Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are is the second full-length CD by the band Beauty Pill. It was the band's first non-Dischord release. It was recorded at Artisphere, a museum in Arlington, VA, as part of a commissioned art project called Immersive Ideal in which the recording sessions were conducted in view of the public. They completed one song per day, and Chad Clark felt the pressure of the recording process infused the music with an energetic quality. The music is more electronic in nature than the band's previous recordings because Clark's health issues prevented him from lifting a guitar for a time.Phil Harrell, "'It Crackles With Life':Beauty Pill Returns", NPR Music, April 26, 2015
Critical reception
The album was met with wide critical acclaim. NPR listed it as one of the 50 Best Albums of 2015, and Rolling Stone listed it as one of the "15 Best Albums You Didn't Hear in 2015". Magnet Magazine declared it album of the year, and said it "Takes a sledgehammer to boundaries and orthodoxies. Recalls both 'Revolver' and 'Stankonia.'"
Noisey declared it "One of the most unique and engrossing albums of 2015", while Pitchfork characterized it as "a smorgasbord of angles, melodies, loops, pockets, and fractal surfaces that nonetheless refuse to deviate from the mythic power of the pop hook."Jason Heller, "Beauty Pill: Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are", Pitchfork Media, April 24, 2015
Robert Christgau named it the seventh best album of 2015.
Track listing "Drapetomania!" – 3:36 "Afrikaner Barista" – 6:42 "Ann the Word" – 6:44 "Steven & Tiwonge" – 4:24 "Aint a Jury in the World Gon' Convict You, Baby" – 4:00 "Exit Without Saving" – 3:42 "The Prize" – 4:23 "Dog with Rabbit in Mouth, Unharmed" – 5:22 "For Pretend" – 4:51 "When Cornered" – 3:30 "Near Miss Stories" – 5:45 "Ann the Word" (Lungfish cover) – 7:10
Personnel Basla Andolsun – bass, guitar Chad Clark – vocals, guitar, beats, sounds, treatments, songs Jean Cook – vocals, strings, Wurlitzer, piano, synthesizer Drew Doucette – guitar, bass Abram Goodrich – drums, guitar, bass, synthesizer, vibraphone, percussion Devin Ocampo – drums, guitar, synthesizer, bass
References