Shrines (Armand Hammer album)

Shrines is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Armand Hammer.[1] It was released via Backwoodz Studioz in 2020.[2] The album's cover is a photograph of a NYPD police officer about to tranquilize and capture the tiger Ming of Harlem.[3]

Shrines
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 5, 2020 (2020-06-05)
GenreUnderground hip hop
Length43:13
LabelBackwoodz Studioz
Producer
Armand Hammer chronology
Paraffin
(2018)
Shrines
(2020)
Haram
(2021)

Background

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Billy Woods and Elucid toured Europe as Armand Hammer in 2019.[4] While in Edinburgh, they started writing a song titled "Bitter Cassava" and made demos.[5] They recorded the song after they got back to New York City.[5] Once a few things were figured out, they started work on Shrines.[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork8.0/10[6]
The Quietusfavorable[7]
Stereogumfavorable[8]

Eden Tizard of The Quietus stated that "Shrines sees a new kind of clarity takes shape, a departure from 2018's monolithic Paraffin."[7] He added: "Where production there was thick and volatile like boiled tar, Shrines is comparatively spacious, the density of the bars even more pronounced."[7] Tom Breihan of Stereogum described Shrines as "an album about people trying to build utopias on perilous and unstable piles of garbage."[8] He stated that "Armand Hammer take in the poison-cloud existential joke of a world around them, and they answer that joke with images as poetic as the tiger at the window."[8]

Track listing

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No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Bitter Cassava" (featuring Pink Siifu)Earl Sweatshirt2:56
2."Solarium"Navy Blue1:32
3."Charms" (featuring Keiyaa)Child Actor2:37
4."Pommelhorse" (featuring Curly Castro)August Fanon3:33
5."Leopards" (featuring Nosaj)Fat Albert Einstein3:02
6."King Tubby"Nicholas Craven3:25
7."Frida" (featuring Quelle Chris and Fielded)Andrew Broder4:11
8."Slewfoot"
3:19
9."War Stories"Messiah Musik3:06
10."Flavor Flav"Steel Tipped Dove2:45
11."Dead Cars" (featuring R.A.P. Ferreira)Kenny Segal3:32
12."Parables" (featuring Akai Solo)Navy Blue3:18
13."Ramses II" (featuring Moor Mother, Earl Sweatshirt, and Fielded)
  • Navy Blue
  • Andrew Broder
4:11
14."The Eucharist"Messiah Musik1:46
Total length:43:13

References

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  1. ^ Terry, Josh (June 18, 2020). "Bandcamp Friday Is Back Supporting Artists and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund". Vice. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  2. ^ "Pre-Order Armand Hammer's Shrines". Backwoodz Studioz. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Roberts-Grmela, Julian (July 22, 2020). "An Original Strain: Armand Hammer Interviewed". Clash. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Groovement, Jamie (August 29, 2019). "On Tour: billy woods and Elucid Hit Europe as Armand Hammer". Bonafide Magazine. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Chesman, Donna-Claire (June 16, 2020). ""Fire Represents Power": Armand Hammer Are the Foundational Myth". DJBooth. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  6. ^ Thompson, Paul A. (June 10, 2020). "Armand Hammer: Shrines". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Tizard, Eden (July 27, 2020). "Armand Hammer". The Quietus. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (June 10, 2020). "Armand Hammer Build A Utopia". Stereogum. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
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