''Halo'' is the seventh studio album by Argentine singer-songwriter
Juana Molina, released on May 5, 2017 by
Crammed Discs.
Title and artwork
The title ''Halo'' is a reference to the Argentine
folk legend for the
will-o'-the-wisp
In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ''ignis fatuus'' (, plural ''ignes fatui''), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, ...
, known as the "''luz mala''" (Spanish for "evil light"), which floats above the ground where bones are buried.
Critical reception
Upon release, ''Halo'' received widespread acclaim from critics. 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 ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84, based on 13 reviews.
from ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave the album a positive review, writing: "There are sturdy melodies on the quietly charming "Cosoco" or "Cálculos y oráculos", but even an apparently conventional song is soon transformed by her edgy and intriguing off-kilter soundscapes."
''
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
''s Lee Adcock gave the album the highest rating and felt that "even for Molina, who has trekked odysseys through drone and voice before, ''Halo'' marks an epiphany in the science of travel. How does one hour flow so swiftly? How do the echoes of former futures sound so fresh again, as if their waning promise of grandeur never faded?"
Accolades
In ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''s
Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
, an poll regarding the best albums of the year as voted by more than 400 American music critics, ''Halo'' ranked number 97 with 78 points.
Track listing
References
External links
*
* statistics, tagging and previews at
Last.fm
*
Halo' at
Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...
2017 albums
Juana Molina albums
Albums recorded at Sonic Ranch
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