Citizen of Glass

Citizen of Glass is the third studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel, released on 21 October 2016 by PIAS Recordings. Four tracks were selected as singles: "Familiar", "Golden Green", "It's Happening Again", and "Stretch Your Eyes". Obel launched a European tour at the end of October 2016, followed by a North American tour in February 2017.

Citizen of Glass
Studio album by
Agnes Obel
Released21 October 2016
Recorded2014—2016
VenueBerlin
Genre
Length40:50
LabelPIAS
Agnes Obel chronology
Aventine
(2013)		 Citizen of Glass
(2016)		 Late Night Tales: Agnes Obel
(2018)
Singles from Citizen of Glass
  1. "Familiar"
    Released: 29 June 2016
  2. "Golden Green"
    Released: 31 August 2016
  3. "It's Happening Again"
    Released: 18 November 2016
  4. "Stretch Your Eyes"
    Released: 3 March 2017

Background

On this album, Obel evokes the German concept of Gläserner Bürger, the "citizen of glass", as the guiding thread of the album, a citizen whose body and life are known to everyone.[1] She discovered this term during her previous tour, while reading the news about the Edward Snowden case and citizen surveillance.[2] Questions of transparency and privacy are themes that inspired her, forcing her to think about what she reveals of herself in her music. She worked on the concept of "glass" to create new songs, particularly by adding new instruments to her repertoire such as the trautonium, a rare instrument from the late 1920s whose crystalline sounds are reminiscent of glass.[3]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Exclaim!9/10[6]
The Independent[7]
musicOMH[8]
The Quietus[9]
Sputnikmusic[10]

Citizen of Glass received universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, citing "universal acclaim", based on 11 reviews.[4]

John Murphy from musicOMH wrote "Some earlier fans of Obel may miss the more minimal sound of her early albums, and there’s certainly no big crossover track that will propel Obel to the mainstream. This is a haunting listen though, and one that will provide suitable company as the long winter nights start to draw in."[8]

James Christopher Monger at AllMusic wrote "Where her relatively austere prior outings relied largely on piano and strings, Citizen of Glass revels in ghostly electronics and voice modulation, even going so far as to bring in a temperamental, late-'20s monophonic synthesizer called a Trautonium. The string arrangements are more ambitious and the composition style is a bit more opaque, but the ten-track set is unequivocally Obel-esque."[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Agnes Obel.

No.TitleLength
1."Stretch Your Eyes"5:11
2."Familiar"3:55
3."Red Virgin Soil"2:43
4."It's Happening Again"4:20
5."Stone"3:56
6."Trojan Horses"5:33
7."Citizen of Glass"2:49
8."Golden Green"3:59
9."Grasshopper"2:38
10."Mary"5:47
Total length:40:50

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[26] Gold 50,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Valiente, Ana. "Agnes Obel: the Danish singer made of glass and steel". Cafébabel. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  2. "Agnes Obel". QRO Magazine. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  3. "Agnes Obel: 'It's called a Trautonium – and it can electrocute people!'". The Guardian. 17 October 2016.
  4. Citizen of Glass by Agnes Obel, retrieved 30 October 2018
  5. Monger, James Christopher. "Citizen of Glass - Agnes Obel | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  6. Shemesh, Yasmine (19 October 2016). "Agnes Obel Citizen of Glass". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. "Album reviews: Lady Gaga - Joanne, Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker, Pretenders - Alone, and more". The Independent. 23 August 2019. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  8. Murphy, John (25 October 2016). "Agnes Obel - Citizen Of Glass | Albums | musicOMH". musicOMH. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  9. Aubrey, Elizabeth (19 October 2016). "Agnes Obel Citizen of Glass". The Quietus. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. "Agnes Obel - Citizen Of Glass (album review ) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  14. "Danishcharts.dk – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  16. "Lescharts.com – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  18. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Agnes Obel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  20. "Swisscharts.com – Agnes Obel – Citizen Of Glass". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  22. "Jaaroverzichten 2016". Ultratop. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  23. "Rapports Annuels 2016". Ultratop. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  24. "Top de l'année Top Albums 2016" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  25. "Rapports Annuels 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  26. "French album certifications – Agnes Obel – Citizen of Glass" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
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