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The Architect (EP)

The Architect
A graphic of a woman's head on a very long neck with half of her skull open to reveal a cityscape where her brain would be
EP by
Dawn Richard
ReleasedOctober 18, 2023 (2023-10-18)
GenreExperimental pop[1]
Length14:02
LanguageEnglish
LabelMerge
Producer
  • Bubbs
  • Taylor Dexter
  • The Idiot
  • Gina Jeanz
  • Andy McCauley
  • Connor McElwain
  • Wesley Singerman
Dawn Richard chronology
Pigments
(2022) 		The Architect
(2023)
Singles from The Architect
  1. "Bubblegum"
    Released: April 12, 2023[2]
  2. "Babe Ruth"
    Released: October 18, 2023[3]

The Architect is a 2023 extended play by American experimental pop musician Dawn Richard.

Reception

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The Architect was preceded by the single "Bubblegum" in April 2023, when Robin Murray of Clash Music called it "a zesty slice of electronic-saturated R&B bedlam that evades standard genre descriptors".[4] Editors at Stereogum chose it as the best song of the week, with critic Tom Breihan calling it "a hard-slamming booty-shake anthem" that sounds like Richard's previous group Danity Kane.[5] It was also listed among the 22 best songs of the past two weeks by Mark Redfern of Under the Radar.[6]

This EP was shortlisted by BrooklynVegan among the best songs of the week.[7] Shahzaib Hussain of Clash Music called this release "a dose of exquisite experimental-pop alchemy".[1] In Rolling Stone, Charisma Madarang praised "Babe Ruth"'s music video for its color and choreography and called the song "hard-hitting".[8] Mark Redfern of Under the Radar included "Babe Ruth" among the 12 best songs of the week.[9] Grant Sharples of Uproxx also included this among the best new indie music of the week, calling "further evidence of Richard’s undeniable artistic prowess".[10]

Jon Pareles of The New York Times chose "Babe Ruth" as one of the best songs of the week, characterizing it as "a blurry, glitchy intro [that] segues into an electro thump, a house bounce and a jazz-rock guitar solo that ends as if awaiting another metamorphosis".[11]

At Stereogum, James Rettig included this among the best EPs of 2023.[12] Editors at Spin chose this as the second best EP of 2023.[13]

Track listing

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All lyrics written by Dawn Richard.

  1. "Your Love / Legends" (Taylor Dexter, Connor McElwain, Richard, and Wesley Singerman) – 6:41
  2. "Bubblegum" (Dexter, Andy McCauley, Richard, Gabe Steiner, and Singerman) – 2:43
  3. "Babe Ruth" (Dexter, Gina Jeanz, Richard, Singerman, and Kieran Watters) – 4:38

Personnel

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Hussain, Shahzaib (October 18, 2023). "Dawn Richard Shares New Epoch 'The Architect'". News. Clash Music. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  2. ^ Rettig, James (April 12, 2023). "Dawn Richard Shares New Single "Bubblegum"". New Music. Stereogum. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  3. ^ Rettig, James (October 18, 2023). "Dawn Richard Releases New Project 'The Architect'". New Music. Stereogum. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Murray, Robin (April 12, 2023). "Dawn Richard's 'Bubblegum' Is A Joyful Outburst". News. Clash Music. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  5. ^ Breihan, Tom (April 14, 2023). "Dawn Richard, billy woods, & The Week's Best New Songs". The 5 Best Songs Of The Week. Stereogum. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Redfern, Mark (April 14, 2023). "22 Best Songs of the Last Two Weeks: Jessie Ware, Alison Goldfrapp, Nation of Language, and More". News. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "New Songs: Caroline Polachek, Kevin Abstract, Paint It Black, more". New Songs. BrooklynVegan. October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Madarang, Charisma (October 18, 2023). "Dawn Richard's 'Babe Ruth' Single Knocks It Out of the Park". Music > Music News. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Redfern, Mark (October 20, 2023). "12 Best Songs of the Week: Mannequin Pussy, IAN SWEET, The American Analog Set, and More". News. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  10. ^ Sharples, Grant (October 24, 2023). "All The Best New Indie Music From This Week". Indie Mixtape. Uproxx. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Pareles, Jon (October 20, 2023). "The Rolling Stones' Ragged Plea, and 8 More New Songs". The Playlist. The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  12. ^ Rettig, James (December 6, 2023). "Best EPs Of 2023". 2023 in Review. Stereogum. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Shipley, Al (December 19, 2023). "The Best EPs Of 2023". Lists >> Year-End Lists. Spin. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
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