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Before Love Came to Kill Us is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez.[4] It was released on March 27, 2020, by FMLY and Island Records.[5] The record was prefaced with the singles "Figures", "Imported" with 6lack, and "Love in the Dark", and the promotional single "Ankles".[6][7] A deluxe edition with three additional songs was made available digitally on April 9, 2020.[8] A super deluxe edition of the album was released on September 25, 2020.[9]
Critical reception[edit]
Professional ratingsMetacritic | 82/100[10] |
AllMusic | |
Clash | 8/10[12] |
Exclaim! | 9/10[13] |
NME | |
The Guardian | |
Pitchfork | 6.8/10[16] |
The Telegraph | |
Tom Hull – on the Web | B+
( |
Before Love Came to Kill Us was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on nine reviews.[10]
For AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote that "Although it's all over the place, Before Love Came to Kill Us radiates conviction from front to back, and is without doubt a true representation of its creator."[11] Exclaim!'s Ryan B. Patrick affirms that the album "has been built to last" and is "one of the better albums in an already interesting 2020."[13] Rhian Daly of NME called it "heart-stoppingly good" and a "beautiful, heart-wrenching debut that sees its creator come good on her early promise."[14] Writing for Clash, Narzra Ahmed complimented Reyez's versatility and adjectived the album "an excellent debut".[12] Kathryn St. Asaph of Pitchfork pointed out that the album's genre range works in a "satisfying" way "not because she whizzes across multiple genres, but because of the skill she displays at each".[16] The singer's uniqueness was praised by The Guardian's Kitty Empire, who labeled the tracks as "largely excellent".[15]
The album was shortlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize,[18] and for the Juno Award for Contemporary R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.[19] For the Polaris Music Prize, which followed a unique format of commissioning filmmakers to make short films inspired by the shortlisted albums due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada preventing the staging of a traditional gala, the album's film was directed by Alicia K. Harris.[20]
Track listing[edit]
Standard edition
"Do You Love Her" |
|
| 3:16 |
"Deaf (Who Are You)" |
| Suby | 2:53 |
"Intruders" |
|
| 3:05 |
"Coffin" (featuring Eminem) |
|
| 4:22 |
"Ankles" |
|
| 2:49 |
"Imported" (with 6lack) |
| Hennedub | 3:45 |
"La Memoria" |
|
| 3:18 |
"Same Side" |
| Suby | 3:10 |
"Roof" |
|
| 1:46 |
"Dope" |
| Djupström | 2:38 |
"Before Love Came to Kill Us[A]" |
|
| 4:06 |
"Love in the Dark" |
|
| 3:59 |
"I Do" |
|
| 3:52 |
"Figures" |
|
| 3:58 |
46:57 |
Target edition bonus tracks
"Sugar at Night" | 2:57 | ||
"No One's in the Room" | 4:08 | ||
"Far Away" |
|
| 2:41 |
Before Love Came to Kill Us+
"No One's in the Room" | 4:08 | ||
"Sugar at Night" | 2:57 | ||
"Before Love Came to Kill Us[A]" |
|
| 4:06 |
"Roof" |
|
| 1:46 |
"Coffin" (featuring Eminem) |
|
| 4:22 |
"Worth Saving" |
| Suby | 3:24 |
"I Do" |
|
| 3:52 |
"Intruders" |
|
| 3:05 |
"Ankles" |
|
| 2:49 |
"La Memoria" |
|
| 3:18 |
"Same Side" |
| Suby | 3:10 |
"Figures" |
|
| 3:58 |
"Dope" |
| Djupström | 2:38 |
"Imported" (with 6lack) |
| Hennedub | 3:45 |
"Far Away II" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie and JID) |
|
| 3:35 |
"Do You Love Her" |
|
| 3:16 |
"Love in the Dark" |
|
| 3:59 |
- ^[a] indicates an additional producer
- ^[b] indicates a co-producer
- ^[c] indicates a vocal producer
- The track's titles are stylized in all caps.
Charts[edit]
Release history[edit]
See also[edit]
- List of 2020 albums
Notelist[edit]
- ^ a b The song was initially titled “Kill Us”.
References[edit]
- ^ a b Hull, Tom (April 27, 2020). "Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ Mahalingam, Udit (April 20, 2020). "Jessie Reyez stretches R&B to its limits on Before Love Came To Kill Us". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "Jessie Reyez Tackles Colonialism in Animated 'Intruders' Video | uDiscover". 19 June 2020.
- ^ Bloom, Madison (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (January 21, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Announces Debut Album & Drops Feminist Anthem 'No Sweat'". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ Rowley, Glenn (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Finds 'Love In The Dark' in Sparkling New Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ Murphy, Sarah (January 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Previews Debut Album with "Love in the Dark" Video". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
- ^ a b Hare, Anders (April 9, 2020). "Jessie Reyez Releases Deluxe Edition of 'Before Love Came to Kill Us'". Rated R&B. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ^ a b "Jessie Reyez — BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US+". 25 September 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ a b "Before Love Came To Kill Us by Jessie Reyez". Metacritic. United States: CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Before Love Came to Kill Us - Jessie Reyez". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Ahmed, Narzra. "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came To Kill Us". Clash. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Patrick, Ryan B. (March 27, 2020). "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came to Kill Us". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Daly, Rhian (March 23, 2020). "Jessie Reyez – Before Love Came To Kill Us review: a dheart-wrenching, ferocious and unfiltered debut". NME. Bandlab Technologies. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Empire, Kitty (March 21, 2020). "Jessie Reyez: Before Love Came to Kill Us review – an outrageously fine debut". The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Asaph, Kathryn St. (April 2, 2020). "Jessie Reyez: Before Love Came to Kill Us". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (March 27, 2020). "The best new albums to stream this week, from Pearl Jam to Childish Gambino". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ Allie Gregory (July 15, 2020). "Here's the Polaris Music Prize 2020 Short List". Exclaim!.
- ^ Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021.
- ^ Richard Trapunski, "Polaris Music Prize 2020: Backxwash’s victory is for the unapologetic". Now, October 20, 2020.
- ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ "Top Albums (Week 14, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "Jessie Reyez Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ "Jessie Reyez Official Shop". Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ^ "Jessie Reyez - Before Love Came To Kill Us (Target Exclusive, CD)". Target. Retrieved April 4, 2020.