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 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 July 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2014–2016 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 46:58 | |||
Label | Play It Again Sam | |||
Producer | Eddie Stevens | |||
Róisín Murphy chronology | ||||
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Singles from Take Her Up to Monto | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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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] Additionally, 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
All tracks are written by Róisín Murphy and Eddie Stevens.
No. | Title | Length |
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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 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Take Her Up to Monto.[19]
Musicians
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Technical
Artwork
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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
- Additional recording
References
- "June: 18 Albums You Need to Hear This Month". MixMag. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- "Reseña: Róisín Murphy". IndieSpace. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- Pearis, Bill. "Róisín Murphy Announces First North American Tour". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- "Take Her Up To Monto by Róisín Murphy reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- "Reviews for Take Her Up to Monto". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- Phares, Heather. "Take Her Up to Monto – Roísín Murphy". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- Harvey, Josh. "Review: Take Her Up to Motno". Clash. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- Hanratty, Dave. "Album Review: Roisin Murphy Take Her Up to Monto". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- Petridis, Alexis. "Roísín Murphy: Take Her Up to Monto review – still too strange for the bigtime". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- Ritchie, Kevin. "Review". Now. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- Scheim, Benjamin. "Róisín Murphy: Take Her Up To Monto". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- Brito, Kristian. "Review: Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto". The Quietus. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
- Monroe, Jazz. "Róisín Murphy Announces New Album Take Her Up To Monto, Shares "Mastermind"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- Ediriwira, Amar (17 May 2016). "Róisín Murphy exhibits a twisted London in new video 'Ten Miles High'". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- Lobenfeld, Claire. "Róisín Murphy announces Take Her Up to Monto, shares track 'Mastermind'". Fact. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- "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.
- "Róisín Murphy Takes Her Up To Monto on new album". RTE. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- Alger, Anna (6 July 2016). "Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto". Exclaim!. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- Take Her Up to Monto (liner notes). Róisín Murphy. Play It Again Sam. 2016. PIASR875CDX.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Chart Watch #377". auspOp. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- "Austriancharts.at – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- "Ultratop.be – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- "Ultratop.be – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- "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.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 38/2016)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 28, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- "GFK Chart-Track – Independent Albums: Week 28, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- "Swisscharts.com – Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up to Monto". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- "Roisin Murphy Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2016.