Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), sometimes shortened as Praise a Lord Who Chews…, is the fifth studio album by American experimental electronic artist Yves Tumor. It was released on March 17, 2023, through Warp.
Background Yves Tumor released the album's first single, "God is a Circle", on November 2, 2022, alongside a music video. On January 30, 2023, they announced the album's title, release date, and track listing. On the same day, they released the album's second single, "Echolalia", alongside a music video. They also announced the To Spite or Not to Spite Tour to support the album, starting on April 4, 2023, in Indio, California, and ending on November 27, 2023, in Dublin, Ireland, with Pretty Sick, Frost Children, Izzy Spears, Evanora Unlimited, and Nation. On February 28, 2023, they released the album's third single, "Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood", alongside a music video. On March 15, 2023, the album's fourth single was released, titled "Parody".
Critical reception
Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
The album received praise for its diverse production. Writing for Northern Transmissions, Otis Cohan Mone writes: "Ranging from post-punk and alternative dance to hard rock along with a light touch of heavy metal territory, Yves Tumor still does not leave you with any exact definition of the genre of their songs, continuing to hone and improve their stubborn skill to make their tracks both precise and incomprehensible at the same time." Ammar Kalia of Crack writes that the album is "ultimately Yves Tumor's take on pop – a deliciously compressed offering harnessing their irrepressible energy; 12 infectious tracks that leave you wanting more." Erica Campbell of NME states: "Tumor makes rock music in the way the counterculture movement the music grew out of is known for, with a focus on creativity, invention, and generating sounds that blast away expectations. With their latest album,... the experimental producer and songwriter transcends even further, dipping into electronica, alt-pop and punk territory and landing on a collection of songs that are equally bizarre and delightful." Exclaim!'''s Allie Gregory writes: "Bewildering and disparate influences merge to form an agitation of genre, from the twinkles of Halifaxa-era witch house and Strokes-indebted bass notes on the glistening "Lovely Sewer," to the P.O.D.- and Incubus-inspired aughts rock of "Meteora Blues" [...] and the outright indie sleaze of "Operator.""
The album received praise for its lyrics. Luke Cartledge of Loud and Quiet described the lyrics as "expertly meld[ing] romance, reflection, queerness and candour". Consequence's Wren Graves writes that "the lyrics reward multiple listens, even as the melody is sticky enough to stay with you after a single time through." NPRs Anupa Mistry writes: "There are hierarchies of gender, race, desire (as in needs, but also romance) and performance that Yves Tumor's music disrupts through its intense magnification and worship of life, death and spirituality. Praise A Lord could be heard as a thesis statement, the cohering of ideas, but I think its function is in breaking things apart." Alisdair Grice of DIY writes: "Their blunt, affecting lyrics on 'Praise A Lord...' separates them from other leftfield pop acts, somehow creating grounding, brutal love songs amid the flurry of dance-pop and industrial noise."
The AllMusic review concludes: "At once challenging and inviting, Praise a Lord Who Chews... is another dazzling work from a creative whirlwind."
In June 2023, Alternative Press published an unranked list of the top 25 albums of the year to date and included this release, calling it "a sheer pop thrill" that is "intoxicating, empowering you to relinquish yourself to the music completely and, primarily, feel just as free as the boundary-defying extraterrestrial behind the microphone".
Accolades Publication Accolade RankAlternative Press25 best albums of 2023 so far Autostraddle10 of the Best Queer Albums of 2023 Beats Per MinuteTop 50 Albums of 202316BrooklynVeganOur 40 Favorite Albums of 2023 So Far ConsequenceThe 50 Best Albums of 20231The FaderThe 50 Best Albums of 202312The GuardianThe 50 best albums of 202316KCRWThe 23 Best Albums of 202316Loud And QuietAlbums of the Year 20238NMEThe 50 best albums of 202317PasteThe 50 Best Albums of 202321PitchforkThe 50 Best Albums of 202331The 37 Best Rock Albums of 2023 Resident AdvisorThe Best Albums of 2023 Rolling StoneThe 100 Best Albums of 202387StereogumThe 50 Best Albums Of 202332Slant MagazineThe 50 Best Albums of 202327Under the RadarTop 100 Albums of 202378UproxxThe Best Albums Of 2023 VultureThe Best Albums of 20234
Track listing
Personnel Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.MusiciansYves Tumor – vocals (all tracks), drums (track 1), bass (1, 3, 7, 8), guitars (2, 5), keyboards (2, 11), drum programming (2, 7, 11), FX (8) Ecco2k – additional vocals (1, 9) Thoom – additional vocals (1) Kidä – vocals (2) The Samples – choir vocals (4, 5, 6, 12) Fresh Jame – additional vocals (7) Mowalola – additional vocals (7) William Wadhams – additional vocals (7) Deto Black – additional vocals (7) Shannon Funchess – additional vocals (8) Sasha Desree – additional vocals (10) Tanner Orange – additional vocals (10) Rhys Hastings – drums (1, 3, 7, 12) Alexander Bazzi – bass (1) Jesse Schuster – bass (2) Chris Greatti – guitars (1, 3, 6–8, 12), additional vocals (10) Noah Goldstein – keyboards (1, 6, 9, 12), FX (6), drum programming (9, 11), guitars (9, 12), bass (11), brass (11) Jake Miller – keyboards (1, 9), bass (2, 3, 8), drum programming (7), guitars (10) Devon Taylor – brass (1, 3, 6) Jordan Katz – brass (1, 6) Daniel Aged – guitars (2), keyboards (2) Elliott Kozel – guitars (2, 3, 5–8, 11), keyboards (2, 3, 6, 7, 11), drum programming (2, 7–9), FX (6, 8), bass (9, 10) John Carroll Kirby – keyboards (2, 4, 5, 12) Psymun – drum programming (2, 8, 11), guitars (3, 7, 8, 10, 11), keyboards (3, 7, 9, 10, 11), FX (6, 8), bass (10) Lemar Carter – drums (3, 5, 6, 8–10) Kelly Moran – keyboards (3, 4) Dylan Wiggins – bass (5, 6, 12), keyboards (12) Joe Kennedy – guitars (6) Heavy Mellow – guitars (6) Yves Rothman – guitars (6) Yuli – strings (11) Brad Bowers – bass (11)Technical''' Jake Miller – engineering (all tracks), mixing (2, 7, 10–12) Yves Rothman – engineering (1) Taylor Jackson – engineering (2, 3, 7–12) Nate Haessly – assistant engineer (1, 3, 7, 12) Jordan Cantor – assistant engineer (4–6, 8) Gabe Lowry – assistant engineer (4–6, 8) Alan Moulder – mixing (1, 3–6, 8, 9) Noah Goldstein – mixing (2, 7, 10–12) Tom Herbert – assistant mixing engineer (1, 3–6, 8, 9) Finn Howells – assistant mixing engineer (1, 3–6, 8, 9) Joe LaPorta – mastering (all tracks)
Charts +Chart performance for Praise a Lord Who Chews... Chart (2023) Peakposition US Top Album Sales (Billboard) 81
References