Take Her Up to Monto

This article is about the Róisín Murphy album. For the Irish folk song, see Monto (Take Her Up to Monto).

Take Her Up to Monto is the fourth solo studio album by Irish singer Róisín Murphy. It was released on 8 July 2016 by Play It Again Sam. The album was co-produced with longtime collaborator Eddie Stevens during the same five-week session period that resulted in Murphy's previous album, Hairless Toys (2015).

Take Her Up to Monto
Studio album by Róisín Murphy
Released	8 July 2016 (2016-07-08)
Recorded	2014–2016
Studio	The Damp Squid and RMS, London Fish Factory, London[a]
Genre	Electronic[1] art pop[2] dance-pop[3]
Length	46:58
Label	Play It Again Sam
Producer	Eddie Stevens
Róisín Murphy chronology
Hairless Toys (2015) Take Her Up to Monto (2016) Róisín Machine (2020)
Singles from Take Her Up to Monto
"Ten Miles High" Released: 17 May 2016 "Whatever" Released: 23 September 2016

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[4]
Metacritic	77/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Clash	9/10[7]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Mixmag	8/10[1]
Mojo	[5]
Now	[10]
Pitchfork	7.8/10[11]
The Quietus	Very positive[12]
Uncut	[5]

Background

Take Her Up to Monto was recorded during the same sessions as Murphy's 2015 album Hairless Toys, and included producer and longtime collaborator Eddie Stevens.^[13][14][15] The title is derived from an Irish folk song of the same name, popularised by The Dubliners in the 1960s, which Murphy's father sang to her as a child.^[16] Monto is the nickname of Dublin's old red-light district.^[17]

The album's release was preceded by two tracks, "Mastermind" and "Ten Miles High", as well as Murphy's self-directed video for the latter, which was filmed in London.^[14] Comparing the album with its predecessor, Murphy stated that "the visual language has changed. Less reference, a more aggressively modern aesthetic. It's about the London that I live in, it's a lot about architecture, it's about building and the future coming, its about here! It's a bit fizzier and more present tense, irreverent, with guerilla filming, montage and crazy shit. I hope it's a realism that makes you feel good about being alive."^[17]

Critical reception

Take Her Up to Monto received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 21 reviews.^[5] Mixmag described the album as "another reminder of why [Murphy] has more charm, chutzpah and ideas than most of her peers put together," calling it "a complex and endlessly enjoyable record."^[1] Now described it as "an album of extremes, following its own wandering logic," suggesting "it feels as though she wants to see how much she can reduce her theatrical pop image into something small and seemingly impermanent."^[10] In Exclaim!, Anna Alger wrote "Her songs on this record often feel like symphonies, with multiple movements evolving throughout a five-to-seven-minute period."^[18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mastermind"	6:35
2.	"Pretty Gardens"	5:07
3.	"Thoughts Wasted"	5:22
4.	"Lip Service"	4:27
5.	"Ten Miles High"	5:19
6.	"Whatever"	2:53
7.	"Romantic Comedy"	5:36
8.	"Nervous Sleep"	7:41
9.	"Sitting and Counting"	3:57

All tracks are written by Róisín Murphy and Eddie Stevens

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Take Her Up to Monto.^[19]

Musicians Róisín Murphy – lead vocals (all tracks); backing vocals (tracks 2, 6) Eddie Stevens – all keyboards, male vocals; programming (all tracks); percussion, flutes, guitar (track 3); violin (tracks 3, 4); floor toms (track 6) Rhianna Kenny – backing vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6) Jodie Scantlebury – backing vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6) Rob Mullarkey – bass (track 2) Dave De Rose – drums (tracks 2, 5); floor toms (track 6) Jamie McCredie – guitar (tracks 4, 5) Ally McNeil – additional programming (track 5)

Technical Eddie Stevens – production Mark Allaway – additional recording (at Fish Factory, London) Darius van Helfteren – mastering (at Amsterdam Mastering, Amsterdam) Artwork Róisín Murphy – design, art direction, video concept, video direction Ian Anderson – design, art direction Ben Wearing – director of photography Katie Lambert – video production

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20]	73
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21]	45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22]	40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23]	153
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[24]	39
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25]	65
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26]	62
Greek Albums (IFPI)[27]	63
Irish Albums (IRMA)[28]	22
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)[29]	5
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30]	45
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31]	26
UK Albums (OCC)[32]	41
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[33]	10
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[34]	8

Notes

1. Additional recording

References

1. "June: 18 Albums You Need to Hear This Month". MixMag. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
2. "Reseña: Róisín Murphy". IndieSpace. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
3. Pearis, Bill (2 August 2016). "Róisín Murphy Announces First North American Tour". Brooklyn Vegan. Archived from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
4. "Take Her Up To Monto by Róisín Murphy reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
5. "Reviews for Take Her Up to Monto". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
6. Phares, Heather. "Take Her Up to Monto – Roísín Murphy". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
7. Harvey, Josh. "Review: Take Her Up to Motno". Clash. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
8. Hanratty, Dave. "Album Review: Roisin Murphy Take Her Up to Monto". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
9. Petridis, Alexis (7 July 2016). "Roísín Murphy: Take Her Up to Monto review – still too strange for the bigtime". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
10. Ritchie, Kevin (6 July 2016). "Review". Now. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
11. Scheim, Benjamin. "Róisín Murphy: Take Her Up To Monto". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
12. Brito, Kristian. "Review: Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
13. Monroe, Jazz (19 April 2016). "Róisín Murphy Announces New Album Take Her Up To Monto, Shares "Mastermind"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
14. Ediriwira, Amar (17 May 2016). "Róisín Murphy exhibits a twisted London in new video 'Ten Miles High'". The Vinyl Factory. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
15. Lobenfeld, Claire (19 April 2016). "Róisín Murphy announces Take Her Up to Monto, shares track 'Mastermind'". Fact. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
16. "Album Bio: Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto [Play It Again Sam/PIAS] (Out Friday, 8 July 2016)" (Press release). Mushroom Promotions. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
17. "Róisín Murphy Takes Her Up To Monto on new album". RTÉ. 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
18. Alger, Anna (6 July 2016). "Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
19. Take Her Up to Monto (liner notes). Róisín Murphy. Play It Again Sam. 2016. PIASR875CDX.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
20. "Chart Watch #377". auspOp. 16 July 2016. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
21. "Austriancharts.at – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
22. "Ultratop.be – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
23. "Ultratop.be – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
24. "Top Stranih – Tjedan 40. 2016" [Top Foreign – Week 40 of 2016] (in Croatian). Top of the Shops. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
27. "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 38/2016)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
28. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 28, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
29. "GFK Chart-Track – Independent Albums: Week 28, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
30. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
31. "Swisscharts.com – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
33. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
34. "Roisin Murphy Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

External links

• Take Her Up to Monto at Discogs (list of releases)