Devotion
by Tirzah
  • Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Aug 10, 2018
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. The Skinny
    Aug 7, 2018
    100
    Much like Ocean’s Blonde, Devotion unfolds and unravels in different ways upon each listen, giving you everything but never too soon. With it, Tirzah and Levi have created something fiercely unique, relatable and of the moment; one of the most crucial pop records of the year.
  2. The 405
    Aug 16, 2018
    90
    On Devotion, she cordons off her own corner of modern Rn’B with a statement destined to become a genre staple.
  3. Exclaim
    Aug 8, 2018
    90
    For all the internal nuance of the record, Devotion is primarily an album built on the invisible ties between us, shifting between shades of love, rupture and unsteady silence. In the sparseness of its haze, Devotion feels ephemeral.
  5. The Line of Best Fit
    Aug 7, 2018
    90
    Tirzah has made 11 raw, honest, and beautifully unusual pop songs that will remain with you whether you like it or not, bringing you back time and time again, motivated by your devotion to this record.
  6. Under The Radar
    Aug 10, 2018
    85
    In taking a dive off the deep end, Tirzah brightly reveals depths to romance, love, and the human condition that many have left untouched.
  7. Pitchfork
    Aug 10, 2018
    83
    Nothing about Devotion feels like a burden. Instead, it’s so personable and candid that it feels like a privilege to spend a few minutes hearing what Tirzah has to say, imperfections and all.
  8. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Aug 20, 2018
    80
    The sound of loving is consistent, even as it appears in radically different instances. The mechanism of love song fits all bodies, all modes. It lands on ears, it laps and licks and it does no harm.
  9. AllMusic
    Aug 10, 2018
    80
    The album's vérité feel draws listeners into its ever-changing moods so completely, it's almost a shock when it ends. It's this skill at hypnotizing and disarming her audience that makes Devotion such a captivating reintroduction to Tirzah.
  10. The Guardian
    Aug 9, 2018
    80
    The arrangements are simple but elevated by deft touches of texture and mood, siphoning into hypnotic minimalism the essence of muted soul, garage, grime, R&B and the shattered club tracks that made the defunct London club Plastic People tremble in the early 2010s.
  11. Q Magazine
    Aug 7, 2018
    80
    It's impulsive and scrappy, lyrically uncomplicated and musically crude, yet each strange, hypnotic composition turns a quiet epiphany into a revelation. [Sep 2018, p.113]
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  12. Resident Advisor
    Aug 14, 2018
    78
    It's striking how simple and affecting Devotion is as a whole. At a time when so much music is political and intellectualized, Tirzah's sincerity and candor is a breath of fresh air.
  13. Clash Music
    Aug 9, 2018
    70
    Taking inspiration from Al Green, Barry White and D’Angelo, produced with her long-term friend and collaborator Micachu, Tirzah manages to create a warped ‘90s R&B record with a soulful core and enough electronic dissonance for the modern age.
  14. Uncut
    Aug 7, 2018
    70
    A lack of polish--notably on the title track, which features Curl collective member Coby Sey--is part of the appeal, and if "Gladly" plays it very straight, then it's hard to carp at its loved-up optimism. [Sep 2018, p.39]
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  15. PopMatters
    Aug 9, 2018
    50
    Those songs [dance songs between 2013 and 2015] didn't orient themselves around the kinds of narratives that require emotive singing. The feelings they produced were tactile, registering as sensations rather than stories. There, Mastin and Levi's divergent styles created the impression of unity, with each giving the other something she was missing. On Devotion, you can hear them drifting apart.

Awards & Rankings

93
#93 Most Shared Album of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. Mir9903
    Dec 4, 2021
    9
    It’s so intimate and transports you to a place where the usual way we think music should exist is flipped. The Melodies are distorted, cut orIt’s so intimate and transports you to a place where the usual way we think music should exist is flipped. The Melodies are distorted, cut or used in a way that modern pop music wouldn’t. I also got 90’s r&b vibes from this, especially from “Gladly” and “Devotion”. It gave me so much nostalgia and offered me a place to call home.… Full Review »
  2. All_ButTrU4
    Mar 3, 2021
    8
    Bare, rough and singular come to mind from the second "fine again " drags on. This album has perfected intimacy as an artistic statement.Bare, rough and singular come to mind from the second "fine again " drags on. This album has perfected intimacy as an artistic statement. Tirizah sound weaponizes the imperfections and spaces in it's production. The highlight of this record is the production. Sure her voice is the talent but the productions use of piano chords and dreay drum kits creates a diy aesthetic which adds to the subject matters candour. The magnificent titoe track sees tirzah literally begging for attention if not bare acknowledging. The conversational plain diction make the desperation that much greater. A memorable debut from this mysterious Canadian artist. Favourites:affection, devotion, do you know.… Full Review »
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