Trip9love Explained

Trip9love
Type:studio
Artist:Tirzah
Cover:Tirzah - Trip9love.png
Alt:Tirzah standing in front of a microphone with a bright white light behind her
Released:5 September 2023
Studio:Tirzah's and Mica Levi's home studios
Length:33:04
Label:Domino
Producer:Mica Levi
Prev Title:Colourgrade
Prev Year:2021

Trip9love (stylised as trip9love...???) is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Tirzah. It was surprise-released digitally on 5 September 2023, and released physically on 17 November, by Domino Recording Company. The album was produced by Mica Levi.

Recording

The album was written and recorded in Tirzah's and Levi's home studios, as well as in southeast London and Kent,[1] over about a year's time.[2]

Release

Trip9love was surprise-released digitally on 5 September 2023 without any prior singles.[3] Tirzah had said she would be "sharing the record next week" on 29 August.[4] Along with the digital release, a physical release by Domino Recording Company was announced to follow on 17 November. The album tease in August came with the announcement of tour dates in Europe and North America, but the North American leg was cancelled after Tirzah contracted pneumonia.[5]

Style

The central instruments of the album are the piano and drum machine. Most songs on the album are built on the same drum beat, with different mixing and distortion applied to each to differentiate them, while a few are drumless ballads.[6] The piano's tone is also very consistent track to track. The two instruments contrast with each other, with Pitchforks Philip Sherburne calling the piano "distant and mournful" and the drums "confrontational, in your face, charged with latent violence."

Reception

Sherburne called the album "tender as a bruise, the kind of bruise you press down on now and again, just to confirm that it still hurts—and to take secret pleasure in the ache." Clashs Ana Lamond wrote that "it is within the intricacies of Tirzah and Levi's union that the record truly gleams." Resident Advisors Kiana Mickles wrote that "The effect of a wrong note pressed, a one-take vocal run or a perfectly misplaced guitar screech might seem inconsequential because, at this point, it's so indisputably Tirzah. But real care goes into her rule-breaking, which is what makes it sound so immaculate."[7] Bandcamp Dailys Diamond Sharp wrote that Tirzah's "delicate vocals pair well over the warbled 808s and distorted beats", and called the album "raw and ever-changing."[8]

Critics emphasised the need for multiple listens to fully grasp the album. Sherburne said it took him "a dozen or more listens" to notice the repeated drum pattern.

Year-end lists

Publication! scope="col"
DJ Mag[9]
Gorilla vs. Bear13[10]
Les Inrockuptibles8[11]
The Line of Best Fit44[12]
Loud and Quiet10[13]
Resident Advisor[14]
Time Out9[15]
The Washington Post6[16]

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. News: Monroe . Jazz . 5 September 2023 . Tirzah Releases New Album Trip9love...??? . . 5 September 2023.
  2. News: Kelly . Tyler Damara . 5 September 2023 . Tirzah releases surprise new album, trip9love...??? . . 16 September 2023.
  3. News: DeVille . Chris . 5 September 2023 . Stream Tirzah's New Album trip9love...? . . 6 September 2023.
  4. News: Ruiz . Matthew Ismael . 29 August 2023 . Tirzah Announces Tour Dates, Promises New Album . . 5 September 2023.
  5. News: Rettig . James . October 12, 2023 . Tirzah Cancels North American Tour Due to Pneumonia . . October 13, 2023.
  6. News: Bell . Kaelen . 5 September 2023 . Listen to Tirzah's New Album trip9love...? . . 5 September 2023.
  7. News: Mickles . Kiana . 7 September 2023 . Tirzah - trip9love...??? . . 8 September 2023.
  8. News: Sharp . Diamond . 9 September 2023 . Essential Releases, 8 September 2023 . . 8 September 2023.
  9. News: Murphy . Ben . December 13, 2023 . DJ Mags top albums of 2023 . . December 14, 2023.
  10. News: November 30, 2023 . Gorilla vs. Bears Albums of 2023 . . November 30, 2023.
  11. News: November 29, 2023 . Best of 2023 . Les Inrockuptibles.
  12. News: Turner . Thomas . December 4, 2023 . The Best Albums of 2023 Ranked . . December 4, 2023.
  13. News: November 24, 2023 . Loud and Quiet Albums of the Year 2023 . . November 24, 2023.
  14. News: McTernan . Conor . December 14, 2023 . The Best Albums of 2023 . . December 14, 2023.
  15. News: Hewitson . Rosie . December 1, 2023 . The 30 Best Albums of 2023 . . December 3, 2023.
  16. News: Richards . Chris . December 6, 2023 . The best albums of 2023: Top pop from Peso Pluma to Sexyy Red . . December 7, 2023.
  17. News: Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20 . April 30, 2024 . Official Charts Company.