''Unfortunately, Terror Jr'' is the debut studio album by American pop duo
Terror Jr
Terror Jr is an American pop duo formed in 2016 founded by former The Cataracs band member David "Campa" Benjamin Singer-Vine, Lisa Vitale, and Felix Snow, who left the group in late 2017. Their single "Come First" peaked at number 10 on the ''Bi ...
, released on January 25, 2019, through Effess and
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 the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
.
It was supported by the singles "Heaven Wasn't Made for Me", "A-OK (Everything's Perfect)", and "Terrified".
Background
David Singer-Vine revealed that the duo started out with over 100 songs, and in order to reduce the number to 15, they kept only those that "closely represented who they wanted to be in terms of future growth", with Singer-Vine stating "We want to be great.
..These songs on this album, it's a departure in a sense of the scale of it all. I think this is the grandest we've appeared."
The process took over a year, and the duo said in a press release that "There are no soft moments on our album and that's intentional... We don't want to be background music... The point is to engage. We hope that people listen to these songs with questions and come out with answers."
Lisa Vitale said of the album title: "I kind of think of it as the signature at the end of a letter. It's signed from us to the world. There is a bit of darkness and melancholy to a lot of the songs and to the state of the world right now. Even though they sound happy, when you look closely, it's a reflection on how we feel."
Critical reception
''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' called the album "a bubblegum ode to modern culture" that includes "blunt statements on politics", "a blatant Trump mention", and "deep, eerie and melancholy messages and images" that "defines" the duo "as something larger than pop as we know it".
''
Highsnobiety'' called the album "delicious" and "even juicier than you could have imagined".
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' said the album features "the duo combining their danceable sound with sociopolitical themes, such as women's reproductive rights, LGBT rights and substance abuse", highlighting the line "These days got me in a slump/ White women voted for Trump" in "A-OK (Everything's Perfect)". ''
Paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...
'' called the song "Pretty" a "dark, contemptuous take on the ennui of living in a female body", saying it "feels refreshing and rebellious".
Track listing
Track listing adapted from AllMusic.
References
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2019 debut albums
Atlantic Records albums
Terror Jr albums