| Live Forever | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Bartees Strange |
| Cover: | Bartees Strange - Live Forever.png |
| Genre: | Indie rock, hip hop, jazz[1] |
| Length: | 35:24 |
| Label: | Memory Music |
| Prev Title: | Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy |
| Prev Year: | 2020 |
| Next Title: | Farm to Table |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
Live Forever is the debut studio album by English-born American musician Bartees Strange. It was released on October 2, 2020, by Memory Music.
The album was recorded in a barn studio in Wassaic, New York, and mastered by American producer Will Yip.[2]
On July 23, 2020, Strange released the first single from the album "Mustang".[3] The single has been described as "something of an indie rock anthem wrapped up in mesmerizing synths, catchy riffs and bombastic vocals."[3] The music video was shot at Bartees Strange's apartment in Washington DC, with director Drew Horen.[4] It was also featured as the Top 8 Best Song of the week by Paste on July 24, 2020.[5] and Top 9 Songs of the Week by Under the Radar.[6]
On August 12, 2020, Strange announced the release of his debut album, along with the second single "Boomer".[7] The single has been described "a tight indie rock track driven by jangly guitars" while the music video shows Strange performing all the song's instruments from his home studio.[7]
The third single "Kelly Rowland" was released on September 18, 2020.[8] Along with the deluxe edition, Strange released the new version of the song titled "Free Kelly Rowland" with hip hop group Armand Hammer on October 1, 2021.[9]
The songs on Live Forever weave in sundry sounds and styles.
"Mustang" works in "infectious" guitar-pop, "sweltering" punk and "hooky" synth-rock. "Boomer" digs into "giddy" blues rock and hip hop verses. "Flagey God" channels experimental rock and witch house while working in "propulsive" dance-pop with a R&B chorus.
Live Forever was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 83 based on 6 reviews. At AnyDecentMusic?, which collates album reviews from websites, magazines and newspapers, they gave the release a 7.7 out of 10, based on a critical consensus of 7 reviews.
Gareth O'Malley of Beats Per Minute wrote: "There’s so much ground covered on Live Forever that its easy to forget that it’s 35 minutes long. Strange’s genreless approach to making music means that its eventual follow-up could explore any of the sonic avenues the album heads down – or something else entirely" Writing for Exclaim!, Adam Feibel explained: "As intriguing as Strange's music already is, Live Forever demonstrates that there's still tremendous potential left to unlock." He went on to say that the release "is itself not quite a masterpiece, but it's a clear picture of someone who's destined for greatness. Bartees Strange is a visionary artist worth watching closely."
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consequence of Sound | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | ||
| Crack Magazine | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | ||
| NPR Music | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | ||
| Paste | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | ||
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | ||
| Pitchfork | The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020 | [10] | |
| PopMatters | Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2020 | ||
| Rolling Stone | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | ||
| Stereogum | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | ||
| Under the Radar | Top 100 Albums of 2020 | ||
| Uproxx | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | ||
| Vectis Radio | Top 10 Albums of 2020 |