Civilian (Wye Oak album)

Civilian
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 8, 2011 (2011-03-08)
Genre
Length38:46
Label
Producer
Wye Oak chronology
My Neighbor / My Creator
(2010)
Civilian
(2011)
Shriek
(2014)

Civilian is the third studio album by indie band Wye Oak. It was released on March 8, 2011, by Merge Records in the United States and City Slang in Europe.[2]

The A.V. Club named Civilian the best album of 2011.[3]

Release

[edit]

On February 27, 2011, Wye Oak announced the release of their new album, along with the title track.[4]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Fish" was released on April 8, 2011.[5]

On September 2, 2011, Wye Oak released the music video for "Holy Holy". It was directed by Jeremy Johnstone and produced by Greg Beauchamp.[6][7]

10th Anniversary Reissue

[edit]

On October 22, 2021, to mark the 10th anniversary of the album, Merge Records released "Civilian + Cut All The Wires 2009-2011". In addition to the original "Civilian" album, a second disc containing 12 demos and outtakes from the "Civilian" sessions was included.

[edit]

An edited version of the title track of Civilian was featured in the 2011 trailer for the second season of The Walking Dead and also the closing scene of the second season episode "18 Miles Out" (2012). "Civilian" was also featured in the final scene of the 13th episode of the North American remake of Being Human (2011), in the episode "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" of One Tree Hill (2011), in the episode "Thy Will Be Done" of Underbelly: Badness (2012), in the ending scene of the Animal Kingdom third season episode "Prey", and in the final scene of the Longmire season 4 finale "What Happens on the Rez..." (2015),[8] as well in the films Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) and The Odd Way Home (2013).

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[9]
Metacritic81/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. ClubA[11]
The Boston Phoenix[12]
Consequence of Sound[13]
Mojo[14]
Pitchfork7.9/10[15]
PopMatters7/10[16]
Q[17]
Spin8/10[18]
Uncut[19]

Civilian was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 81 based on 20 reviews.[10]

Tim Sendra of AllMusic said: "The albums sounds brighter and better recorded, Wasner's songs are crisper and more memorable with an extra amount of sadness added, the performances invested with a level of intensity and fiery soul that had only been hinted at before."[1]

Accolades

[edit]
Accolades for Civilian
Publication Accolade Rank
The A.V. Club The A.V. Club's Top 26 Albums of 2011
Magnet Magnet's Top 20 Albums of 2011
Paste Paste's Top 50 Albums of 2011
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop's Top Albums of 2011
PopMatters PopMatters' Top 75 Albums of 2011
PopMatters' Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2011
Stereogum Stereogum's Top 100 Albums of the Decade (2010s)
Treble Treble's Top 50 Albums of 2011

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Jenn Wasner

No.TitleLength
1."Two Small Deaths"3:50
2."The Alter"3:42
3."Holy Holy"4:35
4."Dogs Eyes"3:24
5."Civilian"3:40
6."Fish"4:49
7."Plains"3:45
8."Hot as Day"3:50
9."We Were Wealth"4:38
10."Doubt"2:27
Total length:38:40

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[27]

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Civilian
Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[28] 137
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[29] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[30] 22
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] 32
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[32] 16

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Sendra, Tim. "Civilian – Wye Oak". AllMusic. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  2. ^ "Civilian - Wye Oak orders". Mergerecords.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "The Best Music of 2011". The A.V. Club. 6 December 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  4. ^ Thompson, Stephen (February 27, 2011). "First Listen: Wye Oak, 'Civilian'". NPR. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Grim, Beca (April 8, 2011). "First Watch: Wye Oak, 'Fish'". NPR. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "Wye Oak - Holy Holy". YouTube. September 2, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Hyden, Steve (September 7, 2011). "See the new video for Wye Oak's "Holy Holy"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "Music from Longmire". Tunefind.com. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Civilian by Wye Oak reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Reviews for Civilian by Wye Oak". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  11. ^ Hyden, Steven (March 8, 2011). "Wye Oak: Civilian". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  12. ^ Stewart, Ryan (March 31, 2011). "Wye Oak | Civilian". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 26, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  13. ^ Caffrey, Dan (March 24, 2011). "Album Review: Wye Oak – Civilian". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  14. ^ "Wye Oak: Civilian". Mojo (211): 106. June 2011.
  15. ^ Bevan, David (March 11, 2011). "Wye Oak: Civilian". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  16. ^ Fiander, Matthew (March 10, 2011). "Wye Oak: Civilian". PopMatters. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  17. ^ "Wye Oak: Civilian". Q (297): 111. April 2011.
  18. ^ Modell, Josh (March 8, 2011). "Wye Oak, 'Civilian' (Merge)". Spin. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  19. ^ "Wye Oak: Civilian". Uncut (167): 103. April 2011.
  20. ^ "Magnet's Top 20 Albums of 2011". Magnet. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  21. ^ Jackson, Josh (November 29, 2011). "The 50 Best Albums of 2011". Paste. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  22. ^ "New York Pazz and Jop Albums". Pazz & Jop. The Village Voice. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  23. ^ "The 75 Best Albums of 2011". PopMatters. December 26, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  24. ^ Beasley, Cory (December 20, 2011). "The Best Indie Rock of 2011". PopMatters. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  25. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s". Stereogum. November 4, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  26. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2011". Treble. December 11, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  27. ^ "Credits / Civilian / Wye Oak". Tidal. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  28. ^ "Wye Oak Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  29. ^ "Wye Oak Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  30. ^ "Wye Oak Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  31. ^ "Wye Oak Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  32. ^ "Wye Oak Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2020.