing: "Using an impressively nuanced deployment of strings, piano, and guitar as well as drum loops and hazy synths, the album has a patient, steady beauty, ranging from glowing panoramas evoking M83 to the classical-informed abstraction of Anticon acts like Dosh and Son Lux."[7] Tom Harrison of Alarm described it as "an album of hazy instrumental beats that skirt the boundary between hip hop and electronica."[5] Will Ryan of Beats Per Minute said, "they set out on another scratchy, emotionally momentous odyssey of gigantic synth melodies with a deluge of shape-shifting samples ranging from mournful vocal washes to chirping orchestral arrangements backed by stomping mid-tempo drum programming."[6]

Track listing
Noir (original edition)
No.TitleLength
1."Our Hearts of Ruin"5:32
2."Sleeping Children Are Still Flying"6:00
3."And Stars, Ringed"5:10
4."To the Ends of the Earth"3:54
5."Farewell to the Former World"5:34
6."Falling Short"1:46
7."Gold In Gold Out"5:20
8."Where Do We Go"4:37
9."In the Quiet Absence of God"2:05
10."Where the Sun Beats"4:45
11."Starry"4:39
12."Fire for Light"3:53
13."Swords from Driftwood"2:46
14."Sky with Hand"6:40
Total length:62:48
Noir + Violet (digital edition)
No.TitleLength
1."Our Hearts of Ruin (Screwed Up)"6:59
2."Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Screwed Up)"7:35
3."And Stars, Ringed (Screwed Up)"6:32
4."Farewell to the Former World (Screwed Up)"7:01
5."Gold In, Gold Out (Screwed Up)"6:44
6."Where the Sun Beats (Screwed Up)"6:00
7."Swords from Driftwood (Screwed Up)"3:30
8."Sky with Hand (Screwed Up)"8:25
Total length:52:46
Noir Dlxe (digital edition)
No.TitleLength
1."Our Hearts of Ruin"5:32
2."Sleeping Children Are Still Flying"6:00
3."And Stars, Ringed"5:10
4."To the Ends of the Earth"3:54
5."Farewell to the Former World"5:34
6."Falling Short"1:46
7."Gold In Gold Out"5:20
8."Where Do We Go"4:37
9."In the Quiet Absence of God"2:05
10."Where the Sun Beats"4:45
11."Starry"4:39
12."Fire for Light"3:53
13."Swords from Driftwood"2:46
14."Sky with Hand"6:40
15."Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Alternate)"3:50
16."Gold In Gold Out (Alternate)"5:17
17."Our Hearts of Ruin (Alternate)"4:00
18."And Stars, Ringed (Alternate)"1:16
19."Our Hearts of Ruin (Screwed Up)"6:59
20."Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Screwed Up)"7:35
21."And Stars, Ringed (Screwed Up)"6:32
22."Farewell to the Former World (Screwed Up)"7:01
23."Gold In, Gold Out (Screwed Up)"6:44
24."Where the Sun Beats (Screwed Up)"6:00
25."Swords from Driftwood (Screwed Up)"3:30
26."Sky with Hand (Screwed Up)"8:25
27."Small Moment"3:59
28."To Hold and Hope"3:58
29."Waters Clear as Heave"2:17
Total length:140:11
Noir (vinyl reissue edition)
No.TitleLength
1."Our Hearts of Ruin"5:32
2."Sleeping Children Are Still Flying"6:00
3."And Stars, Ringed"5:10
4."To the Ends of the Earth"3:54
5."Farewell to the Former World"5:34
6."Falling Short"1:46
7."Gold In Gold Out"5:20
8."Where Do We Go"4:37
9."In the Quiet Absence of God"2:05
10."Where the Sun Beats"4:45
11."Starry"4:39
12."Fire for Light"3:53
13."Swords from Driftwood"2:46
14."Sky with Hand"6:40
15."Thirteen"13:00
16."To Hold and Hope"3:58
17."Sleeping Children Are Still Flying (Alternate)"3:50
18."Gold In Gold Out (Alternate)"5:17
Total length:88:53

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • Blue Sky Black Death – instrumentation, arrangement, recording, mixing
  • Raised by Wolves – additional musical contributions (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13 14)
  • Rob Harris – vocals (3, 4, 8)
  • Shaprece Renee – vocals (7, 12)
  • Alexander Chen – viola (9, 11, 12), vocals (12)
  • Tim Green – artwork, layout

References
  1. "Noir | Blue Sky Black Death". Bandcamp. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  2. "Noir + Violet | Blue Sky Black Death". Bandcamp. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. "Noir Dlxe | Blue Sky Black Death". Bandcamp. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  4. @0younggod0 (11 March 2021). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 March 2021 – via Twitter.
  5. Harrison, Tom (16 May 2011). "Beats & Rhymes: Blue Sky Black Death's Noir". Alarm. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  6. Ryan, Will (8 June 2011). "Blue Sky Black Death – Noir". Beats Per Minute. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  7. Hogan, Marc (24 May 2011). "Blue Sky Black Death: Noir". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  8. Uddenberg, Brett (9 May 2011). "Blue Sky Black Death – NOIR". URB. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
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