''Cleopatra'' is the second studio album by American
indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.
The genre has its ...
band
The Lumineers
The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...
. The album was released in the United States on April 8, 2016, and contains the singles "
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...
", "
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
", " Angela" and " Sleep on the Floor". The album received positive reviews and commercial success, debuting at number one on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
and the ''Billboard'' 200. It is the last album by the band to feature
Neyla Pekarek
Neyla Pekarek (; born September 4, 1986) is an American cellist, vocalist, and pianist. She was a member of the folk rock band The Lumineers from 2010 to 2018.
Early life
Pekarek was born and raised in Denver, Colorado.
She grew up in a househol ...
, who left in October 2018 to pursue a solo career.
The cover is a photograph of actress
Theda Bara
Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress.
Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...
.
Critical reception
''Cleopatra'' received positive reviews. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' gave the album 60 points, saying : "If the Lumineers debut record was a representation of their metaphorical college years, ''Cleopatra'' is definitely their more mature, but confused, post-grad understanding of fame".
''The Ballad of Cleopatra'' compilation music video
The Ballad of Cleopatra is a compilation of the story in the music videos for
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...
,
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
, Sleep on the Floor, Angela and My Eyes, all songs from the album ''Cleopatra''. The video was released on the Lumineers YouTube channel on April 27, 2017. As of December 8, 2022 it has over 67 million views.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from ''Cleopatra'' liner notes.
The Lumineers
*
Wesley Schultz
Wesley Keith Schultz (born December 30, 1982) is the guitarist and lead vocalist for the American folk rock band The Lumineers.
Life and career
Schultz grew up in Ramsey, New Jersey,Jeremiah Fraites – drums (all tracks except 8, 9, 11, 13), percussion (all tracks except 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14), piano (all tracks except 8, 9, 12, 13, 14), keyboards (track 9, 14)
*
Neyla Pekarek
Neyla Pekarek (; born September 4, 1986) is an American cellist, vocalist, and pianist. She was a member of the folk rock band The Lumineers from 2010 to 2018.
Early life
Pekarek was born and raised in Denver, Colorado.
She grew up in a househol ...
background vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
layout
Layout may refer to:
* Page layout, the arrangement of visual elements on a page
** Comprehensive layout (comp), a proposed page layout presented by a designer to their client
* Layout (computing), the process of calculating the position of obje ...
Production
* Simone Felice – production (all tracks except 13, 14)
* Jesse O'Brien – production (track 13, 14),
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
(track 13, 14)
* Bod Ludwig – mastering
* Ryan Hewitt – mixing, recording (all tracks except 13, 14)
* Chad Cuttill – mixing assistance (all tracks except 13, 14)
Recording
* Recorded at Clubhouse Recording Studios
* Mixed at House of Blues Studios, Nashville, TN
* Mastered at Gateway Mastering