| Corpse Flower | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 13, 2019 (2019-09-13) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:11 | |||
| Label | Ipecac | |||
| Producer | Mike Patton | |||
| Mike Patton andJean-Claude Vannier chronology | ||||
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Corpse Flower is a collaborative album by American singerMike Patton and French composerJean-Claude Vannier, released on September 13, 2019, throughIpecac Recordings.[3] The album consists of Patton singing a selection of Vannier's songs, with Patton backed by a band in Los Angeles and Vannier by an orchestra in Paris.[4]
Patton and Vannier met in 2011 while working on aSerge Gainsbourg tribute event at theHollywood Bowl, with Patton saying they "bonded immediately". Vannier described Patton as a "formidable vocalist" and stated that they "created a strong, beautiful and sincere collection of music, as well as a friendship".[3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[2] |
| Loud and Quiet | 8/10[5] |
| Record Collector | [6] |
Corpse Flower received a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregatorMetacritic based on six critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[4]Kerrang! called it "an album for completists", whileUncut felt that Patton "rises to the occasion throughout" and the "swooping strings andEscher-like melodic structures of "Camion" and "Yard Bull" are reassuringly familiar to Vannier enthusiasts".[4] Alun Hamnett ofRecord Collector wrote, "That Mike Patton and Jean-Claude Vannier should get together to make an album was not necessarily implausible, but neither was it expected. The results are likely to delight fans of either artist. For fans of both,Corpse Flower is, quite simply, exquisite".[6]
Thom Jurek ofAllMusic stated that the "set crisscrosses many genres" and "is ultimately rooted in exploration and adventure yet grounded in sleazy chanson, lounge tropes, blues, cinema music, and sound library tropes", remarking that it is "a dark jewel from two remarkable musical iconoclasts" and "a high-water mark for both men, albeit one born from the belly of hell itself".[1] Reviewing the album forExclaim!, Joe Smith-Engelhardt wrote that it "dives into western-styledlounge music with a wide range of instruments and weirdness to keep listeners on their toes for each and every track" and that as "the record carries on, the intensity of the songs seemingly increases with every passing track", concluding that it contains a "dynamic sound that is interesting for anyone".[2]
Jeremy Allen, reviewing the album forThe Quietus, selected it as "Album of the Week" and wrote that "the power struggle between American and European sensibilities feels a little inevitable", although Patton "has wisely taken a step back, allowing Vannier to present ideas and arrangements and then bend them towards his will as producer". Allen also found that the "surrealism is also manifest in the title track" and the album as a whole "presents a very strong case for working together alone".[7] Dafydd Jenkins ofLoud and Quiet called it both "questionable tripe from creepy old men raging against the dying of the light" as well as "a pornographic text of premeditated, nothing-left-to-lose hideousness, openly goading the listener to hate it. To listen feels somehow masochistic, which is to say, gratifying on some deep, primal level", summarizing that it is not "the worst album of all time; it just delights in seeming that way".[5]
All lyrics are written byMike Patton, except where noted; all music is composed byJean-Claude Vannier.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ballade C.3.3." (lyrics byOscar Wilde) | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Camion" | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Chansons d'amour" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Cold Sun Warm Beer" | 3:40 |
| 5. | "Browning" | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Hungry Ghost" | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Corpse Flower" | 2:53 |
| 8. | "Insolubles" (lyrics by Ariane Bomsel and Vannier) | 4:08 |
| 9. | "On Top of the World" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Yard Bull" | 4:21 |
| 11. | "A Schoolgirl's Day" | 3:27 |
| 12. | "Pink and Bleue" | 3:14 |
| Total length: | 43:11 | |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] | 163 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] | 110 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[10] | 180 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 99 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] | 79 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[13] | 29 |