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Big Ideas (album)

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Big Ideas
Wolf, with shoulder-length curly black hair, wearing a white dress and red bra, looking to the side in front of a brown wall.
Studio album by
Remi Wolf
ReleasedJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
Recorded2022–2023[1]
GenrePop
Length43:03
LabelIsland
Producer
Remi Wolf chronology
Juno
(2021) 		Big Ideas
(2024)
Singles from Big Ideas
  1. "Cinderella"
    Released: March 21, 2024
  2. "Toro"
    Released: May 10, 2024
  3. "Alone in Miami"
    Released: May 10, 2024
  4. "Motorcycle"
    Released: June 13, 2024
  5. "Soup"
    Released: July 11, 2024
  6. "Pitiful"
    Released: August 15, 2024

Big Ideas is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Remi Wolf, released on July 12, 2024, through Island Records. It received positive reviews from critics.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
DIY[4]
Exclaim!8/10[5]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[6]
NME[7]
The Observer[8]
Paste7.3/10[9]
SpinB+[1]

Big Ideas received a score of 80 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on nine critics' reviews, which the website categorized as "generally favorable" reception.[2] Jordan Currie of Exclaim! wrote that Wolf "takes all of the big ideas in her head and throws them like neon splatter onto an already messy canvas", with the album showcasing "more of what she does best: brash, explosive pop with a don't-give-a-fuck spirit and touches of vulnerable self-reflection and soul".[5] Jordan Bassett of Spin felt that Big Ideas "jostles with brilliant songcraft that signifies her rapid growth as an artist—if the essential aesthetic is little changed, the execution is often warmer, more mature and expansive".[1] NME's Hannah Mylrea described it as "a record that – while injected with a healthy dose of groovy fun – is keenly honest. And although it may be sonically sugar-coated, Wolf's candid lyrics never are. It's funk-fuelled catharsis".[7]

DIY's Otis Robinson opined that it "tumbl[es] into glamorous imperfection and cacophonous garage-band pop that sits starkly against the corporate rigidity and rigmarole of modern pop".[4] The Line of Best Fit's Adele Julia found it to be "desperate to underscore outspoken songwriting with equally raucous production, fit with all the bells and whistles one could ever need".[6] Reviewing the album for The Observer, Shaad D'Souza called it "a slight but enjoyable record. Wolf's influences are often so legible that it's hard not to listen and play a game of spot-the-reference", although conceded that it is "hard to deny that she's working in the lingua franca of our time".[8]

Sam Rosenberg of Paste wrote that the album "may never quite meet the sum of its parts, but Remi Wolf's formidable technical confidence, innovative spirit and singular ability to navigate pop music trends without the impulse to pander make her incredibly exciting to listen to" and "reaffirms her talent among the crowded crop of other indie pop artists who emerged in the early 2020s".[9] Marcy Donelson of AllMusic observed that "while Big Ideas could be accused of being uneven, filler is a matter of personal genre preference here, [as] left turns that are fun or even funny dominate".[3]

Critics' year-end rankings of Big Ideas
Publication List Rank Ref.
Exclaim! 50 Best Albums of 2024 48 [10]
NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2024 — [11]

Track listing

[edit]
Big Ideas track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Cinderella"
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
4:03
2."Soup"
3:33
3."Motorcycle"
2:46
4."Toro"
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
  • Gruska
2:55
5."Alone in Miami"
  • Wolf
  • DeMeo
  • Gruska
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
  • Gruska
2:41
6."Cherries & Cream"
  • Wolf
  • Rhomberg
  • Solomon
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
  • Knox Fortune
4:26
7."Kangaroo"
  • Wolf
  • Michels
  • Movshon
  • Solomon
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
  • Michels
3:54
8."Pitiful"
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
3:05
9."Wave"
  • Wolf
  • Lang
  • Rhomberg
  • Solomon
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
  • Lang
  • Knox Fortune
3:49
10."When I Thought of You"
2:39
11."Frog Rock"
  • Wolf
  • DeMeo
  • Gruska
  • Solomon
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
  • Gruska
3:45
12."Just the Start"Wolf
  • Wolf
  • Kenny Beats
  • Michels
2:19
13."Slay Bitch" (bonus track)
  • Wolf
  • Solomonophonic
  • Portrait
3:08
Total length:43:03

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

  • Remi Wolf – lead vocals (all tracks), percussion (tracks 1, 4–9, 11, 13), glockenspiel (1), synthesizer (2, 6, 8), drums (2, 7, 11), keyboards (4, 6, 8, 13), programming (4, 11), pedal steel (11), acoustic guitar (13)
  • Jared Solomon – bass (tracks 1, 2, 4–8, 10, 11, 13), guitar (1, 2, 4, 6–11, 13); drums, percussion (1, 4, 6–9, 11, 13); organ, Rhodes, synth pads (1); drum programming (2, 7, 13), synthesizer (2, 8, 9), additional keyboards (2), programming (4, 8, 9, 11, 13), keyboards (4, 8, 9, 13), acoustic guitar (8)
  • Leon Michels – saxophone (tracks 1, 7), flute (3, 6); keyboards, percussion (3, 7); horn, programming (7)
  • Nick Lee – trombone (track 1)
  • Dave Guy – trumpet (track 1)
  • Knox Fortune – synthesizer (tracks 2, 9); keyboards, Mellotron (6); programming, sound design (9)
  • Nick Movshon – bass (tracks 3, 7)
  • Paul Castelluzzo – guitar (tracks 3, 12)
  • Homer Steinweiss – drums (track 3)
  • Ethan Gruska – keyboards, programming (tracks 4, 5, 11); guitar, percussion (4, 11); bass, synthesizer (4); drums, harp (11)
  • Jack DeMeo – guitar (tracks 4, 5, 11)
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion (track 5)
  • Benny Sings – keyboards (track 8)
  • Carter Lang – bass, percussion, programming (track 9)
  • Aaron Maine – vocals, keyboards (track 10)
  • Vikram Devasthali – horn (track 11)
  • Jacob Portrait – keyboards (track 13)
  • Daniel Ferenbach – strings (track 13)

Technical

  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • Shawn Everett – mixing
  • John Muller – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)
  • John Rooney – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 6, 7)
  • Michael Deano – engineering (track 1)
  • Chris Connors – engineering (tracks 3, 12)
  • Jens Jungkurth – engineering (tracks 3, 12)
  • Ethan Gruska – engineering (tracks 4, 5, 11)
  • Rachel White – engineering (tracks 4, 5, 11)
  • Joseph Lorge – engineering (tracks 4, 11)
  • Jared Solomon – engineering (tracks 8, 13)

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Big Ideas
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] 27
US Billboard 200[13] 95

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Bassett, Jordan (July 12, 2024). "Remi Wolf Explores the Outer Limits of Her Signature Sound on Big Ideas". Spin. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Big Ideas by Remi Wolf Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Donelson, Marcy. "Big Ideas – Remi Wolf | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Robinson, Otis (July 11, 2024). "Remi Wolf – Big Ideas review". DIY. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Currie, Jordan (July 12, 2024). "Remi Wolf's Energetic Big Ideas Is Full to the Brim". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Julia, Adele (July 1, 2024). "Remi Wolf returns with another iteration of genre-defying pop on Big Ideas". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Mylrea, Hannah (July 11, 2024). "Remi Wolf – Big Ideas review: funk-fuelled catharsis". NME. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  8. ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad (July 12, 2024). "Remi Wolf: Big Ideas review – slight but vibrant genre-agnostic pop". The Observer. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Rosenberg, Sam (July 12, 2024). "Remi Wolf Has a Lot of Big Ideas on Her Sprightly, Scattered Sophomore Album". Paste. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2024". Exclaim!. November 27, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  11. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2024". NPR. December 2, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  13. ^ @billboardcharts (July 22, 2024). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200..." (Tweet). Retrieved July 23, 2024 – via Twitter.
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