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The Kid (album)

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The Kid
Studio album by
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
ReleasedOctober 6, 2017 (2017-10-06)
StudioTouchtheplants (Glendale, California)
Genre
Length51:35
LabelWestern Vinyl
ProducerKaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith chronology
Ears
(2016) 		The Kid
(2017) 		The Mosaic of Transformation
(2020)

The Kid is the sixth studio album by American electronic musician Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. It was released on October 6, 2017 by Western Vinyl. It's a concept album about the human life cycle and was described by the artist as "a journey from birth to death", while Smith depicts the four stages of life in the tracks of The Kid.[1][2]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[3]
Metacritic82/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The A.V. ClubA[6]
Exclaim!9/10[7]
The Guardian[8]
Mixmag8/10[9]
Pitchfork8.1/10[10]
Record Collector[11]
Resident Advisor4.0/5[12]
Rolling Stone[1]
Uncut8/10[13]

The Kid received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 18 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[4] Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork described The Kid as the most accessible album of Smith to date and stated that the artist "extracts as much joy as possible from the sadness."[10] While rating the album 4 out of 5, AllMusic's Paul Simpson called "The Kid "a stunning work of highly advanced kaleidoscopic new age pop, and is easily Smith's best and most accessible release to date," stating that it "builds on Ears' seamless fusion of synthetic and organic sounds, combining the fluid tones of her preferred instrument, the Buchla Music Easel, with other synthesizers, such as the rare EMS Synthi 100."[5]

Christopher R. Weingarten praised the album declaring that the artist "paints an even lusher world using cosmic swoops, squelches and lots of her highly processed vocals. Sounds don’t align with the rhythms, and Smith’s voice is awash in alien echoes."[1] In a highly positive review, Kelsey J. Waite of The A.V. Club rated the album grade "A", while writing that the album "reaches a career high as the synthesist and composer ponders her existence, tracing the life cycle through four distinct stages" and opined that it is "truly an album to experience beginning to end."[6] The music on the album has been described by critics as electronic,[14] avant-garde,[1] and "analogue psychedelia."[8]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

No.TitleLength
1."I Am a Thought"1:53
2."An Intention"4:00
3."A Kid"5:04
4."In the World"3:00
5."I Am Consumed"0:54
6."In the World, but Not of the World"3:57
7."I Am Learning"3:15
8."To Follow & Lead"4:48
9."Until I Remember"4:23
10."Who I Am & Why I Am Where I Am"5:20
11."I Am Curious, I Care"3:44
12."I Will Make Room for You"4:58
13."To Feel Your Best"6:19

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Kid.[15]

  • Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – performance, composition, recording, mixing, quartet arrangement
  • Stargaze – quartet (tracks: 11–13)
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Alex Trochut – design, typography
  • Rob Moss Wilson – illustration
  • Tim Saccenti – photography

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
AllMusic Best of 2017
N/A
[16]
Best Electronic Albums
Bandcamp Top 20 Albums of 2017
8
[17]
Bleep Top Ten Albums of 2017
6
[18]
Fact Top 50 Albums
20
[19]
NME Albums of The Year 2017
48
[20]
Spin Top 50 Albums
21
[21]
The Vinyl Factory Top 50 Albums of 2017
17
[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Weingarten, Christopher R. (October 5, 2017). "Review: Synth Experimentalist Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Gorgeously Maps the Life Cycle". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Bartlet, Jess (December 11, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith talks eastern philosophy, nature, and experiential learning on "The Kid" [Interview]". Earmilk. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "The Kid by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Reviews and Tracks for The Kid by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith". Metacritic. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Simpson, Paul. "The Kid – Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith". AllMusic. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Waite, Kelsey J. (October 6, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, The Kid". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  7. ^ Beedham, Tom (October 3, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: The Kid". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (October 5, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: The Kid review – analogue psychedelia with some growing up to do". The Guardian. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  9. ^ Worthy, Stephen (October 4, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith 'The Kid' (Western Vinyl)". Mixmag. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Geffen, Sasha (October 6, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: The Kid". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  11. ^ Goldsmith, Mike (November 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – The Kid". Record Collector (472). Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  12. ^ Beta, Andy (October 31, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – The Kid". Resident Advisor. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  13. ^ Martin, Piers (November 16, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – The Kid". Uncut. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  14. ^ Empire, Kitty (October 8, 2017). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: The Kid review – a charming electronic exploration of life". The Observer. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  15. ^ The Kid (liner notes). Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Western Vinyl. 2017. WV170.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Allmusic Awards". Allmusic.com. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  17. ^ "The Best Albums of 2017". Daily.bandcamp.com. December 15, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  18. ^ "Best of 2017: Albums of the Year". Bleep.com. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  19. ^ Bowe, Miles. "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Factmag.com. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  20. ^ "NME's Albums of The Year 2017". Nme.com. December 27, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  21. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2017". Spin.com. December 18, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  22. ^ "The 50 Best Album of 2017". Thevinylfactory.com. December 20, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
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