''The Afterlove'' is the fifth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
by the English singer
James Blunt
James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After ...
, released on 24 March 2017 through
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...
. To promote the album, Blunt embarked on
The Afterlove World Tour in August 2017.
Background
On 23 January 2017, Blunt posted a video clip on his Twitter to announce the album, with the caption "Check out my 12 inch..." In the clip, Blunt appeared naked from the waist up in his bathtub, promising to show fans "something huge", with the camera then panning down to him holding a 12-inch copy of the album. Blunt recorded the album between 2015 and 2016 before it was finished in early 2017.
Critical reception
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 critics, ''The Afterlove'' received an average score of 54 based on 4 reviews.
Neil Z. Yeung from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
gave the album a positive four-star review, writing: "The Afterlove is a brave bid for contemporary relevance in 2017, a wonderful step outside his
lunt'scomfort zone that is more memorable and exciting than much of his output this decade."
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney from the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' gave a positive three-star review and called the songs "carefully structured", with "appealing melodies, on-trend chart pop production and A-list collaborators (including
Sheeran)
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
attest to Blunt's musical staying power."
Richard Godwin of the ''
London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' gave a mixed two-star review, summarising that "
e self-deprecating singer songwriter has not lost his way with sentiment" and that the album "finds the former soldier renovating his balladry by means of an R'n'B filter and a few tricks learned from his label-mate: judicious use of auto-tune, choppy guitar grooves and disarming honesty." Godwin also called "Bartender" "catchier than the common cold."
Rachel Aroesti 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 ...
'' gave a negative two-star review, calling the album "
ightly desperate and actively risible." Although labelling the lyrics "inoffensive", Aroesti went on to write: "with Blunt having adopted a watered-down version of
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
's asinine tropical house it smacks of a desire to edge on to
Radio 1 playlists and into student nights incognito, but only serves to highlight how irritating the sound has become."
Singles
The first single from the album, "
Love Me Better", debuted at number 93 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. The second single, "
Bartender
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...
", was released on 10 March 2017 along with an accompanying music video.
Promotional singles
"Time of Our Lives" was released on 14 February 2017 as a promotional single for Valentine's Day. This was followed by the release of "Make Me Better" on 2 March 2017.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afterlove
2017 albums
James Blunt albums