Dept. of Disappearance

Dept. of Disappearance is the second solo studio album by American indie rock musician Jason Lytle. It was released on October 16, 2012 by record label ANTI-. Regarding the album, Lytle noted, "If there were any deliberate attempts on this record, it was trying to get back to more of a fairy-tale-ish-fantasy thing that was once again rooted in reality, with drums, pianos and real instruments."[2]

Dept. of Disappearance
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 16, 2012
RecordedThe Warbler, Montana, United States
Genre
LabelANTI-
ProducerJason Lytle
Jason Lytle chronology
Yours Truly, the Commuter
(2009)
Dept. of Disappearance
(2012)
House Show
(2014)

Writing and composition

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Regarding the album's lyrical and thematic content, Jason Lytle noted, "I think if anything, some of the elements that used to drive a lot of my favourite Grandaddy songs home, was this whole storytelling aspect. Creating these little worlds and creating sounds and creating lines [where] you almost have to create your own little image to go with what you're hearing. [...] I had this recurring image throughout the album, and I don't know where this came from. It's this recurring image, of some sort of tragedy. It's a woman, stranded, up high, in a blizzard, among the rocks and a guy who is down in the valley who can't do anything about it and its this distress of him knowing he can't do anything about it. I think there are two or three songs, where that imagery pops up."[2]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
Consequence of SoundC+[1]
Pitchfork5.9/10[5]

AllMusic's Tim Sendra gave the album a positive review, stating "Dept. of Disappearance shows that far from vanishing, Lytle is making a claim to be one of the more interesting and consistent singer-songwriters around; willing to take sonic chances, but always delivering music that's as much about feel as it is about meaning."[4]

Stephen Deusner of Pitchfork gave the album a mixed review, noting "[The track 'Your Final Setting Sun'] says more about Lytle's career than any veiled lyric could: If he can't push himself in new directions, he'll be stuck at his desk job, pushing paper for the Department of Disappearance forever."[5]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Jason Lytle

No.TitleLength
1."Dept. of Disappearance"4:33
2."Matterhorn"5:15
3."Young Saints"4:07
4."Hangtown"3:51
5."Get Up and Go"2:15
6."Last Problem of the Alps"5:44
7."Willow Wand Willow Wand"3:47
8."Somewhere There's a Someone"6:15
9."Chopin Drives Truck to the Dump"0:34
10."Your Final Setting Sun"5:09
11."Gimme Click Gimme Grid"8:13
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Flyberbonk"2:49
13."Elko in the Rain"4:01
14."Hangtown (Alternate Version)"4:20
15."Your Final Setting Sun (Australian Acoustic)"7:26

Personnel

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Additional personnel
  • Brett Allen - recording assistance
  • Larry Crane - mixing
  • Greg Calbi - mastering
  • Rob Jones - album layout and design
  • Stefano Felcini - photography
  • John Garner - cover photograph

References

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  1. ^ a b Bray, Ryan (October 12, 2012). "Jason Lytle – Dept. of Disappearance | Album Reviews | Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Ayers, Mike. "Jason Lytle on the Future of Grandaddy and His New Solo Record 'Dept. of Disappearance'". mtvhive.com. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  3. ^ "Department of Disappearance by Jason Lytle". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b Sendra, Tim. "Dept. of Disappearance - Jason Lytle | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  5. ^ a b M. Deusner, Stephen. "Jason Lytle: Dept. of Disappearance". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
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