Master of My Make-Believe is the second studio album by American musician and singer Santigold, released in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2012 and in the United States on May 1, through Downtown and Atlantic Records. The album features contributions from a wide range of musicians, including long-time collaborators John Hill, Switch and Diplo, as well as Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.[1] The cover art of the album, designed by Jason Schmidt, represents four incarnations of Santigold.[2] The album received positive reviews from music critics, and earned Santigold her first number one on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and reached number 21 on the US Billboard 200 and number 33 on the UK Albums Chart.[3][4]
| Master of My Make-Believe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 24, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2010–2011 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:45 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Santigold chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Master of My Make-Believe | ||||
| ||||
Release
Master of My Make-Believe was preceded by the singles "Big Mouth" and "Disparate Youth". The song "Go" featuring Karen O premiered in April 2011, but was not available for purchase until the release of the album. In May 2012, Santigold posted a photo on Instagram from the set of the video for "The Keepers", which was released as the third single on June 22, 2012.[5]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[9] |
| The Independent | [10] |
| Los Angeles Times | [11] |
| Pitchfork | 6.3/10[12] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| Slant Magazine | [15] |
| Spin | 9/10[16] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Master of My Make-Believe received an average score of 74, based on 37 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6] AllMusic said the album is "the kind of album that can fully define her sound, but is still multifaceted and well crafted enough to be exciting."[7] Chicago Tribune felt that "White's subversive way with a hook and her ability to effortlessly blend dance beats from around the world make Master of My Make-Believe a deceptively breezy and enticing summer album."[8] Los Angeles Times wrote, "Throughout, Santigold never stops playing spin-the-globe, and she also never loses sight of her mission to keep listeners moving."[11] Entertainment Weekly stated that the album's "disgruntled machine-raging and spiky new-wave rhythms evoke both the urgency of early U2 and the agit-pop ire of M.I.A.—while delivering more direct danceability than either."[9] Roberrt Alford of PopMatters wrote, "I would place this album among the strongest work coming out in both the realms of indie and pop music these days, and though it may not inspire the level of critical and popular veneration that her first album enjoyed, it's a welcome return by one of the most inventive and inspired recording artists working today."[13] Slant Magazine's Kevin Liedel said, "Santigold's trademark irreverence and penchant for high-energy anthems delivers her sophomore effort from the potential downfalls of miscellany."[15]
Pitchfork critic Carrie Battan gave the album a less favorable review, stating: "A polished assortment of tidily global-sounding, mid-tempo pop tunes that seem to end before they ever kick off, strung together by a checklist of semi-impassioned capital-K Keywords: Youth, Machine, Riot, Fame, Freak, Pirate, Keepers."[12] Rosen Jody of Rolling Stone wrote, "Her songs sound great but feel off, merely gesturing in the direction of emotions. In the end, she's so cool she'll frost up your earbuds."[14] Paste thought that "Master of My Make-Believe is by no means a disappointment, but it falls short of the expectation that has been gestating for the past four years."[17]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Go!" (featuring Karen O) |
| 3:23 | |
| 2. | "Disparate Youth" |
|
| 4:44 |
| 3. | "God from the Machine" |
| 3:52 | |
| 4. | "Fame" | Sitek | 3:29 | |
| 5. | "Freak Like Me" |
|
| 2:18 |
| 6. | "This Isn't Our Parade" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 7. | "The Riot's Gone" |
|
| 3:29 |
| 8. | "Pirate in the Water" |
|
| 2:54 |
| 9. | "The Keepers" |
| Kurstin | 3:32 |
| 10. | "Look at These Hoes" |
| 2:57 | |
| 11. | "Big Mouth" |
|
| 3:11 |
Notes
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Master of My Make-Believe.[19]
Musicians
- Santigold – vocals (all tracks), drums (tracks 3, 9), keyboards (track 9), piano (track 7)
- Karen O – vocals (track 1)
- Nick Zinner – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 7), keyboards (track 6)
- Jahphet Landis – drums (track 1)
- Anthony Burlitch – drums (track 6)
- John Morrical – keyboards (track 6)
- Greg Kurstin – drums (track 9), keyboards (track 9), piano (tracks 7), all other instruments (tracks 3, 7, 9)
- John Hill – keyboards (track 6)
Technical
- Santigold – executive production, production (tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 10), co-production (track 3)
- Switch – production (tracks 5, 8, 11), co-production (tracks 7), additional production (tracks 3, 10), mixing (tracks 1, 8, 11)
- Greg Kurstin – production (tracks 3, 7, 9)
- John Hill – production (tracks 5, 6), additional production (track 10)
- Diplo – production (tracks 8, 10)
- David Andrew Sitek – production (track 4), additional production (track 6)
- Ricky Blaze – production (track 2), programming (track 2)
- Q-Tip – production (track 1)
- Boys Noize – production (track 10)
- Buraka Som Sistema – production (track 11)
- Chris Coady – engineering
- Jesse Shatkin – engineering
- Bryan Gottshall – engineering
- Chris Allen – engineering
- Chris Kasych – engineering
- Sayyd Droullard – engineering
- Zeph Sowers – engineering
- Rich Costey – mixing (tracks 2–7, 9, 10)
- Eddy Schreyer – mastering
Artwork
- Jason Schmidt – photography
- Kehinde Wiley – painting
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
References
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