Two (Miss Kittin & The Hacker album)

Two is the second album by the reunited duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker released in 2009 by Miss Kittin's label Nobody's Bizzness.

Two
Studio album by
Miss Kittin & The Hacker
Released12 March 2009
GenreElectronica, Electroclash, Dance, Techno
LabelNobody's Bizzness
Miss Kittin chronology
BatBox
(2008)		 Two
(2009)		 Calling From The Stars
(2013)
The Hacker chronology
Rêves Mécaniques
(2004)		 Two
(2009)
Singles from Two
  1. "PPPO"
    Released: 13 March 2009
  2. "1000 Dreams"
    Released: 3 April 2009
  3. "Party in My Head"
    Released: 19 June 2009

Background and development

In 2007, Miss Kittin & The Hacker reunited to release the single "Hometown / Dimanche" through Good Life Recordings.[1] The music video for "Hometown" was directed by Régis Brochier of 7th floor Productions.[2] Miss Kittin & The Hacker reunited for a European tour in 2008, but they also toured throughout America and around the world, before they both started recording new songs, some of which were performed whilst touring. Several of the songs that they composed while on tour were included on the album Two.[3]

Promotion

Miss Kittin & The Hacker toured as part of the festival Get Loaded In The Park in August 2009.[4]

Miss Kittin & The Hacker filmed a promotional music video for their cover of "Suspicious Minds", which was directed by Régis Brochier of 7th floor Productions.[5] "Suspicious Minds" was later featured on the downloadable for free mixtape Skull of Dreams by Little Boots.[6][7]

Singles
  • "PPPO" was released as the album's first single on 13 March 2009.[8]
  • "1000 Dreams" was released as the album's second single on 3 April 2009.[9] The song became a minor hit in Belgium, where it reached top-twenty on the Flanders Ultratip chart.[10] The music video was directed by Régis Brochier of 7th floor Productions in January 2009.[11]
  • "Party in My Head" was released as the third and final single on 19 June 2009.[12] XLR8R offered a free download of the Thieves Like Us remix of the single on its website.[13]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian[14]
The Independent(positive)[15]
NME(positive)[16]
Pitchfork Media(4.4/10)[17]
PopMatters[18]
Resident Advisor[19]
Slant Magazine[20]
URB[21]
Venus Zine[22]
XLR8R[23]

Two received generally favorable reviews. The album holds a score of 62 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic.[24] David Abravanel from PopMatters opined that "Two is as nakedly honest and lush an album as either party involved has made. [...] the record is a fantastic progression for Miss Kittin & The Hacker, managing to preserve what made them great partners in the first place, while gracefully maturing into something more multifaceted and emotionally open.[18] Tom Naylor, writing for NME, commented that the album "finds them little changed. The Hacker is still a dab hand at dark electro, his rich, chewy tracks bubbling like molasses in a cauldron; Miss Kittin still veers close to self-parody (see 'Ray Ban') and they still sound best – 'Party In My Head', 'Emotional Interlude', a delicious, Europop cover of 'Suspicious Minds' – when they allow light, and vulnerability, to penetrate the gloom."[16] URB remarked that "It seems as though they’re as strong as ever. Is the production skeletal? You could say that. There isn’t really a reason why that should be an issue though. Less is often more: any electro-head should know this to be true."[21] Resident Advisor's Stéphane Girard opined, "In the end, Two isn't a massive step forward, but it isn't a step backward either. 'Suspicious Minds' aside, though, there is an air of self-confidence emanating from the songs collected on here that wasn't present eight years ago."[19] In a review for XLR8R, Rob Geary stated, "Despite the ridiculously blank 'Ray Ban,' enough of Two excites by delving deeper into the subconscious (the crashing, Nord-led aggression of 'Indulgence') or stepping out into the sunlight (a goofy, cheerful cover of 'Suspicious Minds') to justify marking a calendar eight years from now for a Three."[23] Angela Shawn-Chi Lu from Venus Zine stated, "Abstract expressionism has finally met its electro-clash match. At times experimental with instrumental song intros and abstrusely minimalist with their lyrics, French duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker would do Franz Kline proud with their knack for scrumptious, slaptastic tunes ideal for the BDSM scene.[22]

Conversely, The Independent's Simon Price noted that "the temptation to revisit that blueprint – Kittin, the elegantly bored Euro-siren, meshing with Hacker's chattering techno textures – has eventually proven overwhelming. While Two never hits those heights, it has its club-friendly moments."[15] Moreover, The Guardian's Alex Macpherson concluded that "on last year's sleek BatBox, she proved there was life in a shtick that, by rights, should have burned out half a decade ago in the dying embers of electroclash. But even as she pulled it off against the odds, one sensed the line between success and failure was being cut ever finer; and, in hooking up with her original partner in crime, The Hacker, Kittin has fallen on the wrong side of it."[14] David Raposa from Pitchfork Media described the album "as a supposed remembrance of the heyday of electroclash, it's a nostalgia trip that's best left untaken."[17] Eric Henderson, writing for Slant Magazine, commented that when compared to the duo's First Album, "The words are flatter, the music is more generically attractive, and maybe we're all getting a little too old for this club."[20]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Womb"Amato, Hervé5:45
2."1000 Dreams"Amato, Hervé5:26
3."PPPO"Amato, Hervé6:29
4."Party in My Head"Amato, Hervé6:38
5."Indulgence"Amato, Hervé4:08
6."Emotional Interlude"Amato, Hervé5:31
7."Suspicious Minds"James5:58
8."Electronic City"Amato, Hervé4:46
9."Inutile Etérnité"Amato, Hervé5:27
10."Ray Ban"Amato, Hervé4:36
11."1000 Dreams (Reprise)"Amato, Hervé3:02

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Belgian Alternative Albums Chart (Flanders)[25] 48
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[25] 87
French Albums Chart[25] 102
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References
  1. "records.2007". Misskittin.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  2. "Miss Kittin The Hacker : Hometown video clip - 7th floor". 7th floor. 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  3. "MissKittin & TheHacker » biography". Misskittinandthehacker.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-16. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  4. "Peaches follows Iggy Pop's lead for festival appearance". NME. 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  5. "Miss Kittin The Hacker : Suspicious Mind clip - 7th floor". 7th floor. 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  6. "Little Boots Mixtape - 26 Aug 2009". Clash. 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  7. "Download New Little Boots Mixtape "Skull of Dreams"". Tape Recorder. 2009-08-25. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  8. "Miss Kittin & The Hacker - PPPO (File, MP3) at Discogs". Discogs. Zinc Media, Inc. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  9. "records 2009 'Miss Kittin & The Hacker: 1000 Dreams'". www.misskittin.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  10. "Discografie Miss Kittin" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  11. "Miss Kittin The Hacker : 1000 dreams videoclip". 7th floor. 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  12. "Miss Kittin & The Hacker - Party In My Head (Vinyl)) at Discogs". Discogs. Zinc Media, Inc. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  13. Hudson, Jennifer (2009-06-09). "Party in My Head (Thieves Like Us Remix)". XLR8R. Archived from the original on 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  14. Macpherson, Alex (2009-04-17). "Rock review: Miss Kittin and The Hacker: Two". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  15. "Album: Miss Kittin and The Hacker, Two, (Nobody's Bizzness) - Reviews, Music - The Independent". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  16. Naylor, Tom (2009-04-14). "Miss Kittin And The Hacker - Album review: Miss Kittin And The Hacker - Album Reviews - NME.COM". NME. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  17. Raposa, David (2009-06-02). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Miss Kittin & The Hacker: Two". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  18. Abravanel, David (2009-07-13). "Miss Kittin & The Hacker: Two < PopMatters". PopMatters. PopMatters Media, Inc. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  19. "RA Reviews: Miss Kittin and The Hacker - Two (Album)". Resident Advisor. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  20. Henderson, Eric (2009-03-15). "Miss Kittin & The Hacker: Two". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  21. "Miss Kittin & The Hacker - Two". URB. 2009-02-22. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  22. Shawn-Chi Lu, Angela (2009-05-14). "Venus Zine: Miss Kittin & The Hacker". Venus Zine. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  23. Geary, Rob (2009-05-20). "Two". XLR8R. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
  24. "Two Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  25. "Miss Kittin & The Hacker - Two" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
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