Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
Studio album by
Oneohtrix Point Never
ReleasedOctober 30, 2020
RecordedMarch–July 2020
Studio
  • Queens, New York
  • Northampton, Massachusetts
Genre
Length47:07
LabelWarp
Producer
Oneohtrix Point Never chronology
Age Of
(2018)		 Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
(2020)		 Again
(2023)
Singles from Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
  1. "Drive Time Suite"
    Released: September 24, 2020
  2. "Midday Suite"
    Released: October 26, 2020

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never is the ninth studio album by American electronic producer Daniel Lopatin, under his alias Oneohtrix Point Never, released on October 30, 2020, via Warp.[5][6][7] The album draws on a psychedelic radio aesthetic strongly inspired by Magic 106.7, the mondegreen namesake of Lopatin's project, and was recorded during COVID-19 lockdowns, between March and July 2020.

It is the second album to heavily feature Lopatin's own vocals after Age Of, with a higher focus on songwriting. It features collaborations with The Weeknd (who also served as an executive producer for the album), Caroline Polachek, Arca and Nolanberollin. The artwork and design was designed by American artist Robert Beatty, with art direction being handled by Lopatin and Beatty, cooperatively. Upon release, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never was met with critical acclaim and was featured on several publications' year-end lists.

Background and composition

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never was conceived as an album in early 2020 after Lopatin created eclectically varied mixtapes for the Safdie brothers' radio site Elara Radio; overall, he found that "on a therapeutic scale", he "always enjoyed the comfort of listening to the radio, and of listening to people have inane discussions on podcasts".[8] Lopatin remarked to GQ that "there's so much of me on this—even the collaborations are appropriate [to when I started out]".[8] In comparison, the album is themed around a psychedelic radio aesthetic and features four "Cross Talk" interludes, collages of "archival recordings of various American FM stations' "format flips", in which detourned DJ sign-offs collide with advertisements and self-help mantras",[9] marking each periodic stage of the album.

Lopatin said of his intent with creating Magic Oneohtrix Point Never that:

I wanted to make a cohesive, punchy, 50-minute record that was very personal, but pulled from FM palettes that I was personally interested in [...] I think it works really well as a metaphor for how I've changed. The things that I try to understand about my own life and being an avid musical listener and how much that's influenced me as a musician is kind of apparent on this record. That metaphor of transformation is something that I came to by thinking about the radio.[10]

The press release issued by Warp upon the album's announcement, especially concerning the album's concept, tone and use of textures, stated that it "loosely summons the broadcasting logic of radio dayparts, switching on in the morning and closing very late at night, while seamlessly latticed together with kaleidoscopic, twitchy transformations of sound between the dials to form a darkly humorous reflection on American music culture", concluding by referring to the album's style as "maximalist baroque-pop within atmospheric glitter".[9]

Release

Lopatin began teasing the album on September 22, 2020, posting a video teaser stating the album title to social media platforms.[11] He announced the album and its tracklist on September 25;[12] the announcement also came with the release of the "Drive Time Suite", a single release consisting of the first three songs off of the album: "Cross Talk I", "Auto & Allo" and "Long Road Home".[13]

On October 14, Lopatin released the music video for "Long Road Home", co-directed by Charlie Fox and Emily Schubert. The stopmotion animated video pays homage to the 1982 short film Le Ravissement de Frank N. Stein, which was also adapted on Lopatin's 2013 Oneohtrix Point Never album, R Plus Seven.[14] The song would later be reworked and rereleased as the B-side to Caroline Polachek's 2022 single "Billions".[15]

On October 27, Lopatin released the "Midday Suite", another single release containing the next five tracks of the album, "Cross Talk II", "I Don't Love Me Anymore", "Bow Ecco", "The Whether Channel" and "No Nightmares".[16] Lopatin also shared the personnel for the album on the same day to social media.[17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[18]
Metacritic81/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Beats Per Minute77%[20]
Clash8/10[21]
Consequence of SoundB[22]
Exclaim!5/10[23]
FLOOD8/10[3]
Loud and Quiet8/10[1]
musicOMH[24]
Pitchfork7.7/10[25]
Uncut8/10[26]

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never was met with acclaim from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 81 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[27]

In the review for AllMusic, Heather Phares writes that, "Lopatin builds on radio's power to connect people through music even from a distance, and the way he combines all the facets of his music feels like going up and down the dial. The flowing synth instrumentals of his earliest work sit next to Garden of Delete and Age Of's subverted pop songs, and they're all surrounded by collages of DJ chatter that hark back to Replica's nimble plunderphonics."[28] Another positive review by Philip Sherburne states that "Whether sampled, synthesized, or acoustic, they are rich with implicit physicality, evocative of stretching and striking; processed voices are carved into curved, glistening shapes, uncanny as ice sculptures. It's a ridiculously opulent palette."[29]

Accolades for Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2020
7
Bleep Bleep's Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020
2
Noisey The 100 Best Albums of 2020
53
AllMusic AllMusic's 100 Favorite Albums of 2020
N/A
Consequence of Sound Consequence of Sound's Top 50 Albums of 2020
31
Gorilla vs. Bear Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2020
18
FLOOD FLOOD's Best Albums of 2020
7
Les Inrocks Les Inrocks' Top 100 Albums of 2020
45
musicOMH musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2020
42
The A.V. Club The 20 best albums of 2020
16
Vinyl Me, Please Best Albums of 2020
N/A
Time Magazine Best Songs of 2020
10
Rolling Stone Rob Sheffield's Top 25 Songs of 2020
13
Pitchfork The 100 Best Songs of 2020
75
The Fader The 100 Best Songs of the Year
48

Track listing

All tracks written by Daniel Lopatin, except where noted; all tracks produced by Daniel Lopatin.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cross Talk I" 0:22
2."Auto & Allo" 3:21
3."Long Road Home" 3:32
4."Cross Talk II" 0:49
5."I Don't Love Me Anymore" 2:54
6."Bow Ecco" 2:11
7."The Whether Channel" 6:08
8."No Nightmares"
4:06
9."Cross Talk III" 0:12
10."Tales from the Trash Stratum" 3:28
11."Answering Machine" 0:58
12."Imago" 3:48
13."Cross Talk IV / Radio Lonelys" 1:08
14."Lost But Never Alone" 4:18
15."Shifting" 1:54
16."Wave Idea" 3:21
17."Nothing's Special" 4:37
Total length:47:07
Japanese edition (bonus track)[45]
No.TitleLength
18."Ambien1" 
Blu-ray Edition
No.TitleLength
18."Lost But Never Alone" (A. G. Cook Remix) 
19."Tales from the Trash Stratum" (featuring Elizabeth Fraser) 
20."Nothing's Special" (featuring Rosalía) 
21."Lost But Never Alone" (Forced Smile Edit) 

Sample credits[46]

  • "Cross Talk II" contains a sample from "Wasn't the Summer Short", written by Ruth Newman and performed by Peter Nero.
  • "Shifting" contains a sample from "Reconquering Our Kingdom" by Mournlord.

Personnel

Musicians

  • Daniel Lopatin – vocals, production, engineering (all tracks), executive production
  • Caroline Polachek – vocals ("Long Road Home"), additional vocals ("No Nightmares"), additional engineering ("No Nightmares"), additional vocal engineering ("Long Road Home")
  • Nolanberollin – vocals ("The Whether Channel"), additional vocal engineering ("The Whether Channel")
  • The Weeknd – vocals ("No Nightmares"), executive production
  • Shin Kamiyama – additional engineering ("No Nightmares")
  • Matt Cohn – additional engineering ("No Nightmares")
  • Nate Boyce – additional guitar synth ("Lost But Never Alone")
  • Arca – vocals ("Shifting")

Technical

  • Matt Cohn – mixing (all tracks, except "Lost But Never Alone")
  • Daniel Lopatin – mixing ("Lost But Never Alone")
  • Ryan Schwabe – mastering (all tracks)

Charts

Chart (2020) Peak
position
Dutch Vinyl Albums (MegaCharts)[47] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[48] 65
UK Album Sales (OCC)[49] 54
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[50] 15
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[51] 13
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[52] 65
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[53] 8
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[54] 16

References

  1. 1 2 Delaney, Woody (30 October 2020). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never - Oneohtrix Point Never". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 Duffey, Connor (30 October 2020). "Oneohtrix Point Never, "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never"". FLOOD. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ↑ de Mouilpied Sancto, Christian. "Forgetting Remains: An essay-review of Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". InVisible Culture: An Electronic Journal for Visual Culture. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never announces new album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". The Fader. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  6. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never announces new album 'Magic Oneohtrix Point Never'". NME. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  7. ↑ "And Now for Oneohtrix Point Never's Next Trick..." Paper. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  8. 1 2 "Daniel Lopatin On Returning to His Roots as Oneohtrix Point Never and Working with The Weeknd". GQ. 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  9. 1 2 "Oneohtrix Point Never returns with radio-inspired album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". The Vinyl Factory. 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  10. ↑ "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never by Oneohtrix Point Never on Apple Music". Apple Music. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  11. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never Teases New Music". Stereogum. 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  12. ↑ Bloom, Madison (24 September 2020). "Oneohtrix Point Never Announces New Album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  13. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never announces new album, shares "Drive Time Suite" featuring Caroline Polachek: Stream". Consequence of Sound. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  14. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never shares video for new single, 'Long Road Home'". Fact. 2020-10-14. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  15. ↑ Willems, Jasper (2022-02-09). "CAROLINE POLACHEK CONTEMPLATES THE OVERABUNDANCE OF THE WORLD ON "BILLIONS"". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  16. ↑ "Listen to Oneohtrix Point Never's new 'Midday Suite,' featuring The Weeknd". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  17. ↑ @0pn (October 26, 2020). "Much love and admiration for everyone that made this record possible under crazy circumstances— this record means the world to me. MAGIC ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER comes out this Friday on @WarpRecords, credits below" (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-10-30 – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never by Oneohtrix Point Never reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never by Oneohtrix Point Never Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  20. ↑ Hakimian, Rob (30 October 2020). "ALBUM REVIEW: ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER – MAGIC ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Skinner, Wilf (30 October 2020). "Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". Clash. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  22. ↑ Blum, Jordan (30 October 2020). "The Adventurous Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Illuminates a True Talent: Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  23. ↑ Piekarski, Tom. "'Magic Oneohtrix Point Never' Is a Radio Playlist with No Internal Logic". Exclaim!. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  24. ↑ Cotsell, Matt (30 October 2020). "Oneohtrix Point Never – Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". musicOMH. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  25. ↑ Sherburne, Philip (October 30, 2020). "Oneohtrix Point Never: Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  26. ↑ Dylan Wray, Daniel. "Uncut". Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". Metacritic. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  28. ↑ "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". AllMusic. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  29. ↑ "Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". Pitchfork. 2020-10-30.
  30. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020". Bleep. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  32. ↑ "The 100 Best Albums of 2020". Vice. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  33. ↑ "AllMusic's 100 Favorite Albums of 2020". AllMusic. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Consequence of Sound's Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2020". Gorilla vs. Bear. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  36. ↑ "FLOOD's Best Albums of 2020". FLOOD. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Les Inrocks' Top 100 Albums of 2020". Les Inrocks. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  38. ↑ "musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2020". musicOMH. December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  39. ↑ "The 20 best albums of 2020". The A.V. Club. December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Best Albums of 2020". Vinyl Me, Please. December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Best Songs of 2020". Time Magazine. Nov 30, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Rob Sheffield's Top 25 Songs of 2020". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  43. ↑ "The 100 Best Songs of 2020". Pitchfork. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  44. ↑ "The 100 Best Songs of the Year". Fader. December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  45. ↑ "BEATINK.COM Magic Oneohtrix Point Never". Beatink.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  46. ↑ Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (liner notes). Oneohtrix Point Never. Warp. 2020. WARPCD318.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  47. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Oneohtrix Point Never – Magic Oneohtrix Point Never" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  48. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  49. ↑ "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  50. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  51. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  52. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  53. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  54. ↑ "Oneohtrix Point Never Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
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