Sorry I Haven't Called Explained

Sorry I Haven't Called
Type:studio
Artist:Vagabon
Cover:Vagabon - Sorry I Haven't Called.png
Recorded:2021–2022
Length:34:07
Label:Nonesuch
Producer:
Prev Title:Vagabon
Prev Year:2019

Sorry I Haven't Called is the third studio album by Cameroon-born musician Laetitia Tamko, under the stage name Vagabon. It was released on September 15, 2023, through Nonesuch.

Background

Tamko moved to a remote village in Northern Germany in late 2021, where she wrote and recorded most of the album. The project is dedicated to collaborator Eric Littmann, who died in June 2021.[1] However, she clarified that the music had nothing to do with her grief but being "full of life and energy".[2] According to her, she did not intend to be "introspective" but just wanted to have fun with the album.[3] The album was co-produced by Tamko herself and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend, who helped her finish the record in late 2022.[4] Inspired by dance music, the record represents the way she communicates with her friends and lovers.[5] She believes that "honesty and conversational songwriting can become poetry" without the use of "metaphors and without flowery imagery".[6]

She announced the album on June 15, 2023, and released the lead single "Can I Talk My Shit?", an "understated and blissfully chill track", the same day.[3] Along with the record, Tamko announced a set of headlining shows in the United States and Europe with supporting act Weyes Blood starting in October 2023.[2]

Critical reception

Sorry I Haven't Called received a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on eight critics' reviews, indicating a "generally favorable" reception. Jo Higgs at The Skinny could confirm the intentions behind the record and stated that the album is indeed "not premised on sorrow but instead delineates a pathway to joy", calling it another one of Tamko's "majestic reinventions". Likewise, DIYs Jack Terry reiterated Tamko's sentiments when recording the album, calling it a "pursuit of happiness" without the use of "mysterious metaphors or lofty linguistics". Charles Lyons-Burt of Slant Magazine thought Tamko delivered a "serviceable enough pop effort" but most of her "edges have been sadly sanded away", as she "leans in a more tonally upbeat direction than her previous releases". Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Mary Retta described it as a "bright, dewy electro-pop album [that] depicts growing up with candor and levity" as well as observing that it "illustrates a shift in Tamko's storytelling: She sidesteps diffuse, open-ended imagery for blunt, informal observations".

Track listing

Note

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[7] 11

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Vagabon Takes a New Outlook On 'Sorry I Haven't Called'. Chiu. David. Newsweek. September 12, 2023. September 13, 2023.
  2. Web site: Vagabon Announces Tour Dates and Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch. Ruiz. Matthew Ismael. Pitchfork. June 15, 2023. September 13, 2023.
  3. Web site: Vagabon taps Rostam for new LP 'Sorry I Haven't Called,' shares "Can I Talk My Shit?". Geiger. Amy. BrooklynVegan. June 15, 2023. September 13, 2023.
  4. Web site: Vagabon announces new album 'Sorry I Haven't Called'. Jamieson. Sarah. DIY. June 15, 2023. September 13, 2023.
  5. Web site: Vagabon Announces New Album 'Sorry I Haven't Called'. Murray. Robin. Clash. June 15, 2023. September 13, 2023.
  6. Web site: Vagabon Asks 'Can I Talk My Sh*t,' And Has Earned The Right To Do So As She Kicks Off Her 'Sorry I Haven't Called' Album Era. Gonzalez. Alex. Uproxx. June 15, 2023. September 13, 2023.
  7. Web site: Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 38. hét . . September 27, 2023.