Goodness (The Hotelier album) explained

Goodness
Type:studio
Artist:The Hotelier
Cover:The Hotelier - Goodness.jpg
Alt:a group of naked older adults posing in a forest
Recorded:August–September, 2015
Length:47:19
Label:Tiny Engines
Producer:Seth Manchester
Prev Title:Home, Like Noplace Is There
Prev Year:2014

Goodness is the third studio album by American rock band The Hotelier. After being announced in February 2016, it was released in May through independent label Tiny Engines.[1]

Artwork

The artwork was done by Brooklyn-based artist Xirin.[2] It features a group of elderly people fully nude standing in a field. A censored version used for online retailers was noticeable for its extreme censoring, with the artists stating they took an "all or nothing" approach, saying "Instead of making a version of the image that was digestible or easy on the eyes, we just chose to obscure the photo entirely, to convey that we’re sorry you can’t see it... rather than compromise the image and the meaning behind it."

Critical reception

Goodness received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". Writing for Exclaim!, Conor Mackie gave the album an extremely positive review, hailing it as "their most mature, most complete record to date."

Accolades

PublicationAccoladeYearRank
The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club's Top 50 Albums of 20162016
BillboardBillboard's 50 Best Albums of 20162016
Consequence of SoundTop 50 Albums of 20162016
PitchforkThe 20 Best Rock Albums of 20162016
Readers' Top 50 Albums of 20162016
StereogumThe 50 Best Albums of 20162016

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Hotelier announce new album with NSFW trailer. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Ralph, Caitlyn. February 17, 2016. December 26, 2017.
  2. Web site: Why Are People So Mad About The Hotelier's NSFW Cover for Goodness?. 2 June 2016. Pitchfork.com. 12 November 2021.