Two Vines

Two Vines
Studio album by Empire of the Sun
Released 28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)
Recorded 2015–16
Studio
Length 41:01
Label Virgin EMI
Producer
Empire of the Sun chronology
Ice on the Dune
(2013)		 Two Vines
(2016)
Singles from Two Vines
  1. "High and Low"
    Released: 24 August 2016
  2. "To Her Door"
    Released: 30 September 2016
  3. "Way to Go"
    Released: 21 October 2016

Two Vines is the third studio album by Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun. It was released on 28 October 2016 by Virgin EMI Records. The album features guest appearances from Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham, Wendy Melvoin, Henry Hey and Tim Lefebvre.

Background

The duo started writing their third studio album after contributing music to the 2014 film Dumb and Dumber To.[2] The album was recorded in Hawaii and Los Angeles, and it was co-produced by Empire of the Sun and Peter Mayes alongside regular collaborator Jonathan Sloan.[3] In November 2015, lead singer Luke Steele noted that the album was "75 percent there".[2]

On 22 August 2016, it was announced that the album was titled Two Vines and will be released on 28 October. It features contributions from Fleetwood Mac singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, Wendy Melvoin (from Prince's The Revolution band), and David Bowie collaborators Henry Hey and Tim Lefebvre.[3] Nick Littlemore explained the inspiration behind the title as "this image of a modern city overtaken by jungle".[4]

The album's lead single, "High and Low", was released on 24 August 2016.[3] This was shortly followed by the album's first promotional single, "Two Vines", which was released the following day.[5] "To Her Door" was released on 30 September 2016 as the album's second single.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.4/10[7]
Metacritic66/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]

Two Vines received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 66, based on 14 reviews.[8]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Empire of the Sun, Peter Mayes and Donnie Sloan.

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Before"  
 4:04
2. "High and Low"  
  • Steele
  • Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • Jonathan Sloan
 3:44
3. "Two Vines"  
  • Steele
  • Littlemore
  • Sloan
 3:49
4. "Friends"  
  • Steele
  • Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • Sloan
 3:20
5. "There's No Need"  
  • Steele
  • Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • Sloan
 3:28
6. "Way to Go"  
 3:12
7. "Ride"  
 4:07
8. "Digital Life"  
 4:02
9. "First Crush"  
  • Steele
  • Littlemore
  • Mayes
  • Hey
  • Sloan
 4:10
10. "ZZZ"  
  • Steele
  • Littlemore
  • Sloan
 3:10
11. "To Her Door"  
 3:55
Total length:
 41:01

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Two Vines.[1]

  • Empire of the Sun – production
  • Steve Bach – keyboards (track 10)
  • Lindsey Buckingham – backing vocals, guitars (track 11)
  • Evan Frasier – mbira (track 10)
  • Teddy Geiger – vocals (track 8)
  • Mark Goldenberg – acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 3, 6, 11)
  • Michael Harris – engineering (tracks 6, 12), drum and percussion engineering (track 10)
  • Henry Hey – keyboards (tracks 1, 6, 7, 9)
  • Scott Horscroft – A&R, production assistance
  • SK Kakraba – gyil (track 10)
  • Mito Kasuya – vocals (track 9)
  • Tim Lefebvre – bass (tracks 9, 10)
  • Alan Mark Lightner – marimba, xylophone (track 10)
  • Mike Marsh – mastering
  • Peter Mayes – engineering, mixing, production
  • Jake Najor – drums (tracks 6, 10, 11)
  • Heather O'Brien – A&R coordination
  • Todd Simon – percussion direction (track 10)
  • Todd M. Simon – marimba, vibraphone (track 10)
  • Donnie Sloan – production
  • Dexter Story – slit drums (track 10)
  • Te'Amir Yohannes Sweeney – slit drums (track 10)
  • David Wilder – bass (track 7)

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 66
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 70
French Albums (SNEP)[15] 156
Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 78
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[17] 2
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 42
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 42
US Billboard 200[21] 51
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[22] 1
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[23] 8
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 11

References

  1. 1 2 Two Vines (CD liner notes). Empire of the Sun. Universal Music Australia. 2016. 5710633.
  2. 1 2 Kaplan, Ilana (9 November 2015). "24 Hours in LA with Empire of the Sun: Vodka, Robots, and Lots of Lasers". Vice. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Reed, Ryan (22 August 2016). "Empire of the Sun Recruit Lindsey Buckingham for New LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Pearce, Sheldon (22 August 2016). "Empire of the Sun Announce New Album Two Vines". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (25 August 2016). "Listen to Empire of the Sun's New Song "Two Vines"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "To Her Door – Single by Empire of the Sun". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Two Vines by Empire Of The Sun reviews | Any Decent Music". www.anydecentmusic.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Reviews for Two Vines by Empire of the Sun". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  9. ↑ Sendra, Tim. "Two Vines - Empire of the Sun". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Two Vines (Deluxe) by Empire of the Sun". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Two Vines (Deluxe) by Empire of the Sun". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Empire of the Sun – Two Vines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Empire of the Sun – Two Vines" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Empire of the Sun – Two Vines" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 44, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 44, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  19. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Empire of the Sun – Two Vines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  20. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  21. ↑ "Empire of the Sun – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Empire of the Sun. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  22. ↑ "Empire of the Sun – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums for Empire of the Sun. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  23. ↑ "Empire of the Sun – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Empire of the Sun. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  24. ↑ "Empire of the Sun – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Empire of the Sun. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
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