Travelling Like the Light
Encyclopedia
Travelling Like the Light is the debut album
of English musician V V Brown, released 13 July 2009 on Island Records
. Initially released in the United Kingdom, the album was digitally released in the United States on 2 February 2010 and was physically released on 20 April 2010. Brown was inspired by an unsuccessful romantic relationship when writing most of the album. Despite some mixed criticism towards its eclectic musical style, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics.
and electronic music
, as well as synthesizer sounds emitted from Game Boy
and Nintendo
. Most of the lyrics on the album (such as those from the singles: "Crying Blood," "Leave!" and "Shark In the Water") are about a failed affair Brown endured.
in the United Kingdom. Its United States release on 2 February 2010 coincided with the release of "Shark in the Water" as Free Single of the Week on iTunes
. On 5 December 2008, she was nominated for the BBC
's Sound of 2009 award, alongside acts including Little Boots
and Lady Gaga
.
. The Guardian
writer Caroline Sullivan gave it 4 out of 5 stars and viewed Brown's effervescence as a strength, writing "She nimbly skips from 60s girl-group romping (Quick Fix) to Sandie Shaw-inspired melodrama to pumped-up powerpop to rockabilly and sounds entirely assured all the way through". BBC Online's Al Fox called it "an eclectic yet uniform collection of songs" and wrote that it "boasts a rare kind of head-turning indie-pop magnificence". John Meagher of The Belfast Telegraph
gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote favorably of Brown's singing. MusicOMH
writer Michael Cragg gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and called Brown's voice "a versatile instrument that she utilizes to brilliant effect throughout". Entertainment Weekly
s Leah Greenblatt gave Travelling Like the Light a B+ rating and commended Brown for her musical balance of modern and vintage sound. Dan Aquilante of The New York Post called the album "eclectic" and praised Brown's musical approach. Q
magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and praised Brown's performance, called her "a force of nature". Metro
s Ben East gave it 4 out of 5 stars and found Brown's style refreshing, calling it "an interesting confection with pleasingly dark lyrics". Spin
critic Barry Walters praised Brown for her "guts" and "grace", writing that her "enthusiasm immediately leaps from the grooves, but this debut also reveals an emotional and musical range her neo-retro peers lack". Pete Paphides of The Times
called it an "early promise".
In contrast, NME
s Sam Richards perceived Brown's songwriting as lacking in substance and panned the album's assorted musical elements, stating "unless you’re hyped up on a cocktail of Sunny D and Haribo yourself, you’ll find most of this album very annoying indeed". Sunday Herald
writer Edd McCracken found it "light on lyrics" and called it "a lukewarm, plastic pop concoction". The Observer
expressed a mixed response towards its offbeat sound, describing it as "not straight to the scrapheap but kooky la-la land". The Observers Alice Fisher commended Brown's vocal performance and perceived "glimmers of greatness", but ultimately viewed the album as "a great idea that turns out to be a bit wearisome in practice". PopMatters
writer David Smith gave the album a 5/10 rating and viewed a considerable amount of it as "filler
", calling it "an obstacle course of an album, but the high points are worth it". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph
gave it 3 out of 5 stars and described its music as "a hugely colourful novelty exuberance". The Independent
writer Andy Gill gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and expressed a mixed response towards Brown's eclectic style, but ultimately found her as "a refreshing alternative to run of production-line soul divas". Yahoo! Music
's Alex Denney gave Travelling Like the Light a 7/10 rating and called it "a bracing and big-hearted mix of rockabilly, doo-wop, pop and contemporary R&B in which Brown sparkles throughout". Rolling Stone
writer Jody Rosen described it as "old-school party music that seems right at home in 2010" and wrote that "her music floats exhilaratingly outside of time".
Despite writing that "Brown is more conduit than innovator", The A.V. Club
s Genevieve Koski gave Travelling Like the Light a B- rating and wrote that she "capably wields the well-honed retro-pop sound". Slant Magazine
's Jonathan Keefe gave the album 3½ out of 5 stars and commended Brown for her unconventional "creativity" and singing, stating "Brown brings that same sense of fearlessness to her vocal performances". Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave it 4 out of 5 stars and described it as "genuine, natural, and deep as mishmash throwback pop can get", while comparing her musical style to "being the child of Kirsty MacColl
and the sibling of Jazmine Sullivan
, messing with pop traditions as she courts and reprimands with a large, youthful voice that positively dances". Digital Spy
's Nick Levine gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that the album "paints Brown as a talented songwriter, an inventive producer and a singer capable of everything from playful shrieks to hushed, soulful intimacy". USA Today
s Elysa Gardner gave the album 3½ out of 4 stars and wrote that it "reveals both a knack for killer hooks and, vocally, a rare mix of power and grace". Los Angeles Times
writer Mikael Wood gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and viewed its slower songs as undistinctive, but wrote "even when her material blands out, there's a fresh-faced charm to Brown's delivery that sets her apart from the vintage-vinyl pack. She's the rare retro-soulster unafraid to act her age".
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
of English musician V V Brown, released 13 July 2009 on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. Initially released in the United Kingdom, the album was digitally released in the United States on 2 February 2010 and was physically released on 20 April 2010. Brown was inspired by an unsuccessful romantic relationship when writing most of the album. Despite some mixed criticism towards its eclectic musical style, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics.
Background
Brown wrote the music and plays instruments on the album. It was inspired by 1950s music1950s in music
For music from a year in the 1950s, go to 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1950s....
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, as well as synthesizer sounds emitted from Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. Most of the lyrics on the album (such as those from the singles: "Crying Blood," "Leave!" and "Shark In the Water") are about a failed affair Brown endured.
Release and promotion
The album's release was preceded by a limited non-chart eligible release of "Crying Blood" on 7" vinyl and digital download. Travelling Like the Light was released 13 July 2009 on Island RecordsIsland Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in the United Kingdom. Its United States release on 2 February 2010 coincided with the release of "Shark in the Water" as Free Single of the Week on iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. On 5 December 2008, she was nominated for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Sound of 2009 award, alongside acts including Little Boots
Little Boots
Victoria Christina Hesketh, also known by her stage name/pseudonym Little Boots, is an English electropop singer-songwriter. Her stage name comes from a nickname given to her by a friend, a reference to her unusually small feet...
and Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
.
Singles
- "Crying BloodCrying Blood (song)"Crying Blood" is the debut single by singer VV Brown . It was released on 3 November 2008 and was accompanied by a music video. The song did not chart as it was not eligible to do so...
" was released as Brown's debut single for digital download and CD single on November 3, 2008. Brown performed "Crying Blood" and a new song, "Bottles", on the first episode of the 33rd series of the BBC's Later... with Jools Holland. She was the musical guest on The Sunday Night ProjectThe Sunday Night ProjectThe Sunday Night Project was a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project...
on 11 January 2009 and performed "Crying Blood", as well as short extracts from other of her own songs throughout the show.
- "Leave!Leave!"Leave!" is the second single by singer VV Brown from her first album Travelling Like The Light. It was released on March 2, 2009, and was accompanied by a music video...
" was released as the second single on March 2, 2009.
- "Shark in the WaterShark in the Water"Shark in the Water" is the third single off the debut album Travelling Like The Light by singer–songwriter VV Brown. Written by VV Brown it was released on 6 July 2009 off Island Records. The song is a metaphorical record about anxiety, and was inspired by Brown's experience with infidelity by a...
" is the third single from the album. It has been described by popjusticePopjusticePopjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
as "immediately brilliant - a reinterpretation rather than a continuation of the 'indie doo wop' schtick she's been working on over the last couple of singles and therefore a lot less stylised and a great deal more accessible." The video is available on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and iTunes and has been described as the sort of video that only a major label could make. "Shark in the Water" went on to sell 500,000 singles in the U.S during the course of her promotion in 2010.
- "Game Over" is the fourth single released from the album. Summary by Jamie Smith: "It’s bold and brash, somehow modern yet retro-styled, but more than anything, it makes you want to dance, and that’s what pop music is all about."
Reception
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 67/100 from MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
writer Caroline Sullivan gave it 4 out of 5 stars and viewed Brown's effervescence as a strength, writing "She nimbly skips from 60s girl-group romping (Quick Fix) to Sandie Shaw-inspired melodrama to pumped-up powerpop to rockabilly and sounds entirely assured all the way through". BBC Online's Al Fox called it "an eclectic yet uniform collection of songs" and wrote that it "boasts a rare kind of head-turning indie-pop magnificence". John Meagher of The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph is a daily evening newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Independent News & Media.It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird...
gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote favorably of Brown's singing. MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
writer Michael Cragg gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and called Brown's voice "a versatile instrument that she utilizes to brilliant effect throughout". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Leah Greenblatt gave Travelling Like the Light a B+ rating and commended Brown for her musical balance of modern and vintage sound. Dan Aquilante of The New York Post called the album "eclectic" and praised Brown's musical approach. Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and praised Brown's performance, called her "a force of nature". Metro
Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
s Ben East gave it 4 out of 5 stars and found Brown's style refreshing, calling it "an interesting confection with pleasingly dark lyrics". Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
critic Barry Walters praised Brown for her "guts" and "grace", writing that her "enthusiasm immediately leaps from the grooves, but this debut also reveals an emotional and musical range her neo-retro peers lack". Pete Paphides of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called it an "early promise".
In contrast, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
s Sam Richards perceived Brown's songwriting as lacking in substance and panned the album's assorted musical elements, stating "unless you’re hyped up on a cocktail of Sunny D and Haribo yourself, you’ll find most of this album very annoying indeed". Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...
writer Edd McCracken found it "light on lyrics" and called it "a lukewarm, plastic pop concoction". The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
expressed a mixed response towards its offbeat sound, describing it as "not straight to the scrapheap but kooky la-la land". The Observers Alice Fisher commended Brown's vocal performance and perceived "glimmers of greatness", but ultimately viewed the album as "a great idea that turns out to be a bit wearisome in practice". PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
writer David Smith gave the album a 5/10 rating and viewed a considerable amount of it as "filler
Filler (media)
In media, filler is material that is combined with material of greater relevance or quality to "fill out" a certain volume.-Early television:...
", calling it "an obstacle course of an album, but the high points are worth it". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
gave it 3 out of 5 stars and described its music as "a hugely colourful novelty exuberance". The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
writer Andy Gill gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and expressed a mixed response towards Brown's eclectic style, but ultimately found her as "a refreshing alternative to run of production-line soul divas". Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
's Alex Denney gave Travelling Like the Light a 7/10 rating and called it "a bracing and big-hearted mix of rockabilly, doo-wop, pop and contemporary R&B in which Brown sparkles throughout". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
writer Jody Rosen described it as "old-school party music that seems right at home in 2010" and wrote that "her music floats exhilaratingly outside of time".
Despite writing that "Brown is more conduit than innovator", The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s Genevieve Koski gave Travelling Like the Light a B- rating and wrote that she "capably wields the well-honed retro-pop sound". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Jonathan Keefe gave the album 3½ out of 5 stars and commended Brown for her unconventional "creativity" and singing, stating "Brown brings that same sense of fearlessness to her vocal performances". Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave it 4 out of 5 stars and described it as "genuine, natural, and deep as mishmash throwback pop can get", while comparing her musical style to "being the child of Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
and the sibling of Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine Marie Sullivan is an American recording artist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is also the protégé of rapper Missy Elliott. Her debut single "Need U Bad" reached number one on Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while her second single, "Bust Your Windows" peaked at number four...
, messing with pop traditions as she courts and reprimands with a large, youthful voice that positively dances". Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
's Nick Levine gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that the album "paints Brown as a talented songwriter, an inventive producer and a singer capable of everything from playful shrieks to hushed, soulful intimacy". USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
s Elysa Gardner gave the album 3½ out of 4 stars and wrote that it "reveals both a knack for killer hooks and, vocally, a rare mix of power and grace". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Mikael Wood gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and viewed its slower songs as undistinctive, but wrote "even when her material blands out, there's a fresh-faced charm to Brown's delivery that sets her apart from the vintage-vinyl pack. She's the rare retro-soulster unafraid to act her age".
Track listing
Personnel
Credits for Travelling Like the Light adapted from Allmusic.- Lorenzo Agius – cover photo
- James Banbury – string arrangements
- V V Brown – performer, producer
- Mike Crossey – mixing
- Steve Dub – producer, mixing
- Richard Edgeler – assistant
- Mark Aaron James – design
- Alexis Smith – programming
- Jeremy Wheatley – producer, mixing
Chart history
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Digital Albums Chart | 1 |
| French Physical Albums Chart | 16 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
30 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
179 |
External links
- Travelling Like the Light at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Travelling Like the Light at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- V V Brown interview at The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...