Haiku from Zero

Haiku from Zero is the fifth studio album by Australian electronic music band Cut Copy. It was released on 22 September 2017 by Cutters Records and Astralwerks. The album was produced by Dan Whitford and Ben H. Allen. It spawned three singles: "Airborne", "Standing in the Middle of the Field" and "Black Rainbows".

Haiku from Zero
Studio album by Cut Copy
Released	22 September 2017
Recorded	2016
Studio	Maze Studios (Atlanta, Georgia)
Genre	Indietronica synth-pop dance-rock
Length	42:08
Label	Cutters Astralwerks
Producer	Dan Whitford Ben H. Allen
Cut Copy chronology
Free Your Mind (2013) Haiku from Zero (2017) Freeze, Melt (2020)
Singles from Haiku From Zero
"Airborne" Released: 6 July 2017 "Standing in the Middle of the Field" Released: 10 August 2017 "Black Rainbows" Released: 15 September 2017

Background

Cut Copy worked on the album between 2014 and 2016, mostly remotely, using online file sharing to exchange ideas,[1][2] due to the band members' dispersion to distant locations (Dan in Europe, Tim and Ben in the United States, and Mitchell in Australia).[3] They would eventually get together in 2015 to record the new material in a studio in Atlanta, Georgia. The band was joined by Ben H. Allen with whom they had already worked on Zonoscope and who would end up as the producer of the album this time around.[4] Dan Whitford said: "This is the first time we've gone into a recording studio and followed a traditional recording process in making an album".[3]

In January 2016, the band took a break from working on the album, and instead recorded an instrumental ambient material in about 10 days. It was released as January Tape in September 2016 as a limited cassette run of 400 copies.[5] In October, Dan Whitford revealed that the new album was about three quarters complete.[6]

As opposed to every previous Cut Copy album, interludes between songs are absent on Haiku from Zero.[4]

Release and promotion

"Airborne" was released as the lead single from the album on 6 July 2017, followed by its music video on 20 July. The album's title and release date was announced on 10 August 2017, alongside the release of the next single "Standing in the Middle of the Field".[7]

On 14 September, the album was made available for streaming on NPR's website, before being officially released worldwide on 22 September.[8] "Black Rainbows" subsequently served as the third single from the album.[9] Music video for "Standing in the Middle of the Field" premiered in October.

The band embarked on a tour across North America and Australia to support the album.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.7/10[10]
Metacritic	62/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Exclaim!	8/10[13]
Pitchfork	6.3/10[14]
PopMatters	[15]
Record Collector	[16]
Rolling Stone Australia	[17]
Slant Magazine	[18]
Sputnikmusic	3.3/5[19]
Under the Radar	[20]

Haiku from Zero received mixed to favourable reviews from professional music critics upon its initial release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 62, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews".[11] At AnyDecentMusic?, it scored 6.7 out of 10 points, based on 12 reviews.[10]

In his review for AllMusic, Tim Sendra described Haiku from Zero as the band's "most straightforward, easy-to-swallow album yet", but also reflected that it is missing "inspiration or invention, which also means it is their least successful record yet as well."[12]

Reviewer Rudy K. of Sputnikmusic described the album's energy as "impressive; the craft, even more so", but complained that it does not have "any sense of vision", summing it up as "a bunch of great songs and little else".[19]

In a review for Exclaim!, Cam Lindsay praised the album as "another strong effort by a band that continue to celebrate the power of dance music".[13]

Track listing

Haiku from Zero track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Standing in the Middle of the Field"	Dan Whitford Tim Hoey	5:30
2.	"Counting Down"	Whitford Hoey Mitchell Scott Ben Browning	3:50
3.	"Black Rainbows"	Whitford Hoey	4:08
4.	"Stars Last Me a Lifetime"	Whitford Hoey	3:45
5.	"Airborne"	Whitford Hoey Browning	5:18
6.	"No Fixed Destination"	Whitford	4:13
7.	"Memories We Share"	Whitford Hoey	5:02
8.	"Living Upside Down"	Whitford Hoey	5:48
9.	"Tied to the Weather"	Whitford Hoey	4:32
Total length:			42:08

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Haiku from Zero.[21]

• Will Alexander – studio assistance
• Ben H. Allen – mixing, production
• Andrew Belanger – studio assistance
• Jordan Bridges – studio assistance
• Ben Etter – engineering, mixing assistance
• Jason Kingsland – engineering, vocal production
• Kegan Krogh – studio assistance
• Joe LaPorta – mastering
• Anthony Prince – studio assistance
• Dennis Schröder – studio assistance
• Tom Teters – photography
• Tommy Urbie – studio assistance
• Dan Whitford – artwork, production, vocals

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22]	59
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[23]	7
US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[24]	93
US Top Alternative Album Sales (Billboard)[25]	23
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[26]	11
US Top Rock Album Sales (Billboard)[27]	37

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Australia	22 September 2017	CD digital download	Cutters Astralwerks	[28][29]
Europe		CD LP digital download		[28][30]
United States		CD LP cassette digital download		[28][31]

References

1. "Cut Copy Interview at SITG17". YouTube. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
2. Oakes, Stuart (13 November 2017). "Cut Copy still believe in the power of the dancefloor". ontheaside.com. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
3. Baker, Julien (4 December 2017). "Cut Copy on "Haiku From Zero"". Under the Radar. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
4. "15 Minutes with Cut Copy". sidewalkhustle.com. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
5. Kevin Lozano (30 September 2016). "Cut Copy Release 44-Minute Ambient Instrumental January Tape". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
6. Claire Lobenfeld (30 October 2016). "Cut Copy's Dan Whitford on the new age influence behind January Tape and what to expect from their next album". Fact. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
7. Braudie Blais-Billie (10 August 2017). "Cut Copy Announce New Album Haiku From Zero, Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
8. Buerger, Megan (14 September 2017). "Stream Cut Copy's New Album, 'Haiku From Zero'". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
9. "Cut Copy Unveils "Black Rainbows," A Track From New Album, Haiku from Zero". astralwerks.com. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
10. "Haiku From Zero by Cut Copy reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
11. "Haiku from Zero by Cut Copy Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
12. Sendra, Tim. "Haiku from Zero - Cut Copy | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
13. Lindsay, Cam (20 September 2017). "Cut Copy Haiku From Zero". Exclaim!. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
14. Ravens, Chal (20 September 2017). "Cut Copy: Haiku From Zero Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
15. Schiller, Mike (26 October 2017). "Cut Copy: Haiku from Zero (review)". PopMatters. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
16. Kennedy, Jake (2017). "Haiku From Zero - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Metropolis International. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
17. Ross, Annabel (22 September 2017). "Rolling Stone Australia - Cut Copy, 'Haiku From Zero'". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
18. Goller, Josh (30 August 2017). "Cut Copy: Haiku from Zero | Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
19. Rudy K. (29 September 2017). "Review: Cut Copy - Haiku From Zero". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
20. Trunick, Austin (21 September 2017). "Cut Copy: Haiku From Zero (Astralwerks) Review | Under the Radar - Music Magazine". Under the Radar. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
21. Haiku from Zero (liner notes). Cut Copy. Cutters Records. 2017. 5786401.CS1 maint: others (link)
22. "ARIA Chart Watch #440". auspOp. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
23. "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 2nd October 2017" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (1440): 17. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2018 – via Pandora Archive.
24. "Top Current Albums". Billboard.biz. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
25. "Alternative Album Sales". Billboard.biz. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
26. "Cut Copy Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
27. "Rock Album Sales". Billboard.biz. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
28. "Cut Copy - Haiku From Zero at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
29. "Haiku from Zero by Cut Copy on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Apple. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
30. "Haiku from Zero by Cut Copy on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
31. "Haiku From Zero by Cut Copy on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved 19 December 2017.