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Heaven to a Tortured Mind
Studio album by Yves Tumor
Released	April 3, 2020
Studio	Kaiku Studios Paulie's Kro East Studios Saturn Sound Press Play Studios
Genre	Rock psychedelic soul
Length	36:22
Label	Warp
Producer	Justin Raisen Mahssa Taghinia Yves Tumor
Yves Tumor chronology
Safe in the Hands of Love (2018) Heaven to a Tortured Mind (2020) The Asymptotical World (2021)
Singles from Heaven to a Tortured Mind
"Gospel for a New Century" Released: February 18, 2020 "Kerosene!" Released: March 9, 2020 "Romanticist / Dream Palette" Released: March 19, 2020

Heaven to a Tortured Mind is the fourth studio album by American experimental electronic artist Yves Tumor, released April 3, 2020.

Background

The album was announced alongside the release of the single "Gospel for a New Century" on February 18, 2020. Two more singles followed, "Kerosene!" which was released on March 9, 2020, and "Romanticist / Dream Palette", which was released March 31, 2020.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.2/10
Metacritic	88/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Clash	8/10
Exclaim!	9/10
The Guardian
Paste	9.0/10
Pitchfork	8.5/10
PopMatters	9/10
Q
The Skinny
The Times

Heaven to a Tortured Mind received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 88 based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". AllMusic critic Heather Phares praised the record, describing it as "an album that suggests the easiest way to define Tumor is as an artist who consistently outdoes themself." Eero Holi of Clash labeled the album as a "psychedelic soul record for the 21st century," further stating: "It’s so heart-rending you could keep yourself wrapped inside its comfort for hours and not come out." Kaelen Bell of Exclaim! characterized the music as "the sound of a new kind of warped pop star — an artist capable of weaving the unending unknown of space and the throb of blood and skin, willing to take us and destroy us and create something wholly new from what remains."

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian thought that the record "sounds coherent" and "is punchy and concise;" Petridis further remarked that "its stylistic leaps and short-circuits always feel intended – the product of someone operating to their own internal logic rather than randomly throwing ideas at the wall." Paste critic Austin Jones praised the record, stating: "The record, with all its idiosyncrasies, will be remembered as a definitive piece by one of our era’s most important rock icons—a pop star as transgressive and rule-breaking as the legends of the ’70s and ’80s we take for granted now." Pitchfork's Kevin Lozano considered Tumor's commercial ambition, writing: "The product of this ambition is a gratifying and intense record, one whose pleasures are viscerally immediate." Reviewing for PopMatters, Paul Carr noted: "Whereas on previous albums, he would obscure himself behind the music, here he steps out of his sonic chrysalis, dons some shiny black wings and soars." Q's Leonie Cooper likewise noted the album's "relatively straight-up approach", dubbing it "sleazy listening at its best".

Accolades

Track listing

All tracks are written by Yves Tumor, except where noted

Sample credits

• "Gospel for New Century" contains elements from "이송아," performed by Lee Son Ga
• "Kerosene" contains elements from "Weep in Silence," written by Ken Hensley and John Wetton
• "Romanticist" contains elements from "김남미 - 오! 그말," performed by Kim Nam Mi; and the composition "Hangman," written by Roy Harper and Jimmy Page
• "Dream Palette" contains elements from "A Love That's Worth Having," written and performed by Willie Hutch
• "Super Stars" contains elements from the composition "Three Piece Suit," written by Robert Webb, Martin Henderson, and Frank Holland
• “Asteroid Blues” contains a sample from the 1998 PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid

Personnel

Album personnel adapted from Bandcamp liner notes.

• Yves Tumor – vocals, writer, composer, performer, producer
• Hirakish – vocals (8, 12)
• Pan Daijing – additional vocals (1)
• Diana Gordon – additional vocals (4)
• Kelsey Lu – additional vocals (6)
• Julia Cumming – additional vocals (7, 10)
• Clara La San – additional vocals (12)
• Yves Rothman – synthesizer (4, 6, 8), bass guitar (5), additional programming (1, 4–8, 10), co-producer, engineer, editor
• Joe Kennedy – guitar (1, 4, 8), bass guitar (4, 7, 11, 12), organ (4, 8), drum machine (6), synth (6, 8, 12), Mellotron (12)
• Heavy Mellow – guitar (1, 4, 6, 8, 12)
• Andreas Emanuel – guitar (3, 9, 12)
• Kenny Gilmore – guitar (2, 6), synth (2)
• Andy Ramsay – guitar (1), drums (1), effects (1)
• Gina Ramirez – bass guitar (1-3, 6-8)
• Henry Schiff – drums (1, 3, 4, 6–8, 11, 12)
• Sylvain Carton – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute, clarinet (1, 3)

Production

• Justin Raisen – executive producer, engineer, synth (2, 8, 12), additional drums (10)
• Mahssa Taghinia – executive producer
• Anthony Paul Lopez – engineer, drums (10)
• Ben Zelico – editor
• Collin Dupuis – mixing
• Mike Bozzi – mastering

Charts

References

1. ^ Lozano, Kevin (April 3, 2020). "Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
2. ^ Holi, Eero (April 2, 2020). "Yves Tumor – Heaven To A Tortured Mind". Clash. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
3. Moreland, Quinn (February 18, 2020). "Yves Tumor Announces New Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
4. Bloom, Madison (March 9, 2020). "Listen to Yves Tumor's New Song "Kerosene"". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
5. Bloom, Madison (March 31, 2020). "Yves Tumor Shares New Song "Romanticist/Dream Palette": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
6. "Heaven To A Tortured Mind by Yves Tumor reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
7. ^ "Heaven to a Tortured Mind by Yves Tumor Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
8. ^ Phares, Heather. "Heaven to a Tortured Mind – Yves Tumor". AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
9. ^ Bell, Kaelen (April 1, 2020). "Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
10. ^ Petridis, Alexis (April 2, 2020). "Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind review – strong, wrong songs of a rare genius". The Guardian. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
11. ^ Jones, Austin (April 3, 2020). "Yves Tumor Destroys Rock Music on Heaven To A Tortured Mind". Paste. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
12. ^ Carr, Paul (April 3, 2020). "Yves Tumor Soars With 'Heaven to a Tortured Mind'". PopMatters. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
13. ^ Cooper, Leonie (June 2020). "Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind". Q. No. 411. p. 100.
14. Younes, Nadia (April 2, 2020). "Yves Tumor – Heaven to a Tortured Mind". The Skinny. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
15. Hodgkinson, Will (April 3, 2020). "Yves Tumor: Heaven To A Tortured Mind review — a collision of sounds from an original and slightly scary talent". The Times. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
16. Hakimian, Rob (December 9, 2020). "BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2020". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
17. "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
18. "The Top 50 Albums of 2020". Crack Magazine. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
19. "50 Best Albums of 2020". Exclaim!. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
20. "The Best Albums of 2020". The Line of Best Fit. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
21. "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
22. "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Paste. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
23. Torres, Eric (December 8, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
24. "The 60 Best Albums of 2020". PopMatters. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
25. "The Skinny's Favourite Albums of 2020". The Skinny. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
26. "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
27. "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
28. "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
29. "The Best Albums of 2020". Uproxx. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
30. "Heaven to a Tortured Mind" (in Japanese). Beatink.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
31. ^ "Yves Tumor on Bandcamp". Bandcamp. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
32. "Ultratop.be – Yves Tumor – Heaven to a Tortured Mind" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 11, 2020.

External links

• Heaven to a Tortured Mind at Discogs (list of releases)

• 2020 albums
• Albums produced by Justin Raisen
• Warp Records albums
• Rock albums by American artists
• Psychedelic soul albums
• Yves Tumor albums