Animal Heart
| Animal Heart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | January 29, 2014 |
| Recorded | 2013 at Vinegar Hill Sound; Svenska Grammofonstudion; Carousel Studios; Swedish Harlem, NYC and Valiant Effort Labs |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie pop |
| Length | 41:15 |
| Labels | Lojinx, The End Records |
| Producers | Nina Persson, Nathan Larson, Eric D. Johnson |
Animal Heart is the debut studio album by Nina Persson, singer of The Cardigans, released on February 10, 2014 through Lojinx in Europe and The End Records in North America. A video for the title track of the album was released in November 2013.
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Drowned in Sound | 5/10 |
| The Irish Times | |
| The Line of Best Fit | 6/10 |
| Mojo | |
| Pitchfork | 5.5/10 |
| PopMatters | 6/10 |
| Q | |
| Uncut | 7/10 |
| Under the Radar | 7/10 |
Critical reception of the album has been generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
Track listing
All tracks are written by Eric D. Johnson, Nathan Larson and Nina Persson; except "Food for the Beast" by Joan Wasser.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Animal Heart" | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Burning Bridges for Fuel" | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Dreaming of Houses" | 3:27 |
| 4. | "Clip Your Wings" | 3:58 |
| 5. | "Jungle" | 3:35 |
| 6. | "Food for the Beast" | 3:20 |
| 7. | "Digestif" | 0:42 |
| 8. | "Forgot to Tell You" | 3:56 |
| 9. | "Catch Me Crying" | 3:19 |
| 10. | "The Grand Destruction Game" | 3:55 |
| 11. | "Silver" | 3:41 |
| 12. | "This Is Heavy Metal" | 2:38 |
| 13. | "Sometimes" (Japanese bonus track) | 2:55 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.
- Musicians
- Nina Persson – vocal and instrumental performance, production
- Nathan Larson – bass guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, percussion, pump organ, synthesizer, vibraphone, background vocals, engineer, production
- Eric D. Johnson – autoharp, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, percussion, piano, pump organ, synthesizer, background vocals, engineer, production
- Brian Kantor – drums (1 to 5, 7 to 9, 11, 12)
- Bengt Lagerberg – drums (6, 10)
- Technical personnel
- Sophie Bille Brahe – illustration
- Kalle Gustafsson – engineer
- Annele Hencz – publicity
- Nicholas Johansson – A&R
- Fred Kevorkian – mastering
- Joe McGinty – engineer
- Thom Monahan – mixing
- Staffan Persson – engineer
- Jörgen Ringstrand – photography
- Geoff Sanoff – engineer
- Barry Taylor – management
- Jessica Weitz – management
Album charts
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) | 14 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | 19 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 2 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 120 |
| UK Independent Albums (Official Charts) | 23 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | January 29, 2014 | CD, digital download | Nippon Columbia |
| Sweden | CD, digital download, LP | Universal | |
| Taiwan | February 10, 2014 | CD, digital download | Love Da Records |
| United Kingdom | CD, digital download, LP | Lojinx | |
| Hong Kong | February 11, 2014 | CD, digital download | Love Da Records |
| United States | CD, digital download, LP | The End Records | |
References
- ↑ "Billboard interview" Andrew Hampp, 'Nina Persson Talks 'Animal Heart' Solo LP, The Cardigans' Future', Billboard, February 10, 2014.
- ↑ "Nina Persson – Animal Heart (Lojinx)". 10 February 2014.
- ↑ "MusicOHM" Sam Shepherd, 'Nina Persson – Animal Heart', Musicohm, February 10, 2014
- ↑ "Pitchfork Review" Katherine St. Asaph, 'Nina Persson: Animal Heart', Pitchfork, February 13, 2014.
- ↑ "Stereogum video announcement" Brie Roche lilliott, 'Nina Persson – "Animal Heart" Video', Stereogum, November 25, 2013
- 1 2 "'Animal Heart' Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More – Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Phares, Heather. "'Animal Heart' – Nina Persson : AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Ashman, Neil (10 February 2014). "Nina Persson - Animal Heart". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ Clayton-Lee, Tony (January 31, 2014). "Nina Persson: Animal Heart – Album Review – Fri, Jan 31, 2014". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Day, Laurence (4 February 2014). ""Animal Heart"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ Pleasant but risk adverse. [Mar 2014, p.88]
- ↑ St. Asaph, Katherine (February 13, 2014). "Nina Persson: Animal Heart – Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Paul, John (23 April 2014). "Nina Persson: Animal Heart". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ Here the melodies are a forum for a lovely, charismatic voice and some artful, memorable lyrics. [Mar 2014, p.119]
- ↑ Persson shows she is still a dab hand at melodic indie-pop, as she tackles floundering relationships, failing memories and new horizons. [Mar 2014, p.82]
- ↑ There is a sameness to the songs, but it doesn't work against the album as much as makes it a cohesive listen. [Feb/Mar 2014, p.75]
- ↑ "Nina Persson – Animal Heart: Credits". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Nina Persson – Animal Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Nina Persson: Animal Heart" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Nina Persson – Animal Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update – 22.02.2014". ChartsPlus. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 22/2/2014 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Animal Heart Nina Persson [CD]". CDJapan. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Bengans Record Store – Nina Persson". Bengans.se. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "iTunes – Music – Animal Heart by Nina Persson". iTunes. 10 February 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "lojinx // nina persson / animal heart album". Lojinx. 10 February 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ↑ "NINA PERSSON / ANIMAL HEART – HMV Hong Kong". HMV. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Nina Persson – Animal Heart". The End Records. January 6, 2014. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
