Before Love Came to Kill Us
Before Love Came to Kill Us is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez.[4] It was released on March 27, 2020, by FMLY and Island Records.[5] The record was prefaced with the singles "Figures", "Imported" with 6lack, and "Love in the Dark", and the promotional single "Ankles".[6][7] A deluxe edition with three additional songs was made available digitally on April 9, 2020.[8] A super deluxe edition of the album was released on September 25, 2020.[9]
Before Love Came to Kill Us | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 27, 2020 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:52 | |||
Label |
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Producer |
| |||
Jessie Reyez chronology | ||||
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Singles from Before Love Came to Kill Us | ||||
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 82/100[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
Clash | 8/10[12] |
Exclaim! | 9/10[13] |
NME | [14] |
The Guardian | [15] |
Pitchfork | 6.8/10[16] |
The Telegraph | [17] |
Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ ()[1] |
Before Love Came to Kill Us was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on nine reviews.[10]
For AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote that "Although it's all over the place, Before Love Came to Kill Us radiates conviction from front to back, and is without doubt a true representation of its creator."[11] Exclaim!'s Ryan B. Patrick affirms that the album "has been built to last" and is "one of the better albums in an already interesting 2020."[13] Rhian Daly of NME called it "heart-stoppingly good" and a "beautiful, heart-wrenching debut that sees its creator come good on her early promise."[14] Writing for Clash, Narzra Ahmed complimented Reyez's versatility and adjectived the album "an excellent debut".[12] Kathryn St. Asaph of Pitchfork pointed out that the album's genre range works in a "satisfying" way "not because she whizzes across multiple genres, but because of the skill she displays at each".[16] The singer's uniqueness was praised by The Guardian's Kitty Empire, who labeled the tracks as "largely excellent".[15]
The album was placed on the shortlist for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.[18]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Do You Love Her" |
| 3:16 | |
2. | "Deaf (Who Are You)" |
| Suby | 2:53 |
3. | "Intruders" |
|
| 3:05 |
4. | "Coffin" (featuring Eminem) |
|
| 4:22 |
5. | "Ankles" |
|
| 2:49 |
6. | "Imported" (with 6lack) |
| Hennedub | 3:45 |
7. | "La Memoria" |
| 3:18 | |
8. | "Same Side" |
| Suby | 3:10 |
9. | "Roof" |
|
| 1:46 |
10. | "Dope" |
| Djupström | 2:38 |
11. | "Before Love Came to Kill Us[upper-alpha 1]" |
| 4:06 | |
12. | "Love in the Dark" |
| 3:59 | |
13. | "I Do" |
| 3:52 | |
14. | "Figures" |
|
| 3:58 |
Total length: | 46:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
15. | "Far Away II" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie and JID) |
| 3:35 | |
16. | "Ankles" (featuring Rico Nasty and Melii) |
| 4:42 | |
17. | "Worth Saving" |
| Suby | 3:24 |
Total length: | 58:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
15. | "Sugar at Night" | 2:57 | ||
16. | "No One's in the Room" | 4:08 | ||
17. | "Far Away" |
|
| 2:41 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "No One's in the Room" | 4:08 | ||
2. | "Sugar at Night" | 2:57 | ||
3. | "Before Love Came to Kill Us[upper-alpha 1]" |
| 4:06 | |
4. | "Roof" |
|
| 1:46 |
5. | "Coffin" (featuring Eminem) |
|
| 4:22 |
6. | "Worth Saving" |
| Suby | 3:24 |
7. | "I Do" |
| 3:52 | |
8. | "Intruders" |
|
| 3:05 |
9. | "Ankles" |
| 2:49 | |
10. | "La Memoria" |
| 3:18 | |
11. | "Same Side" |
| Suby | 3:10 |
12. | "Figures" |
|
| 3:58 |
13. | "Dope" |
| Djupström | 2:38 |
14. | "Imported" (with 6lack) |
| Hennedub | 3:45 |
15. | "Far Away II" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie and JID) |
|
| 3:35 |
16. | "Do You Love Her" |
| 3:16 | |
17. | "Love in the Dark" |
| 3:59 |
- Notes
Charts
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] | 17 |
French Albums (SNEP)[20] | 198 |
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[21] | 10 |
US Billboard 200[22] | 13 |
US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)[23] | 4 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] | 9 |
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[25] | 5 |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Various | March 27, 2020 | Standard |
|
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CD | Target exclusive | ||||
April 9, 2020 |
|
Deluxe | |||
September 25, 2020 | Super deluxe |
See also
Notelist
- The song was initially titled “Kill Us”.
References
- Hull, Tom (April 27, 2020). "Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- Mahalingam, Udit (April 20, 2020). "Jessie Reyez stretches R&B to its limits on Before Love Came To Kill Us". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/jessie-reyez-tackles-colonialism-in-animated-intruders-video/
- Bloom, Madison (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- Mamo, Heran (January 21, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Announces Debut Album & Drops Feminist Anthem 'No Sweat'". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- Rowley, Glenn (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Finds 'Love In The Dark' in Sparkling New Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- Murphy, Sarah (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Previews Debut Album with "Love in the Dark" Video". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- Hare, Anders (April 9, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Releases Deluxe Edition of 'Before Love Came to Kill Us'". Rated R&B. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- "Jessie Reyez — BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US+". Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- "Before Love Came To Kill Us by Jessie Reyez". Metacritic. United States: CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- Kellman, Andy. "Before Love Came to Kill Us - Jessie Reyez". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Ahmed, Narzra. "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came To Kill Us". Clash. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Patrick, Ryan B. (March 27, 2020). "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came to Kill Us". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Daly, Rhian (March 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez – Before Love Came To Kill Us review: a dheart-wrenching, ferocious and unfiltered debut". NME. Bandlab Technologies. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Empire, Kitty (March 21, 2020). "Jessie Reyez: Before Love Came to Kill Us review – an outrageously fine debut". The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- Asaph, Kathryn St. (April 2, 2020). "Jessie Reyez: Before Love Came to Kill Us". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- McCormick, Neil (March 27, 2020). "The best new albums to stream this week, from Pearl Jam to Childish Gambino". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- "Here's the Polaris Music Prize 2020 Short List". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- "Top Albums (Week 14, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ""Jessie Reyez Chart History (Top R&B Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- "Jessie Reyez Official Shop". Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came To Kill Us (Target Exclusive, CD)". Target. Retrieved April 4, 2020.