Pianoworks


Pianoworks is the tenth studio album by American ambient artist Matthew Cooper under the moniker Eluvium. The album was released on May 31, 2019, through Temporary Residence and consists solely of piano compositions. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Background

Pianoworks is Eluvium's first solo studio album since Shuffle Drones, and his first solo piano album since An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death. The album was inspired by "the quiet thoughts and solitary observations of children."

Release

The standard edition of the album comes in CD and 2LP formats, while the deluxe edition comes in 2CD and 3LP formats. The latter comes with the bonus album, titled Pianoworks Vol. 2, which contains solo piano recordings of Eluvium's past compositions.
In conjunction with the album, Eluvium also released the Pianoworks sheet music book, a 76-page performance guide containing transcriptions of every solo piano song in Eluvium's discography.

Critical reception

Fred Thomas of AllMusic stated, "The 13 tracks here are spare, lonely, and muted, played with a sense of remove that suggests both nostalgia and the resurfacing of lost memories." Brian Howe of Pitchfork commented that "The compositions are consummate Eluvium, but the signature childlike wonder is underscored with mature regret and intellect." Ed Whitelock of PopMatters called the album "Eluvium's most immediately accessible record to date." Adam Feibel of Exclaim! commented that "It is thoughtfully composed but, for the most part, emotionally flat, and at times even feels rather metronomic and inhuman." Nathan Stevens of Spectrum Culture called it "a wondrous, welcoming album."
Amy X. Wang of Rolling Stone named Pianoworks the fifth best album of 2019.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.