Dept. of Disappearance

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Dept. of Disappearance
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 16, 2012
RecordedThe Warbler, Montana, United States
Genre
LabelANTI-
ProducerJason Lytle
Jason Lytle chronology
Yours Truly, the Commuter
(2009)
Dept. of Disappearance
(2012)
House Show
(2014)

Dept. of Disappearance is the second solo studio album by American indie rock musician Jason Lytle. It was released on October 16, 2012 by record label ANTI-. Regarding the album, Lytle noted, "If there were any deliberate attempts on this record, it was trying to get back to more of a fairy-tale-ish-fantasy thing that was once again rooted in reality, with drums, pianos and real instruments."[2]

Writing and composition[edit]

Regarding the album's lyrical and thematic content, Jason Lytle noted, "I think if anything, some of the elements that used to drive a lot of my favourite Grandaddy songs home, was this whole storytelling aspect. Creating these little worlds and creating sounds and creating lines [where] you almost have to create your own little image to go with what you're hearing. [...] I had this recurring image throughout the album, and I don't know where this came from. It's this recurring image, of some sort of tragedy. It's a woman, stranded, up high, in a blizzard, among the rocks and a guy who is down in the valley who can't do anything about it and its this distress of him knowing he can't do anything about it. I think there are two or three songs, where that imagery pops up."[2]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Consequence of SoundC+[1]
Pitchfork5.9/10[5]

AllMusic's Tim Sendra gave the album a positive review, stating "Dept. of Disappearance shows that far from vanishing, Lytle is making a claim to be one of the more interesting and consistent singer-songwriters around; willing to take sonic chances, but always delivering music that's as much about feel as it is about meaning."[4]

Stephen Deusner of Pitchfork gave the album a mixed review, noting "[The track 'Your Final Setting Sun'] says more about Lytle's career than any veiled lyric could: If he can't push himself in new directions, he'll be stuck at his desk job, pushing paper for the Department of Disappearance forever."[5]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Jason Lytle

No.TitleLength
1."Dept. of Disappearance"4:33
2."Matterhorn"5:15
3."Young Saints"4:07
4."Hangtown"3:51
5."Get Up and Go"2:15
6."Last Problem of the Alps"5:44
7."Willow Wand Willow Wand"3:47
8."Somewhere There's a Someone"6:15
9."Chopin Drives Truck to the Dump"0:34
10."Your Final Setting Sun"5:09
11."Gimme Click Gimme Grid"8:13
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Flyberbonk"2:49
13."Elko in the Rain"4:01
14."Hangtown (Alternate Version)"4:20
15."Your Final Setting Sun (Australian Acoustic)"7:26

Personnel[edit]

Additional personnel
  • Brett Allen - recording assistance
  • Larry Crane - mixing
  • Greg Calbi - mastering
  • Rob Jones - album layout and design
  • Stefano Felcini - photography
  • John Garner - cover photograph

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bray, Ryan (October 12, 2012). "Jason Lytle – Dept. of Disappearance | Album Reviews | Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Ayers, Mike. "Jason Lytle on the Future of Grandaddy and His New Solo Record 'Dept. of Disappearance'". mtvhive.com. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  3. ^ "Department of Disappearance by Jason Lytle". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b Sendra, Tim. "Dept. of Disappearance - Jason Lytle | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  5. ^ a b M. Deusner, Stephen. "Jason Lytle: Dept. of Disappearance". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

External links[edit]