''Time'' is the third studio album by American musician Louis Cole. It was released on August 10, 2018, on

Brainfeeder Brainfeeder is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California, founded by Flying Lotus in 2008, focusing on electronic music and instrumental hip hop. It has signed artists such as Ras G, Samiyam, The Gaslamp Killer, Thundercat, The ...

Background and release

''Time'' was Louis Cole's first album released through

, and his first studio album since his 2011 release ''Album 2''. He was signed to Brainfeeder by the label's founder

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, Disc jockey, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder. Flyi ...

, another collaborator of Thundercat, who co-wrote and featured on ''Time'' track "Tunnels in the Air". In an interview with ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

'', Cole said his influences for the album ranged from the score of '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' to soundtracks of video games such as ''

Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagoni ...

'' and ''

Super Mario Kart ''Super Mario Kart'' is a Kart racing game, kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The first game in the Mario Kart, ''Mario Kart'' series, it was released in Japan and North Ameri ...

''. Cole wrote, recorded, and mixed the album himself in his

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

garage over the course of two and a half years. In 2016, Cole released a music video for the album's lead single "Weird Part of the Night" on YouTube. In the lead-up to the album's release in 2018, he also released music videos for "When You're Ugly", "Things", and "Phone". In 2022, "Weird Part of the Night" was included on the soundtrack of the video game ''

NBA 2K22 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

''.

Critical reception

''Time'' was met with critical acclaim. 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 ...

, the album received an aggregate score of 81 based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim." In a positive review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, reviewer Andy Kellman called ''Time'' Louis Cole's "most refined batch of animated pop yet," praising the album's varied combination of "hyperactive and robust numbers" and "elegant, heartfelt material with an equal level of skill." Writing for ''

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'', reviewer

Philip Sherburne Philip Sherburne is an American journalist, musician and DJ based in Barcelona. He coined the term "Microhouse" (in a 2001 article for ''The Wire'')Cox, Christoph; Daniel Warner (Eds.) (2004). ''Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music''. Continuu ...

also praised the album, stating "Louis Cole’s sidelong blend of hard funk and soft pop—aided by guest spots from Thundercat and

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quar ...

—remains delightfully sly and off-kilter." In a review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', staff writer Randall Roberts praised the "chops and wit" of the album, writing that its "14 tracks merge synthetic funk, hip-hop, indie soul and a love of life." In a mostly positive review for ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'', contributor Simon Edwards called ''Time'' "imperfect but refreshing," describing the album as "funny, funky, and unconcerned by looking like a bit-of-a-dick on the dancefloor."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 2018 albums Brainfeeder albums Funk albums by American artists