The Fool (Ryn Weaver album)

The Fool is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Ryn Weaver. It was released on June 16, 2015 by Mad Love and Interscope Records. The debut single, "OctaHate", was released on August 8, 2014. The album was made available to stream for free at the iTunes Store on June 9, 2015.[2]

The Fool
Studio album by
Ryn Weaver
ReleasedJune 16, 2015 (2015-06-16)
Recorded2014–15
GenreIndie pop[1]
Label
Producer
Ryn Weaver chronology
Promises
(2014)		 The Fool
(2015)
Singles from The Fool
  1. "OctaHate"
    Released: August 8, 2014
  2. "Promises"
    Released: August 25, 2015

Background and promotion

The Fool features production by Benny Blanco and Michael Angelakos,[3] whom Weaver also worked with in the writing of the album. She also worked with British singer-songwriter Charlotte Aitchison, better known by her moniker Charli XCX on the album's first single, "OctaHate".[4] Other contributors include Norwegian producer and musician Cashmere Cat, English musician Charlotte OC and OneRepublic frontman, Ryan Tedder.

Lyrically, The Fool explores topics of romantic relationships, family relationships, self-discovery and self-doubt. On the overlying theme of the album, Weaver stated the following:

The record poses the question: Is it foolish to settle for what you always thought you wanted as a 22-year-old woman, or is it foolish to go and leave what’s so beautiful, stable, and certain? I think that’s a question a lot of young women have these days, especially coming from a generation of girls who — in my opinion— have less of a road map. It’s not just about being a woman: It’s about being a modern human and about fear of commitment.[5]

Weaver performed her song "Promises" from the album on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on June 19, 2015.[6]

Singles

"OctaHate" was released as the debut single on June 21, 2014, and impacted Top 40 radio on February 24, 2015.[7] The song peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart.[8] The original music video for "OctaHate" was taken down, and replaced by a new one on May 14, 2015.[9] During an interview with NY Mag, Weaver talked about why she took down the original. She claims the video wasn't executed properly and chose to create a new one because she "wanted people to understand [her] cohesive vision."[5] The new music video for "OctaHate" was inspired by the 1966 film Daisies by director Věra Chytilová. Weaver explained, "For the second one, we ripped a page from this '60s Czech film called Daisies — this feminist, absurdist piece. In this scene, they talk about how the whole world is spoiled and how as a result, they should spoil themselves," — a theme which can be seen mirrored in the music video.[5]

"Promises" was released on August 25, 2016, to Top 40 radio as the second single from the album.[10]

Promotional Singles

Although not announced as an official single, "The Fool" was made available on iTunes on April 10, 2015, shortly after the album was made available for pre-order. The song was premiered the previous day on BBC Radio 1.[11] A music video for the song was released on May 7, 2015.[12] Weaver stated that the music video was inspired by Studio Ghibli, the animation film studio which features many works by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. Also speaking on the video, she explained, "I wanted to touch on the shifting power dynamic within relationships in a surrealist, psychedelic medium... I've come to realize that my own empowerment has the tendency to result in emasculation and a new dependency that only heightens my fear of commitment."[13]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Billboard[1]
The Guardian[16]
Pitchfork4.9/10[17]
PopMatters[18]
Rolling Stone[19]
Spin7/10[20]

Upon its release, The Fool received generally positive to mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Fool received an average score of 65, based on 13 reviews.[14] Writing for Consequence of Sound, Lyndsey Havens stated that the album "spins on like a series of diary entries", while comparing Weaver's vocals to those of Florence Welch and Imogen Heap. In a mixed review, Pitchfork's Miles Raymer claimed that the album had nothing close to "matching the intense pop rush" of her debut single "OctaHate".[15]

On a positive note, Jon Parales of the New York Times highlighted the album's experimental tone, saying that Weaver channeled Stevie Nicks while also noting the track "Travelling Song" as the best track of the album, stating "It’s ardent, musically confident and openly careerist."[21]

Commercial performance

The Fool sold 13,800 units in its first week.[22] It debuted and peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200.[23]

Track listing
Standard edition[24]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Runaway"
4:04
2."OctaHate"
3:24
3."Pierre"
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
  • Tedder
3:22
4."Stay Low"
  • Wüthrich
  • Angelakos
  • Levin
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
3:36
5."Sail On"
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
3:49
6."The Fool"
  • Wüthrich
  • Angelakos
  • Levin
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
3:49
7."Promises"
  • Wüthrich
  • Angelakos
  • Levin
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
3:52
8."Free"
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
  • Decilveo
3:27
9."Traveling Song"
  • Wüthrich
  • Angelakos
  • Levin
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
3:14
10."Here Is Home"
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
4:20
11."New Constellations"
  • Wüthrich
  • Angelakos
  • Levin
  • Høiberg
  • Blanco
  • Angelakos
  • Cashmere Cat
4:38
Total length:41:35
Target, Canadian and Australian bonus tracks[25][26][27]
No.Title{{{extra_column}}}Length
12."OctaHate" (Cashmere Cat Remix)Cashmere Cat[a]4:21
13."Pierre" (Siren Sessions Version) 3:17
British deluxe edition[28]
No.TitleLength
12."OctaHate" (Cashmere Cat remix)4:21
13."Pierre" (Siren Sessions version)3:17
14."The Fool" (Twoinchpunch remix)2:33
15."Promises" (Live)3:54
16."OctaHate" (Live)3:41

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Fool.

  • Aryn Wüthrich – vocals
  • Michael Angelakos – instrumentation, production, programming (all tracks); executive production
  • Mike Bader – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 8, 10)
  • Benny Blanco – instrumentation, production, programming (all tracks); executive production
  • [Nick Brown – drums (tracks 1, 8, 10)
  • Cashmere Cat – instrumentation, production, programming (tracks 2, 11)
  • Jennifer Decilveo – additional production (track 8)
  • Matty Green – assistant engineer to mixer
  • Seif "Mageef" Hussain – production coordination
  • Andrew "McMuffin" Luftman – A&R, production coordination
  • Phil Peterson – strings (track 8)
  • Chris Sclafani – additional production (tracks 1, 8, 10); bass (track 8); mandolin (track 3); engineering
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
  • Geoff Swan – assistant engineer to mixer
  • Eryck Bry – mixing

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[23] 30
US Alternative Albums[29] 7
US Digital Albums[30] 8

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United States June 16, 2015
[24]
Australia September 4, 2015
[27]
New Zealand
[31]
United Kingdom
[32]
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References
  1. "Ryn Weaver Makes Smart Move With Alt-Pop Debut 'The Fool': Album Review". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  2. "Ryn Weaver's Debut Album, 'The Fool,' Is Now Streaming on iTunes". Spin. 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  3. "Ryn Weaver Didn't Become The Next Big Thing Overnight". Huffington Post. November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  4. "Ryn Weaver - "OctaHate" - Stereogum". Stereogum. June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  5. "Ryn Weaver on Girl Power, Sexuality, and Selfies". NYMag.com. June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  6. Geslani, Michelle (June 22, 2015). "Ryn Weaver delivers larger than life performance on Fallon". Consequence of Sound.
  7. "Top 40/M Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". AllAccess Music Group. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  8. "Billboard - Ryn Weaver - Chart History - Pop Songs". Billboard. May 23, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  9. "Ryn Weaver - OctaHate - YouTube". YouTube. May 14, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  10. "FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Nielsen Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  11. "Listen: Ryn Weaver - "The Fool"". trendio.us. April 9, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  12. "Ryn Weaver - The Fool - YouTube". YouTube. May 7, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  13. "Watch Ryn Weaver's Anime-Inspired Video for "The Fool"". The Fader. May 7, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  14. "Critic Reviews for The Fool by Ryn Weaver". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  15. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "The Fool - Ryn Weaver". AllMusic. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  16. Jonze, Tim (September 3, 2015). "Ryn Weaver: The Fool review – a diverse debut of subtle strangeness". The Guardian. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  17. Raymer, Miles (June 12, 2015). "Ryn Weaver: The Fool - Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  18. "Ryne Weaver The Fool". PopMattrers. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  19. "Ryn Weaver's New Album: The Fool". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  20. "Review: Ryn Weaver Keeps It Trill on 'The Fool'". Spin. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  21. Parales, Jon (June 15, 2015). "Review: Ryn Weaver's 'The Fool' Experiments While Echoing Stevie Nicks". The New York Times. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  22. Cantor, Brian (June 24, 2015). "Ryn Weaver's "The Fool" Debuts With 13.8K First Week Album Sales". Headline Planet.
  23. "Ryan Weaver Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  24. American release of The Fool:
  25. "Target - Music - Ryn Weaver - The Fool Only @ Target". Target. June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  26. "The Fool (Deluxe Edition) : Ryn Weaver". Archambault (in French). June 16, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  27. Australian release of The Fool:
  28. "iTunes (U.K.) - Music - Ryn Weaver - The Fool (Deluxe Edition)". iTunes (U.K.). September 4, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  29. "Alternative Music: Top Alternative Albums Chart - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  30. "Digital Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  31. New Zealand release of The Fool:
  32. British release of The Fool:
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