| Charmer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 18, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | Stampede Origin, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:02 | |||
| Label | SuperEgo | |||
| Producer | Paul Bryan | |||
| Aimee Mann chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Charmer | ||||
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Charmer is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriterAimee Mann, released bySuperEgo Records in the UK on September 17, 2012, and in the US on September 18.[1]
The album was produced by Mann's bassist,Paul Bryan, and features a guest appearance byThe ShinsfrontmanJames Mercer, who duets with Mann on the track "Living a Lie." It debuted on theBillboard 200 at No. 33.
Laura Linney andJohn Hodgman star in the music video for the first single, "Charmer."[2]
The video for the second single, "Labrador," is a shot-for-shot remake of the video for "Voices Carry," the 1985 hit of Mann's former band,'Til Tuesday, with the exception ofTown Hall replacingCarnegie Hall.[3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (73/100)[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [5] |
| American Songwriter | [6] |
| Blurt |  [7] |
| Consequence of Sound |  [8] |
| musicOMH | [9] |
| No Ripcord | [10] |
| PopMatters | [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
| Under the Radar | [4] |
| Uncut | (8/10)[4] |
Charmer so far has a score of 73 out of 100 fromMetacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[4]Jody Rosen, inRolling Stone magazine, criticized its lyrics and production concluding "[T]here's little new here, and even less charm".[11]Allmusic, however, was more positive, citing its hooks as "spiky and precise", and concluding that it was "an immediate, engaging pop record".[5]
Other reviews are positive:Filter gave the album a score of 84% and stated that "Thirty years in, Mann continues to charm, a hidden glint in her eye."[12]Mojo gave the album four stars out of five and called it "an Americana and power-pop confection with piano and tasteful guitars swaddled in the choicest vintage tones."[4]The Independent gave it a favorable review and called it "Another sweet viper's bite of post-Freudian dyspepsia from the singersongwriter who loves to mistrust."[13]Paste gave it a score of 7.8 out of ten and stated: "The simple fact that Aimee Mann continues writing songs around these distressing observations and putting them out on such achingly beautiful records seems proof that-despite all the twisted, cutting truths she's spied under the lens of her artistic microscope—she still somehow clings to the sable cloud's silver flash."[14]The A.V. Club gave it a B and said that Mann "is able to match her ideas to music with real kick."[15]
Other reviews are average or mixed:Q gave the album three stars out of five and called Mann "good and snarky".[4]The New York Times gave it an average review and said it "represents a sunny term for [Mann], at least in relative terms."[16]The Boston Globe, however, gave it a mixed review and stated: "Too many tracks flirt with flat inconsequentiality, and too often the lyrics slip by without the sting of Mann's normally incisive wordsmithery."[17]
All songs written by Aimee Mann, except where noted.
