Ancient Romans (album)

Ancient Romans is the fifth solo studio album by Cameron Stallones as Sun Araw.[1] It was released on Sun Ark Records and Drag City on August 23, 2011.[2]

Ancient Romans
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 23, 2011 (2011-08-23)
Recorded2010
StudioLos Angeles, California, US
Length79:28
Label
Sun Araw chronology
On Patrol
(2010)
Ancient Romans
(2011)
The Inner Treaty
(2012)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
The A.V. ClubC+[5]
Beats Per Minute72/100[6]
Cokemachineglow77/100[7]
Consequence of SoundB[8]
Pitchfork7.9/10[9]
Spin8/10[10]
Tiny Mix Tapes     [11]
Under the Radar          [12]
XLR8R8/10[13]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]

Paul Thompson of Pitchfork described the album as "another fever dream of dub-mottled organ grind and guitar squiggle, at once elemental and futuristic."[9] Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote, "Throughout the album the sense is of rough experimentation, a kind of direct curiosity in the collision of sampled loops, echoed vocals, bursting bass, and random moments."[4] Ron Hart of Blurt stated that this album along with the Eternal Tapestry collaboration Night Galley cemented Sun Araw "continu[ing] to redefine the freak-out for the digital age, leading the pack of new young mindbenders looking to rock music down paths not yet explored without fear or frenzy".[14] Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound commented that "You can't help but move along to some of the entrancing, pulsing drones found on Ancient Romans; altogether, another epic, grandiose, striking LP from one of the best and most underrated musicians of the moment."[8]

The Wire placed the album at number 12 on the "Top 50 Releases of the Year" list.[15]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Cameron Stallones

Ancient Romans track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Lucretius"9:07
2."Crown Shell"9:54
3."Crete"9:30
4."Lute and Lyre"7:01
5."At Delphi"11:08
6."Fit for Caesar"10:35
7."Trireme"6:39
8."Impluvium"15:35
Total length:79:28

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • Sun Araw – performance, engineering, mixing
  • Bobb Bruno – engineering
  • Matthew Koshak – mixing
  • Sonic Boom – mastering

References

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  1. ^ Malitz, David (August 22, 2011). "Quick spin: 'Ancient Romans' by Sun Araw". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 2, 2011). "New Release: Sun Araw: Ancient Romans". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Ancient Romans by Sun Araw". Metacritic. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Ancient Romans - Sun Araw". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Mincher, Chris (August 30, 2011). "Sun Araw: Ancient Romans". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Becker, Josh (August 25, 2011). "Album Review: Sun Araw – Ancient Romans". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Goerner, P.M. (August 24, 2011). "Sun Araw: Ancient Romans". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Kivel, Adam (August 23, 2011). "Sun Araw – Ancient Romans". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Thompson, Paul (August 31, 2011). "Sun Araw: Ancient Romans". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  10. ^ Beta, Andy. "Sun Araw, 'Ancient Romans'". Spin. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Reid, Reed Scott. "Sun Araw - Ancient Romans". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  12. ^ Trunick, Austin. "Sun Araw: Ancient Romans (Sun Ark/Drag City)". Under the Radar. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  13. ^ Fallon, Patric (August 22, 2011). "Sun Araw Ancient Romans". XLR8R. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  14. ^ Hart, Ron (2011-10-24). "Night Gallery; Ancient Romans by Eternal Tapestry & Sun Araw + Sun Araw". Blurt. Archived from the original on 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  15. ^ "2011 Rewind Chart: Top 50 Releases of the Year". The Wire. December 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
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