Infinite Worlds (album)

Infinite Worlds is the debut studio album by Cameroon-born musician Laetitia Tamko, under the stage name Vagabon. Released in February 2017, it would be her last record under the Father/Daughter Records banner, as her self-titled follow-up would be released through Nonesuch Records in 2019.

Infinite Worlds
Studio album by
Vagabon
ReleasedFebruary 24, 2017 (2017-02-24)
RecordedSpring 2016[1]
StudioSalvation Recording Co.
(New Paltz, New York)[1]
Genre
Length28:20
LanguageEnglish / French[1][2]
LabelFather/Daughter
Producer
Vagabon chronology
Persian Garden
(2014)		 Infinite Worlds
(2017)		 Vagabon
(2019)

Recorded alongside co-producer, engineer and mixer Chris Daly,[1] the record would expand beyond the lo-fi of Tamko's 2014 EP Persian Garden, resulting in "an incredibly diverse collection of eight tracks that span the entire spectrum from folk to rock to pop, sometimes during the course of a single track."[6]

Composition

Musical style

Kevin Lozano of Pitchfork defined Infinite Worlds as a "victorious...inimitable take on DIY indie rock."[2] AllMusic's Tim Sendra made note of several genres across the record, spanning "electro folk ("Fear & Force"), surging punk pop ("Minneapolis"), and strangled post-punk ("100 Years") to waltzing indie pop ("Cleaning House") and drifting ambient electronic pop ("Mal a L'aise")."[7]

The first track, "The Embers" was originally titled "Sharks". Lozano likened its sound to that of indie rock trio Built to Spill and art punk / indie rock octet Modest Mouse, noting its "anthemic steady guitars and booming drums" as hallmarks.[2]

The third track, "Fear & Force", contains backing vocals from fellow musician Greta Kline, known for her bedroom pop / indie pop project Frankie Cosmos. Exclaim's Max Mohenu defined it as a "wistful acoustic jam that ascends into lush synth flutters, brushing elbows with grungy reverb and steady kick drums on occasion."[8]

"Mal a L'aise", the fourth track, is sung completely in vocalist Laetitia Tamko's native French, one of the languages spoken in her birth country of Cameroon. Deeming the track as "one of the most interesting tracks" on Infinite Worlds, Lazeno dubbed it "guazy, ambient pop, not unlike the Cocteau Twins" and "a sound collage made of a spectral chorus of voices, processed and multiplied." Later, he noted it as "almost close to new age," comparing it to the music of Grouper and Harold Budd.[2] Mohenu described it simply as "atmospheric pop."[8]

Lyrical content

In the opinion of Pitchfork's Kevin Lozano, the record "is an album interested in grappling with seemingly intractable and very personal questions about sharing space, finding a home, and fostering community in a world that can be caustic to those very actions."[2]

The record has also drawn comparisons to A Seat at the Table, the lauded third studio album by singer-songwriter and record producer Solange, though that record was rooted in significantly more neo soul and R&B territory musically.

The A.V. Club's David Anthony, who gave Infinite Worlds his website's highest rating in his review, wrote "in many ways, Infinite Worlds plays like a more compact version of Solange's masterpiece."[9] Mohenu finished his review writing, "Much like Solange's A Seat at the Table, Infinite Worlds offers several platforms for Tamko to navigate blackness, personhood, love and safe spaces on her own terms."[8]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The A.V. ClubA[9]
DIY[11]
Exclaim!9/10[8]
Pitchfork8.5/10[2]
Tiny Mix Tapes[12]

Infinite Worlds was released to glowing reviews from multiple music critics. On Metacritic, the record holds a score of 84 out of 100, which means "universal acclaim", based on 9 reviews.[10]

Kevin Lozano for Pitchfork gave the record a glowing assessment, applauded it as "a stunning document of what indie rock can look like from a viewpoint that isn’t necessarily widespread in the genre."[2] El Hunt of DIY called the record "a witty, succinct debut album."[11]

Year-end lists
Accolades for Infinite Worlds
Publication List Rank Ref.
Metacritic Best Albums of 2017
62
[10]
New York Daily News The 25 Best Albums of 2017
12
[13]
No Ripcord The Best Albums of 2017
33
[14]
Pitchfork The Top 20 Rock Albums of 2017
10
[15]
The Top 50 Albums of 2017
42
[3]
Uproxx 50 Best Albums of 2017
47
[6]

Tracks
Publication Work List Rank Ref.
Pitchfork "The Embers" The Top 100 Songs of 2017
94
 [16]

Track listing

All songs written by Laetitia Tamko.

No.TitleLength
1."The Embers"3:15
2."Fear & Force"3:33
3."Minneapolis"3:17
4."Mal à L'aise"5:23
5."100 Years"2:08
6."Cleaning House"3:17
7."Cold Apartment"3:25
8."Alive and a Well"4:02

Personnel

Musicians

According to the record's Bandcamp page.[1]

  • Laetitia Tamko – lead vocals, bass guitar, drums, guitars, synths
  • Casey Weissbuch – drums
  • Dominick Anfiteatro – bass guitar
  • Elaiza Santos – additional vocals
  • Elise Okusami – drums
  • Eric Littman – additional vocals (4)
  • Eva Lawitts – bass guitar
  • Greta Kline – additional vocals (2)

Technical

References
  1. "Infinite Worlds by Vagabon | Bandcamp". vagabon.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. Lozano, Kevin (2 March 2017). "Vagabon: Infinite Worlds Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Pitchfork.com. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  4. "Album Of The Week: Vagabon Infinite Worlds | Stereogum". stereogum.com. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  5. "Vagabon — Infinite Worlds | Dusted Magazine". dustedmagazine.tumblr.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. "50 Best Albums of 2017". Uproxx.com. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  7. Sendra, Tim. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  8. Mohenu, Max (28 February 2017). "Vagabon: Infinite Worlds". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  9. "Vagabon's Infinite Worlds is a flawless, genre-hopping debut | The A.V. Club". music.avclub.com. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  10. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  11. "Album review: VAGABON - INFINITE WORLDS | DIY". diymag.com. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  12. "Vagabon - Infinite Worlds | Tiny Mix Tapes". tinymixtapes.com. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  13. Rowe, Amy; Dukoff, Spencer (30 November 2017). "The 25 Best Albums of 2017". Nydailynews.com. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  14. "The Best Albums of 2017". Noripcord.com. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  15. "The Top 20 Rock Albums of 2017 | Pitchfork Media". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  16. "Pitchfork's Top 100 Songs of 2017 | Pitchfork Media". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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