The Two Worlds is a 2018 studio album by Irish folk musician Brigid Mae Power. The album has received positive reviews from critics.

The Two Worlds
A purple-tinted photo of Power looking upward, surrounded by scribbles in yellow
Studio album by
Released9 February 2018 (2018-02-09)
Studio
  • Analogue Catalogue, County Down, Ireland
  • The Half Dome
GenreIrish folk music
LanguageEnglish
LabelTompkins Square
Brigid Mae Power chronology
The Ones You Keep Close
(2017)
The Two Worlds
(2018)
Head Above the Water
(2020)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.210 (6 reviews)[1]
Metacritic82100 (6 reviews)[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian     [3]
The Irish Times     [4]
The Line of Best Fit810[5]
Pitchfork Media7.410[6]
Record Collector     [7]
Sputnikmusic4.05[8]
Uncut     [9]

Editors at AnyDecentMusic? rated this album a 7.2 out of 10, based on six reviews.[1] Brigid Mae Power received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on six reviews.[2]

In The Guardian, Laura Snapes rated this release 4 out of 5 stars, characterizing the music as "steely songs about abuse and recovery" and calling it "less oblique" than 2016's self-titled album.[3] Dustin Van Nguyen of The Irish Times gave this album 3 out of 5 stars, writing that it "encapsulates a romantic vision of rustic, pastoral terrain" and that few musicians "can maintain either the chilly sense of isolation or epic sweep of Power's best numbers".[4] Janne Oinonen of The Line of Best Fit gave The Two Worlds 8 out of 10, stating that Peter Broderick "squeezes maximum atmospherics out of a sparse sonic palette and the unadorned melodies that carry Power's clear-eyed observations about the world around her and inside her".[5] Mother Jones' Jon Young favorably reviewed this release, ending that it "sticks with you long after it’s over".[10]

Sam Sodomsky rated this album 7.4 out of 10 for Pitchfork Media, calling it "a dizzyingly isolated album, music that gains momentum as it burrows deeper".[6] Record Collector's Mike Goldsmith gave The Two Worlds 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "so much better" than Powers' debut full-length, writing that it is "emotional and feminine, but now so much tougher and dark as hell".[7] Atari of Sputnikmusic calls this release "completely intimate" and "conjured up from the musician’s most isolated, profound moments".[8] Writing for Uncut, Michael Bonner gave The Two Worlds 4 out of 5 stars, praising Powers' ability to balance the personal and political, stating that "the two worlds co-exist beautifully here, the soft Power and the raw".[9]

Track listing

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All songs written by Brigid Mae Power.

  1. "I’m Grateful" – 4:33
  2. "Don’t Shut Me Up (Politely)" – 5:20
  3. "So You’ve Seen My Limit" – 3:48
  4. "On My Own with You" – 3:45
  5. "Is My Presence in the Room Enough for You?" – 4:20
  6. "Down on the Ground" – 3:53
  7. "Peace Backing Us Up" – 3:53
  8. "How’s Your New Home?" – 4:55
  9. "The Two Worlds" – 4:08
  10. "Let Me Go Now" – 4:31

Personnel

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The Two Worlds by Brigid Mae Power reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. n.d. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "The Two Worlds by Brigid Mae Power Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b Snapes, Laura (9 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power: The Two Worlds review – steely songs about abuse and recovery". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. ISSN 1756-3224. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b Van Nguyen, Dustin (9 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power: The Two Worlds review – poised and ornate". Music. The Irish Times. ISSN 0791-5144. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b Oinonen, Janne (9 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power turns the volume up and then down again on The Two Worlds". Albums. The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b Sodomsky, Sam (9 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power: The Two Worlds Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b Goldsmith, Mike (28 February 2018). "The Two Worlds | Brigid Mae Power". Record Collector. No. 477. ISSN 0261-250X. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b Atari (12 February 2018). "Review: Brigid Mae Power – The Two Worlds". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b Bonner, Michael (8 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power – The Two Worlds". Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  10. ^ Young, Jon (5 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power's New Album is Magic". Mother Jones. ISSN 0362-8841. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
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