Græ


Græ is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Moses Sumney. The double album was released in two parts by Jagjaguwar. The first part was released digitally on February 21, 2020, followed by the full album, including its second part, on May 15, 2020.
Græ features contributions from a wide range of musicians, writers and producers, including Daniel Lopatin, Thundercat, Jill Scott, James Blake, Taiye Selasi, John Congleton, Rob Moose, Ezra Miller, Michael Chabon, Matthew Otto, Ian Chang, and FKJ.
The album was preceded by five singles: "Virile", "Polly", "Me in 20 Years", "Cut Me", and "Bless Me".

Background and recording

Some of the songs on Græ, including "Virile", were recorded by Sumney with drummer Ian Chang of Son Lux and producer/engineer Ben Baptie at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, North Carolina. Sumney first lived in Asheville before and during the making of Aromanticism, and Græ is Sumney's first album since officially relocating to Asheville from Los Angeles. The album was mixed by Ben Baptie at Strongroom and mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound.

Release

"Virile" was released as the album's first single on November 14, 2019. The album was announced the same day.
"Polly" was released as the second single on December 13, 2019, followed by "Me in 20 Years" on January 6, 2020, and "Cut Me" on February 7. Sumney made his US television debut with a performance of the latter track on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 11. The album's first part was released digitally on February 21.
"Bless Me" was released as the album's fifth and final single on May 11, 2020, with the full album released four days later.

Critical reception

Græ received rave reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 from reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 90, based on 17 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". According to Metacritic, it was the 5th best-reviewed album of 2020. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
A. D. Amorosi of Variety praised the album, calling it a "magnificent, multi-genre mess in a dress of many colors" and "one of the year's boldest and best". Jenessa Williams of DIY gave the album a perfect score, calling it "complex, unconventional and ultimately, essential". Marcus J. Moore of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A, writing, "græ finds him trying to be, well, everything, and through a convergence of folk, jazz, classical, and art-rock, along with his probing lyricism, Sumney has managed to produce a sonic marvel".
Max Freedman of The A.V. Club praised Part 1 for showcasing Sumney "step outside previous comfort zones" with "Conveyor", "Neither/Nor", and "Virile". However, Freedman criticized Part 2 as lacking the stylistic and thematic variety of Part 1 and for occupying "shockingly familiar musical territory" to that of the songs on Aromanticism.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Græ.
Notes

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Græ.
Musicians
Engineers
  • Moses Sumney – engineering
  • Daniel Lopatin – engineering
  • Steph Marziano – engineering
  • Jake Viator – engineering
  • Ricardo Wheelock – engineering
  • Matthew Otto – engineering
  • Mac DeMarco – engineering
  • Andrew Chugg – engineering
  • Alexis Berthelot – engineering
  • Ben Baptie – engineering, mixing
  • Rashaan Carter – engineering
  • Simon Ribchester – engineering
  • FKJ – engineering
  • Matt Cohn – engineering
  • Sean Cook – engineering
  • Tom Gallo – engineering
  • James Blake – engineering
  • Tom Archer – mix assistance
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
Artwork
  • Moses Sumney – art direction
  • Julian Gross – art direction, design
  • Eric Gyamfi – photography