Slow Focus is the third and final studio album by Fuck Buttons, released on 22 July 2013. It peaked at number 36 on the UK Albums Chart. It was the first album released by ATP Recordings to reach the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart.
Critical reception
Upon its release, Slow Focus received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 81, based on 39 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares noted that Fuck Buttons' self production work was a measure of "how much they've come into their own" and that "Slow Focus delivers some of their most masterful and seemingly effortless music yet." Mike Madden, writing for Consequence of Sound, described it as "a seven-track ride at turns gloopy and glassy, invigorating and dark," noting that "all told, this is pretty epic stuff." Drowned in Sound critic Andrzej Lukowski observed that Slow Focus displayed "a strange, alien detachment" with an "undercurrent of menace", but stated that the album "isn't alienating, it's other, and it's a pleasure to take a wander around its unfamiliar landscapes". In his review for The Guardian where he commented that Slow Focus "seems slightly more commercial than its predecessor, although such things are obviously relative," Alexis Petridis concluded that "the only real response is to listen and gawp." NME reviewer Noel Gardner opined that it was "all-consuming and consistently impressive from the off" and stated that the band "can be proud of what they continue to achieve."
Year-end rankings +PublicationListRankRefThe A.V. ClubThe 23 Best Albums of 201312BleepTop Albums of the Year 20139ClashClash's Top Albums of 201319Crack MagazineTop 100 Albums of 201344musicOMHTop 100 Albums of 201336NMENME's 50 Best Albums of 201340PitchforkTop 50 Best Albums of 201346Rolling Stone50 Best Albums of 201348Slant MagazineThe 25 Best Albums of 201319Under the RadarTop 125 Albums of 201391 "N/A" indicates that the publication did not rank the works included in their year-end list.
Track Accolades TrackPublicationListRankRef"Hidden Xs"BleepTop 100 Tracks of 2013N/A "N/A" indicates that the publication did not rank the works included in their year-end list.
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Fuck Buttons – music, production, recording, mixing Mat Rowlands – initial track recording Nina Walsh – initial track recording Jimmy Robertson – mix engineering Bob Weston – mastering Benjamin John Power – artwork Alex de Mora – photography
Charts Chart Peakposition
References
External links
Slow Focus on Metacritic Slow Focus on AllMusic Slow Focus on RYM