Lupercalia (album)
| Lupercalia | ||||
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| Studio album by Patrick Wolf | ||||
| Released | 20 June 2011 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop, indietronica | |||
| Length | 41:05 | |||
| Label | Mercury Records | |||
| Producer | Patrick Wolf | |||
| Patrick Wolf chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Lupercalia | ||||
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| Deluxe Edition cover | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| BBC | (favourable) |
| Digital Spy | |
| Drowned in Sound |   |
| The Independent | |
| The Guardian | |
| The List | |
| NME | |
| Pitchfork Media |  |
| Q Magazine | |
| The Skinny | |
| Slant Magazine |  |
| Sputnikmusic | |
| The Telegraph | |
Lupercalia is the fifth studio album by English-Irish singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf, released on 20 June 2011 by Hideout, a subsidiary of Mercury Records.
Formerly The Conqueror – originally the second part of a double album entitled Battle – the album's title and concept was changed by Wolf in August 2010.
On 4 November 2010, Wolf announced that the first single from the album was to be 'Time of My Life' and the song was posted on YouTube. The second single, entitled "The City", was released 14 March 2011.
On 23 December 2010, Wolf announced via Twitter that, while he had considered multiple album titles, such as 'The Native' and 'Tahina Spectabilis' with fan support he decided on Lupercalia, reflecting the "festival of love" theme of the album.
Speaking to Digital Spy in March 2011, of the album Wolf says:
"There are about four sad, melancholy moments on the album, but in general it's jubilant and about falling deeply in love. It's a really romantic record and it's extremely honest. Every song is a true story and not disguised with the folklore and fairytale that I've been known for in the past."
On why the album is entitled Lupercalia, Wolf says,
"Songs about love are obviously the most common theme in pop music, but I wanted to approach it in a way that hadn't been done before. The title refers to the Lupercalia festival, which is the ancient fertility and love festival that happens around Valentine's Day. I strive to be original – it's one of my biggest ambitions. There can be nothing worse sometimes than a soppy love record – imagine if I'd called it To Love: Patrick Wolf!"
A 7-track bonus disc titled ‘Lemuralia’ was released alongside the album online, containing album tracks in demo stages – it acts as an EP companion to Lupercalia.
Alongside the album's release, Wolf was featured on the cover of national UK publication Notion. The feature included an interview with writer Alex Lee Thomson, clothes by James Long, and photos by James Moriarty.
A preview of "The Bachelor" was released on the Bandstocks website, and later featured on Wolf's MySpace page, entitled "Battle Megamix". The megamix featured two songs not found on The Bachelor (Time of My Life and Together), which now appear on the new album.
The official track listing was confirmed on 21 February 2011.
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Wikipedia