Hundreds of Days
Hundreds of Days
Main page

Hundreds of Days

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Hundreds of Days

Hundreds of Days is the third studio album by the American harpist Mary Lattimore. It was recorded in California and features a wider instrumental range from her previous solo work. Hundreds of Days was released on May 18, 2018, under Ghostly International, and received positive reviews from critics, who praised Lattimore's instrumentation and sound.

Hundreds of Days originated during Lattimore's residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin County, California. Lattimore wanted to expand her instrumental range from her previous work, so along with the harp, her primary instrument, she played piano, synthesizers, and electric guitar on it. Lattimore admitted that she was not experienced in playing these other instruments when she started recording Hundreds of Days. She recorded the album in a redwood barn that was also in Marin County, as she felt more comfortable to experiment with her music in a secluded setting. During breaks in recording, Lattimore enjoyed hiking and reading. When writing the album's songs, she thought about her time living in Philadelphia prior to moving to California. Although she enjoyed living in California, she stilled missed Philadelphia and wanted to write songs as a means to help remember her time there.

"It Feels like Floating", the first track of Hundreds of Days, opens with a harp melody, with vocals and Moog synthesizers being added throughout the track's duration. "Never Saw Him Again" features sporadic drum sounds and "lengthy organ chords" Critics described the harp in "Baltic Birch" as having a dark sound, with the harp's strumming being complemented by "electric guitar flourishes". "Baltic Birch" also includes pitch-affecting delay effects, and was reportedly inspired by viewing "failed vacation towns along the Latvian coast". "Hello from the Edge of the Earth" features a harp melody "accenting cascading electronic hums". "Their Faces Filled With Light And Streaked With Pity" contains a harp melody accompanied by "washy guitars". According to Lattimore's publicist, the track's title came from Denis Johnson's short story collection Jesus' Son. "On the Day You Saw the Dead Whale" features a piano and harp playing together backed by synthesizers. The track's title was inspired by Lattimore seeing a dead whale beached on a shore. "Wind Carries Seed" was added as a bonus track.

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Hundreds of Days received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 9 critic scores.. Paul Simpson of AllMusic wrote that "Hundreds of Days finds Lattimore gracefully adapting to her new surroundings, adding new dimensions to her sound but keeping its dreaminess and sentimentality intact". Daniel Sylvester wrote in an Exclaim! review that "what makes Hundreds of Days such a engrossing listen lies in the way Mary Lattimore flawlessly combines both mood and mode". Ben Devlin of MusicOMH noted Hundreds of Days's "tranquil quality" and wrote that despite the "muddy" bass sound, "the mix is on the whole clear and pristine". In a Pitchfork review, Kevin Lozano praised the use of different instruments, stating that "By adding these new sounds to her trusty harp and looping pedals, [Lattimore has] expanded the possibilities of her music. The six songs on Hundreds of Days are the best she’s recorded so far". Jared Skinner of PopMatters considered Hundreds of Days to "perhaps [be Lattimore's] best work to date. It is at once expansive and sprawling while retaining Lattimore’s signature feeling of impassioned intimacy".

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.