''Hairless Toys'' is the third solo studio album by Irish singer Róisín Murphy. It was released on 8 May 2015 by Play It Again Sam. It is Murphy's first full-length release since 2007's ''

Overpowered ''Overpowered'' is the second solo studio album by Irish singer and songwriter Róisín Murphy. It was released on 15 October 2007 by EMI Records. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, the album was more commercially successful than its predece ...

''. The album was nominated for Best Irish Album of 2015 at the Choice Music Prize and the 2015

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

. In 2016, it was awarded a silver certification from the

Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...

, indicating sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.

Background

The announcement of the album was accompanied by a stream of the first track, "Gone Fishing", which Murphy confirmed was inspired by the 1990 documentary film '' Paris Is Burning''. The album title came to be when Murphy sang the line "Careless Talk" in the title track, but her producer Eddie Stevens misheard it as "Hairless Toys". A four-minute edit of "Exploitation" was later issued as the first single, with a music video directed by Murphy herself released on 13 April 2015. Murphy commented that the song is about "selling out, manipulation and exploitation within creative work and in a relationship." Murphy later explained that the song "came from being a bit wry, a bit ironic. It's got a bit of a twinkle in its eye. It's not to be taken too seriously." Speaking about the record, Murphy wrote: Murphy directed accompanying music videos for the singles "Exploitation", "Evil Eyes", "Unputdownable" and "House of Glass".

Composition

Harriet Gibsone of ''

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 ...

'' found "Gone Fishing" contains "

Italo-disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...

house mutations and unusual

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

diversions". Heather Phares of

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 databa ...

stated second track and second single "Evil Eyes" has an "irresistible groove". Christopher Monk of '' musicOMH'' pointed out the "scuttling percussion, Nile Rodgers-esque guitar, ndatonal piano stabs" of "Exploitation", while Jim Carroll called the lead single "a track where the groove is simple and sparse, works with considerable

panache Panache () is a word of French origin that carries the connotation of flamboyant manner and reckless courage, derived from the helmet-plume worn by cavalrymen in the Early Modern period. The literal translation is a plume, such as is worn on a h ...

." Phares noted the " synth bass and waggish backing vocals on 'Uninvited Guest'", and called "Exile" "a dreamy bit of

torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. I ...

twang". In her review for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'', Katherine St. Asaph pointed out that "Exile" is "delivered in a wearied whisper". St. Asaph deemed "Unputdownable" to be "a traditional Murphy

extended metaphor An extended metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is the use of a single metaphor or analogy at length in a work of literature. It differs from a mere metaphor in its length, and in having more than one single point of contact bet ...

—lover as page-turning book", continuing on to say that "'House of Glass' delivers grand statements, often set stark against the music". Monk described "Hairless Toys (Gotta Hurt)" as a "lovely

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

" and thought "Unputdownable" to "end the album on a downer, before it transforms into something quite uplifting".

Critical reception

''Hairless Toys'' received generally positive reviews. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that 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 average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

score of 80, based on 15 reviews. ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' called the album "a complete masterwork", praising Murphy as "still some serious way ahead of her peers." ''

'' called ''Hairless Toys'' "the most cerebral work of Murphy's decades-long career" and described it as "all gleaming and immaculate from a distance, sharp and shattered if you get too close." Heather Phares of

stated that the album "opts for a more personal approach that is so powerful in part because it's so quiet", declaring it "a welcome return and Murphy's most satisfying album yet".

Electronic Beats Telekom Electronic Beats (TEB) is an international music marketing program of Deutsche Telekom AG focusing on electronic music and international club culture. The program was founded in 2000. It comprises a media portfolio and has been organizing ev ...

called the album "a decisive step forward and a definitively experimental pop record, delivered with a confidence that defies the brevity expected of chart fodder." ''

'' wrote that ''Hairless Toys'' is "pure, evocative elegance". Reviewing the album for Canadian newspaper ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', Kevin Ritchie named it the album of the week, writing that it "fuses delicate, slow-burning

deep-house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ( ...

-type rhythms with pop twang and the odd bit of glittering glam". ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' also noted the album's integration of "elegant deep house ..country-flecked

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, and idiosyncratic

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...

", and called it "a career high". Writing for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'',

Jim Carroll James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of ...

said the eight-year gap between albums for Murphy "has not lessened her knack for beautifully finessed tunes pulled together with sublime electropop belts and braces." Writing for '' musicOMH'', Christopher Monk wrote that the album is "less interested in snagging listeners' ears with catchy hooks or luring them on to the dancefloor, and more interested in building a strange, compelling atmosphere". '' Drowned in Sound'' described the album as "a wonderfully dark and seething record" and a work to "absorb alone".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Hairless Toys''.

Musicians

* Róisín Murphy – lead vocals ; backing vocals *

Eddie Stevens Eddie Stevens is a British keyboardist, record producer, composer and arranger, best known for co-writing, arranging and touring with the UK groups Freakpower (with Norman Cook aka Fat Boy Slim); Moloko (as of 2000); and Zero 7. He continued to w ...

– keys ; bass ; percussion ;

bottleneck guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

; additional guitar ; whistle * Jamie McCredie – guitar * Dave De Rose – drums ;

ride cymbal The ride cymbal is a standard cymbal in most drum kits. Its function in the kit is to maintain a beat,Schroedl, Scott (2001). ''Play Drums Today!'', p.7. Hal Leonard. . "It's called the ride cymbal because you 'ride' on it--that is, you maintain a ...

s * Rob Mullarkey – bass * Dan Darriba – percussion * Rhianna Kenny – backing vocals * Jodie Scantlebury – backing vocals

Technical personnel

* Mark Allaway – engineering * Dilip Harris – engineering * Billy Halliday – engineering assistance * Darius van Helfteren – mastering * Hans-Jörg Maucksch – vinyl cut * Eddie Stevens – production

Artwork

Farrow Farrow is a hypercorrected form of Ferror (''Farrar''), an occupational surname for a blacksmith or an ironworker, an old name of early Medieval English and French origin. The name derives from the Middle English and Old French terms "ferrer, ferr ...

– design, art direction * John Ross – photography

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2015 albums PIAS Recordings albums Róisín Murphy albums Deep house albums