Careful (Boy Harsher album)

Careful is the second studio album by the American electronic music group Boy Harsher. It was released on February 1, 2019 through the band's own imprint, Nude Club.[1]

Careful
Studio album by
Boy Harsher
ReleasedFebruary 1, 2019 (2019-02-01)
Genre
Length43:01
LabelNude Club
Producer
  • Boy Harsher
  • Jordan Romero
Boy Harsher chronology
Yr Body Is Nothing
(2016)		 Careful
(2019)		 Careful Remixes, etc.
(2019)
Singles from Careful
  1. "Face the Fire"
    Released: October 30, 2018
  2. "Fate"
    Released: December 11, 2018
  3. "LA"
    Released: January 22, 2019
  4. "Tears"
    Released: 2019
  5. "Come Closer"
    Released: 2019

The first single from the record, "Face the Fire", was released on October 30, 2018 with an accompanying music video.[1][2] Music videos for the other singles, "Fate" and "LA" were released in December 2018 and January 2019, respectively.[3][4][5] A remix album titled Careful Remixes, Etc. was released in the same year.[6]

Music and lyrics

The music on Careful has been described as minimal wave,[7][8] synth-pop,[7][9] darkwave[7][10] and coldwave.[11] The 405's Francisco Gonçalves Silva considered the album as a "rejuvenation of 80s EBM with cinematic textures,"[11] while Resident Advisor's Matt McDermott labeled it as "a mix of compact synth pop tunes and filmic interludes."[9] Jordan Bassett of NME characterized the record's sound as "minimalistic dance music that embraces the darkest corners of the genre, cloaking itself in the shadow elements of coldwave and techno," while noting the "80s-influenced sound."[12] The album was also noted by its lo-fi production, which "evoke images of icy, dank studios and videos by German industrialists KMFDM."[11]

The introspective lyrical subjects of Careful were heavily inspired by vocalist and lyricist Jae Matthews's personal losses and family struggles.[12][13] The track "Jerry" is about the Matthews's step-father, who died during the writing sessions for Careful and before her mother's dementia diagnosis.[14][13]

Title

The title of the record originates from the band's brief break up in 2017. Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller decided to end their professional and romantic relationship and at their final show, Matthews got a tattoo of the word "careful." The duo reconciled following the show.[15][16] According to Matthews, the title "relates to a similar feeling of being protective of your heart."[17]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
The 4058/10[19]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[11]
NME[12]
Pitchfork7.2/10[8]
Resident Advisor3.8/5[9]
The Skinny[20]
Tiny Mix Tapes[7]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Careful received an average score of 81, based on 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[18] Writing for The 405, Francisco Gonçalves Silva has stated: "With Careful, they are no longer the best-kept secret among the dingier crowds, but their music, passion and on-going commitment have placed them close to a league of their own, hopefully lasting throughout the years to come."[19] Chris Todd of The Line of Best Fit thought that "overall, this record leaves quite the impression; if uneasy listening is your thing, Boy Harsher’s murky interpretation of dead disco will envelop you in its dark delights."[11] NME critic Jordan Bassett noted that the band is "at their grungiest and most claustrophobic" on Careful, further writing that "these 10 tracks contain a dark power, an atavistic pull."[12]

Pitchfork's Kevin Lozano remarked that "while the palette of sounds Boy Harsher plays with on Careful can seem limited—brisk drum machine loops, oscillating synths, and Matthews’ haunting incantations—the group finds ways to make each song sound distinct."[8] Matt McDermott of Resident Advisor wrote: "At their best, Boy Harsher capture the bittersweet feeling of being young, in love and on the road, oblivious to the inevitable spin-out."[9] Reviewing for Tiny Mix Tapes, Rowan Savage stated: "The handful of atmospheric pieces on Careful don’t necessarily contribute but do nod to the filmic quality of Boy Harsher’s work." Savage further added: "But where the adjective “cinematic” is usually an upsell these days of “boring,” Boy Harsher have a gift at conjuring visceral emotions with subtlety."[7] The Skinny's Michael Lawson has stated: "Matthews and Miller have identified the sweet spot between raw emotion and dancefloor hedonism – an alcove they seem unwilling to vacate anytime soon."[20]

Track listing

Careful track listing as adapted from Bandcamp.[21] All tracks are written by Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller.[22]

No.TitleLength
1."Keep Driving"3:31
2."Face the Fire"5:33
3."Fate"4:17
4."LA"5:35
5."Come Closer"4:38
6."The Look You Gave (Jerry)"4:56
7."Tears"4:57
8."Crush"3:19
9."Lost"4:29
10."Careful"1:46
Total length:43:01

Personnel

Album personnel as adapted from liner notes.[22]

  • Jae Matthews — performer, lyrics, recordings, cover
  • Augustus Muller — performer, lyrics, cover, layout
  • Jordan Romero — additional recordings, additional producer
  • Maurizio Baggio — mixing
  • Gianni Peri — mastering
  • Angel Emmanuel — styling
  • Myyako Bellizzi — styling
  • Tashi Honnery — make-up

Charts
Charts (2019) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Heatseekers Albums[23] 5
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums[23] 13
gollark: Truly ancient.
gollark: Most do.
gollark: Yes, I am aware of its desktop-ish nature.
gollark: I have a nice Mandelbrot set renderer which is GPU-accelerated.
gollark: GPUs are mostly useful for parallel computing tasks of some kind. Of course, yours is probably worse than the CPU in your... laptop or whatever, I assume you have one.

References
  1. Pearis, Bill (October 30, 2018). "Boy Harsher announce new LP & tour (listen to "Face the Fire")". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  2. Ryce, Andrew (October 30, 2018). "Boy Harsher to release second album, Careful, next year". Resident Advisor. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  3. Bilker, Josh (January 22, 2020). "Boy Harsher – Fate/Face the Fire". kcpr.org. KCPR. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  4. "Boy Harsher Share New Track & Video "Fate". London Show Upgraded to Heaven. Album 'Careful' Out Feb 1st on Nude Club Records". thepartae.com. December 13, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  5. "Boy Harsher Premiere Their Video for High Energy Single "LA" Ahead of Album Release and Tour Next Week". post-punk.com. January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  6. McDermott, Matt (May 2, 2019). "Marcel Dettmann, Silent Servant remix Boy Harsher on new album". Resident Advisor. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  7. Savage, Rowan. "Boy Harsher: Careful". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  8. Lozano, Kevin (February 4, 2019). "Boy Harsher: Careful". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  9. McDermott, Matt (February 6, 2019). "Boy Harsher - Careful". Resident Advisor. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  10. Kim, Michelle (March 28, 2019). "Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2019". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  11. Todd, Chris (February 9, 2019). "Boy Harsher turn up the cold for impressive second album". thelineofbestfit.com. The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  12. Bassett, Jordan (February 3, 2019). "Boy Harsher – 'Careful' review". nme.com. NME. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  13. "They've never been to Berghain: An interview with Boy Harsher about their new album "Careful"". volt-magazin.de. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  14. Harriman, Andi (September 3, 2019). "Boy Harsher are the cinematic sound of heartbreak". dazeddigital.com. Dazed. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  15. Reyes, Jordan (February 7, 2019). "Boy Harsher's Deeply Personal Darkwave". Bandcamp. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  16. Joyce, Colin (January 26, 2019). "Boy Harsher's Noisey Mix Is a Dramatic Collection of Prickly Pop". Vice. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  17. Zawadki, Clementine (January 19, 2019). "Love and loss: Boy harsher's new record is the sound of breaking up and making up". hero-magazine.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  18. "Careful by Boy Harsher". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  19. Gonçalves Silva, Francisco (February 12, 2019). "Review: Boy Harsher navigate the many imbalances of love in the glistening Careful". The 405. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  20. Lawson, Michael (January 31, 2019). "Boy Harsher – Careful". The Skinny. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  21. "Careful by Boy Harsher". Bandcamp. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  22. Careful (LP liner notes). Boy Harsher. Nude Club. 2019.CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. "Charts: Boy Harsher". billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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