Truth Is a Beautiful Thing


Truth Is a Beautiful Thing is the second studio album by English indie pop band London Grammar. It was released on 9 June 2017 by the trio's imprint Metal & Dust and Ministry of Sound.

Singles

"Rooting for You" was released as the album's lead single on 1 January 2017. It peaked at number 58 on the UK Singles Chart. The album's second single, "Big Picture", was released on 1 February 2017, reaching number 73 on the UK Singles Chart. "Truth Is a Beautiful Thing" was released as the third single on 24 March 2017. "Oh Woman Oh Man" was released as the fourth single on 21 April 2017, peaking at number 85 on the UK Singles Chart. On 11 August 2017, "Non Believer" was sent to UK contemporary hit radio as the album's fifth single. The album's sixth and final single, "Hell to the Liars", was released on 10 November 2017.

Critical reception

Truth Is a Beautiful Thing received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Praise was directed at the album's atmospheric production and Hannah Reid's emotive vocals, while some critics felt that the record lacked musical variety and progression from the band's debut album, If You Wait.
The album holds a score of 68/100 on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews" based on 17 critics' reviews. Scott Dransfield of Under the Radar, praised the album for being an "album-length exploration of mood, or a collection of self-contained songs, than it is a flowing, conceptual, capital-A album." The Guardian awarded the album three out of five stars, commending its "cinematic and grand" production but criticizing it for being too uniform in tone. NME also gave the album four stars, stating that while London Grammar ability to craft ethereal soundscapes, but criticized the album for lacking to connect with its lyrics stating "They're not exactly expected to diss Cameron in a thunderous, anti-Brexit, but they could still say more, or go beyond a default of singing about the complex ups and downs of relationships." The Arts Desk was more critical, giving the album two out of five stars, describing it as having "dumped many of the elements that made If You Wait really shine and instead find themselves fishing around for inspiration and trying on a fair few ill-fitting hats for size."
Conversely, AllMusic rated the album three and a half stars out of five, praising its lush production and Reid's vocal performance, while The Independent rated it three stars, highlighting the lyrical themes, but stated "listeners may experience déjà vu."

Commercial performance

Truth Is a Beautiful Thing debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 43,403 copies, including 2,780 from sales-equivalent streams.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of Truth Is a Beautiful Thing.

London Grammar

  • Hannah Reid – vocals ; piano
  • Daniel Rothman – guitars
  • Dot Major – drums, programming ; piano ; Rhodes

    Additional musicians

  • Paul Epworth – drums, programming ; additional programming
  • Greg Kurstin – piano, Mellotron, Chamberlin, Orchestron, Juno-60
  • Wil Malone – string arrangements, string conducting
  • Lucie Švehlová – concertmaster
  • City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra – strings
  • Myriot – additional programming

    Technical

  • Jan Holzner – string recording
  • London Grammar – production ; mixing
  • Paul Epworth – production
  • Jon Hopkins – production, mixing
  • Myriot – production ; co-production ; additional vocal production ; additional production
  • Greg Kurstin – production, engineering
  • Ben Baptie – production ; mixing ; additional engineering
  • Simon Askew – production
  • Tom Elmhirst – vocal production; vocal mixing ; mixing
  • Brandon Bost – mix assistance
  • Andy Menhenitt – mix assistance ; engineering assistance
  • Matt Wiggins – mixing ; engineering
  • Joseph Hartwell Jones – engineering
  • Riley MacIntyre – additional engineering ; engineering
  • Joe Visciano – engineering for mix
  • Manon Grandjean – engineering ; vocal recording
  • Luke Pickering – engineering assistance
  • Alex Pasco – engineering
  • Julian Burg – engineering
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Kevin Tuffy – mastering

    Artwork

  • Eliot Lee Hazel – cover photo
  • Alexandra Waespi – inside photos
  • Harry Hall – inside photos
  • Leif Podhajsky – creative direction, layout

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Belgian Albums 63
Belgian Albums 194

Chart Position
Belgian Albums 181

Certifications

Release history