The Turning Wheel (album)

The Turning Wheel is the third studio album by American experimental pop artist Spellling, released on June 25, 2021, by Sacred Bones Records.[1] The album received generally positive reviews from music critics.[2]

The Turning Wheel
Studio album by
Spellling
ReleasedJune 25, 2021 (2021-06-25)
GenreProgressive pop, Art pop, Psychedelic Soul, Baroque Pop, Neo-Psychedelia, Darkwave
Length57:32
LabelSacred Bones
ProducerSpellling
Spellling chronology
Mazy Fly
(2019)		 The Turning Wheel
(2021)		 Spellling & the Mystery School
(2023)
Singles from The Turning Wheel
  1. "Little Deer"
    Released: 2021 (2021)
  2. "Boys at School"
    Released: 2021 (2021)
  3. "Turning Wheel"
    Released: 2021 (2021)

Composition

The Turning Wheel has been noted for Spellling's dropping her earlier dark wave and gothic sounds and expanding her progressive pop terrain.[3]

For instance, album opener "Little Deer" pulls from jazz pop and "plush" 1960s lounge pop,[4] while "Emperor with an Egg" takes on chamber pop.[4]

The album itself is divided into two parts, subtitled Above and Below respectively. Above begins with "Little Deer" and ends with "Emperor with an Egg", while Below begins with "Boys at School" and ends with "Sweet Talk", as they are separated in the album's liner notes.[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[6]
Metacritic79/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Beats Per Minute76%[7]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[8]
Loud and Quiet6/10[9]
Louder Than War[10]
musicOMH[11]
NME[4]
Pitchfork7.5/10[12]
Uncut7/10[13]
Under the Radar[14]

The Turning Wheel was met with positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the release received an average score of 79, based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Spellling.

Above
  1. "Little Deer" – 5:39
  2. "Always" – 5:14
  3. "Turning Wheel" – 3:33
  4. "The Future" – 3:27
  5. "Awaken" – 4:31
  6. "Emperor with an Egg" – 3:09
Below
  1. "Boys at School" – 7:28
  2. "Legacy" – 3:51
  3. "Queen of Wands" – 5:21
  4. "Magic Act" – 5:40
  5. "Revolution" – 5:59
  6. "Sweet Talk" – 3:33

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[15]

Musicians

  • Noor Al-Samarrai – choir
  • Rita Andrade – viola
  • Monica Benson – flugelhorn, trumpet
  • Calliope Brass Quintet – brass
  • Ted Case – string arrangements
  • Jennifer Hinkle – bass trombone
  • Donia Jarrar – piano
  • Milo Jimenez – acoustic guitar
  • Nick Marchione – brass arrangement
  • Sara Mayo – trombone
  • Jinty McTavish – violin
  • Dharma Mooney – choir
  • Macgregor Munson – banjo
  • Brijean Murphy – conga drum
  • Erin Paul – horn
  • Lidia Rodriguez – baritone saxophone
  • Javier Santiago – piano
  • Rebecca Steinberg – flugelhorn, trumpet
  • Sabrina Tabby – violin
  • Ezra Teshome – choir
  • Carolyn Walter – bassoon, clarinet, bass clarinet
  • Del Sol Quartet – strings

Technical

  • Spellling – producer
  • Drew Vandenberg – additional production, mixing
  • Adrian Morgan – mastering
  • Jonny Esser – mastering
  • Mike Johnson – mastering
  • Aleks Ozolins – engineer
  • John Finkbeiner – engineer

References
  1. "SPELLLING: The Turning Wheel". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  2. The Turning Wheel by Spellling, archived from the original on July 9, 2021, retrieved July 9, 2021
  3. Simpson, Paul. "Spellling – The Turning Wheel". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  4. "Spellling – 'The Turning Wheel' review: her most accessible record yet". NME. June 23, 2021. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  5. Cabral, C. (2021). [Liner Notes]. In The Turning Wheel [CD]. Oakland: New Improved Recording.
  6. "The Turning Wheel by Spellling". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  7. Cohn, Ben (28 June 2021). "Album Review: The Turning Wheel". Beats Per Minute. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  8. "SPELLLING goes from cult leader to crowd pleaser on her epic third album Turning Wheel". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  9. "Spellling – The Turning Wheel". Loud and Quiet. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  10. "Spellling: The Turning Wheel – album review". Louder Than War. July 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  11. Johnson, Steven (June 25, 2021). "Spellling – The Turning Wheel". musicOMH. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  12. "Spellling – The Turning Wheel". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  13. "Spellling – The Turning Wheel". Uncut. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  14. Arnone, Joey (June 24, 2021). "Spellling – The Turning Wheel". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  15. "Credits / The Turning Wheel / Spellling". Tidal. June 25, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
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