Animal Heart
| Animal Heart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | January 29, 2014 |
| Recorded | 2013 at Vinegar Hill Sound; Svenska Grammofonstudion; Carousel Studios; Swedish Harlem, NYC and Valiant Effort Labs |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie pop |
| Length | 41:15 |
| Labels | Lojinx, The End Records |
| Producers | Nina Persson, Nathan Larson, Eric D. Johnson[1] |
Animal Heart is the debut studio album by Nina Persson, singer of The Cardigans, released on February 10, 2014 through Lojinx[2] in Europe and The End Records in North America.[3][4] A video for the title track of the album was released in November 2013.[5]
Critical reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Drowned in Sound | 5/10[8] |
| The Irish Times | [9] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 6/10[10] |
| Mojo | [11] |
| Pitchfork | 5.5/10[12] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Uncut | 7/10[15] |
| Under the Radar | 7/10[16] |
Critical reception of the album has been generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[6]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Eric D. Johnson, Nathan Larson and Nina Persson; except "Food for the Beast" by Joan Wasser.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Animal Heart" | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Burning Bridges for Fuel" | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Dreaming of Houses" | 3:27 |
| 4. | "Clip Your Wings" | 3:58 |
| 5. | "Jungle" | 3:35 |
| 6. | "Food for the Beast" | 3:20 |
| 7. | "Digestif" | 0:42 |
| 8. | "Forgot to Tell You" | 3:56 |
| 9. | "Catch Me Crying" | 3:19 |
| 10. | "The Grand Destruction Game" | 3:55 |
| 11. | "Silver" | 3:41 |
| 12. | "This Is Heavy Metal" | 2:38 |
| 13. | "Sometimes" (Japanese bonus track) | 2:55 |
Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted from AllMusic.[17]
- Musicians
- Nina Persson – vocal and instrumental performance, production
- Nathan Larson – bass guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, percussion, pump organ, synthesizer, vibraphone, background vocals, engineer, production
- Eric D. Johnson – autoharp, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, percussion, piano, pump organ, synthesizer, background vocals, engineer, production
- Brian Kantor – drums (1 to 5, 7 to 9, 11, 12)
- Bengt Lagerberg – drums (6, 10)
- Technical personnel
- Sophie Bille Brahe – illustration
- Kalle Gustafsson – engineer
- Annele Hencz – publicity
- Nicholas Johansson – A&R
- Fred Kevorkian – mastering
- Joe McGinty – engineer
- Thom Monahan – mixing
- Staffan Persson – engineer
- Jörgen Ringstrand – photography
- Geoff Sanoff – engineer
- Barry Taylor – management
- Jessica Weitz – management
Album charts
[edit]| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[18] | 14 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] | 19 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] | 2 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[21] | 120 |
| UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[22] | 23 |
Release history
[edit]| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan[23] | January 29, 2014 | CD, digital download | Nippon Columbia |
| Sweden[24] | CD, digital download, LP | Universal | |
| Taiwan[25] | February 10, 2014 | CD, digital download | Love Da Records |
| United Kingdom[26] | CD, digital download, LP | Lojinx | |
| Hong Kong[27] | February 11, 2014 | CD, digital download | Love Da Records |
| United States[28] | CD, digital download, LP | The End Records | |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Billboard interview" Andrew Hampp, 'Nina Persson Talks 'Animal Heart' Solo LP, The Cardigans' Future', Billboard, February 10, 2014.
- ↑ "Nina Persson – Animal Heart (Lojinx)". 10 February 2014.
- ↑ "MusicOHM" Sam Shepherd, 'Nina Persson – Animal Heart', Musicohm, February 10, 2014
- ↑ "Pitchfork Review" Katherine St. Asaph, 'Nina Persson: Animal Heart', Pitchfork, February 13, 2014.
- ↑ "Stereogum video announcement" Brie Roche lilliott, 'Nina Persson – "Animal Heart" Video', Stereogum, November 25, 2013
- 1 2 "'Animal Heart' Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More – Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Phares, Heather. "'Animal Heart' – Nina Persson : AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Ashman, Neil (10 February 2014). "Nina Persson - Animal Heart". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ Clayton-Lee, Tony (January 31, 2014). "Nina Persson: Animal Heart – Album Review – Fri, Jan 31, 2014". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Day, Laurence (4 February 2014). ""Animal Heart"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ Pleasant but risk adverse. [Mar 2014, p.88]
- ↑ St. Asaph, Katherine (February 13, 2014). "Nina Persson: Animal Heart – Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Paul, John (23 April 2014). "Nina Persson: Animal Heart". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ Here the melodies are a forum for a lovely, charismatic voice and some artful, memorable lyrics. [Mar 2014, p.119]
- ↑ Persson shows she is still a dab hand at melodic indie-pop, as she tackles floundering relationships, failing memories and new horizons. [Mar 2014, p.82]
- ↑ There is a sameness to the songs, but it doesn't work against the album as much as makes it a cohesive listen. [Feb/Mar 2014, p.75]
- ↑ "Nina Persson – Animal Heart: Credits". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Nina Persson – Animal Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Nina Persson: Animal Heart" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Nina Persson – Animal Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update – 22.02.2014". ChartsPlus. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 22/2/2014 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Animal Heart Nina Persson [CD]". CDJapan. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Bengans Record Store – Nina Persson". Bengans.se. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "iTunes – Music – Animal Heart by Nina Persson". iTunes. 10 February 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "lojinx // nina persson / animal heart album". Lojinx. 10 February 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "NINA PERSSON / ANIMAL HEART – HMV Hong Kong". HMV. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Nina Persson – Animal Heart". The End Records. January 6, 2014. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
