Californian Soil

Californian Soil is the third studio album by English indie pop band London Grammar, released on 16 April 2021 by Metal & Dust and Ministry of Sound.

Californian Soil
Studio album by
London Grammar
Released16 April 2021 (2021-04-16)
Length44:16
Label
Producer
London Grammar chronology
Truth Is a Beautiful Thing
(2017)		 Californian Soil
(2021)
Singles from Californian Soil
  1. "Baby It's You"
    Released: 19 August 2020
  2. "Californian Soil"
    Released: 1 October 2020
  3. "Lose Your Head"
    Released: 4 January 2021
  4. "How Does It Feel"
    Released: 12 March 2021
  5. "Lord It's A Feeling"
    Released: 21 May 2021

It was initially intended to be released on 12 February 2021, but was postponed for unknown reasons.[1]

Californian Soil was preceded by four singles—"Baby It's You", the title track, "Lose Your Head" and "How Does It Feel".

Composition

Vocalist Hannah Reid said the album deals with themes of feminism and fame. She wrote:

"This record is about gaining possession of my own life. You imagine success will be amazing. Then you see it from the inside and ask, 'Why am I not controlling this thing? Why am I not allowed to be in control of it? And does that connect, in any way to being a woman? If so, how can I do that differently?'".[2]

Release

The album was announced on 1 October 2020, alongside the release of the title track. The band said the track was a "turning point" for them, deciding to name the album after the song.

On 5 January 2021, the band posted on their Twitter page that the release date had been postponed to 9 April of that same year, before being subsequently pushed back to 16 April. No reason was given for either delay.[3]

Promotion

Singles

Californian Soil was preceded by four singles: "Baby It's You", released on 19 August 2020,[4] the title track, released on 1 October 2020,[2] "Lose Your Head", released on 4 January 2021[5] and "How Does It Feel" on 12 March 2021.[6] "Lord It's A Feeling" was released as the fifth single on 21 May 2021.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.9/10[7]
Metacritic77/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Clash8/10[10]

Californian Soil received mostly positive reviews from critics upon release. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 77 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8] Christopher Hamilton-Peach of The Line of Best Fit scored the album 9 out of 10 and said that "London Grammar use Californian Soil to hone their lush sonics and embrace the future".[11]

The Guardian's Alim Kheraj scored the album 3 stars, stating that "the British trio stick to boilerplate emoting and bland imagery, but there are small sonic steps forward".[12] Writing for Pitchfork, Hannah Jocelyn wrote that "the UK electronic-pop trio's third album draws on a renewed sense of extroversion and energy, which can't always overcome its lyrical and production missteps", giving the album 6.2 out of 10.[13] Praising the album's surrealist sound and tone, The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick said that the album was "hypnotically compelling".[14] However, Slant Magazine's Charles Lyons-Burt felt that "the band's willingness to harness the latest sonic trends is hit and (mostly) miss."[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Hannah Reid, Dominic Major, and Daniel Rothman, except where noted.

Californian Soil track listing[2]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro" London Grammar2:25
2."Californian Soil" 
3:41
3."Missing" London Grammar3:35
4."Lose Your Head"
FitzGerald3:19
5."Lord It's a Feeling" 
  • London Grammar
  • FitzGerald[m]
4:12
6."How Does It Feel"
3:31
7."Baby It's You"
  • Reid
  • Major
  • Rothman
  • FitzGerald
  • London Grammar
  • FitzGerald
4:02
8."Call Your Friends"
  • Reid
  • Major
  • Rothman
  • McCutcheon
  • London Grammar
  • Mac
  • Everton Nelson[m]
3:11
9."All My Love" London Grammar4:32
10."Talking" 
  • London Grammar
  • Nelson[m]
3:23
11."I Need the Night" 
  • London Grammar
  • Nelson[m]
4:20
12."America" 
  • London Grammar
  • Andrew
4:05
Total length:44:16

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[16]

London Grammar

  • Hannah Reid – vocals (all tracks); keyboards, programming (1, 3–6, 8–12)
  • Dot Major – keyboards (1, 3–12); drums, programming (1, 3–6, 8–12)
  • Daniel Rothman – guitar (1, 3–12); keyboards, programming (1, 3–6, 8–12)

Additional musicians

  • Tony Woollard – cello (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Ian Burdge – cello (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Chris Dorsey – cello (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Chris Laurence – double bass (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Sally Herbert – performance arrangement (1, 2, 8, 10, 11)
  • Rachel Robson – viola (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Claire Orsler – viola (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Bruce White – viola (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Julia Singleton – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Alison Dods – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Ian Humphries – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Rick Koster – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Everton Nelson – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Richard George – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Warren Zielinski – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Marianne Haynes – violin (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Kirsty Mangan – keyboards, performance arrangement, strings (2); viola, violin (12)
  • My Riot – programming (2)
  • Rachael Lander – strings (2)
  • Andy Marshall – strings (2), double bass (12)
  • Phebe Edwards – background vocals (3)
  • Brendan Reilly – background vocals (3)
  • Sharlene Hector – background vocals (3)
  • Vula Malinga – background vocals (3), vocals (5)
  • Mike Hough – background vocals (3)
  • Hal Ritson – guitar (5)
  • Chris Laws – drums (6, 8)
  • Steve Mac – keyboards (6, 8)
  • Hoskins – programming (11)
  • George FitzGerald – programming (11)

Technical

Charts
Chart performance for Californian Soil
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 3
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 4
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 10
Irish Albums (OCC)[24] 2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 2
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 1
US Current Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 50

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Silver 60,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history for Californian Soil
Region Date Formats Label
Various 16 April 2021
Australia
Dew Process

References
  1. Brandle, Lars (6 January 2021). "London Grammar set new release date for 'Californian Soil,' Share 'Lose Your Head': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  2. Krol, Charlotte (1 October 2020). "London Grammar reveal full details of new album 'Californian Soil' and share title track – listen". NME. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  3. London Grammar [@londongrammar] (5 January 2021). "Californian Soil / April 9th" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. Helman, Peter (19 August 2020). "London Grammar – "Baby It's You"". Stereogum. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. Trendell, Andrew (4 January 2021). "Listen to London Grammar's heavenly and "empowering" new single "Lose Your Head"". NME Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  6. "Listen to London Grammar's beautiful new single "How Does It Feel"". NME. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  7. "Californian Soil – London Grammar". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  8. "Californian Soil by London Grammar Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  9. Yeung, Neil Z. "Californian Soil – London Grammar". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  10. Beech, Dave. "London Grammar – Californian Soil". Clash. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  11. Hamilton-Peach, Christopher (16 April 2021). "London Grammar - Californian Soil | Album Review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  12. "London Grammar: Californian Soil review – bold sounds amid the usual spectral fare". The Guardian. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  13. "London Grammar: Californian Soil". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  14. McCormick, Neil (16 April 2021). "London Grammar on Californian Soil? Same lush pop, but with a fresh political edge". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  15. Lyons-Burt, Charles. "Review: London Grammar's Californian Soil Is Slick, Trendy, and Ultimately Anonymous". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  16. "Credits / Californian Soil / London Grammar". Tidal. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  17. "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  18. "Austriancharts.at – London Grammar – Californian Soil" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  19. "Ultratop.be – London Grammar – Californian Soil" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  20. "Ultratop.be – London Grammar – Californian Soil" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – London Grammar – Californian Soil" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  22. "Lescharts.com – London Grammar – Californian Soil". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  23. "Offiziellecharts.de – London Grammar – Californian Soil" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  24. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  25. "Charts.nz – London Grammar – Californian Soil". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  26. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  27. "Swisscharts.com – London Grammar – Californian Soil". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  29. "London Grammar Chart History (Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  30. "British album certifications – London Grammar – Californian Soil". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  31. "Californian Soil (CD) – London Grammar". store.londongrammar.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  32. "Californian Soil (LP) – London Grammar". store.londongrammar.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  33. "Californian Soil (Hannah Cover / White Cassette) – London Grammar". store.londongrammar.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  34. "Californian Soil (Book) – London Grammar". store.londongrammar.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  35. "Californian Soil by London Grammar on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  36. "Californian Soil – CD at JB Hi-Fi". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  37. "Californian Soil (Limited JB Hi-Fi Australian Exclusive Transparent Royal Blue Vinyl) at JB Hi-Fi". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
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