Mint (album)
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| Studio album by Alice Merton | |||||||||||
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Publication |
18th January 2019 |
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| Label (s) | Paper planes | ||||||||||
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
38:11 |
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Nicolas Rebscher, Alice Merton |
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Studio (s) |
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Mint is the first studio album by the German musician Alice Merton . The album was released on January 18, 2019 via its own label Paper Planes.
Emergence
Work on the album began in 2016. Since Alice Merton did not yet have a sufficient number of songs, the EP No Roots was released on February 3, 2017 , on which the two songs No Roots and Lash Out , also used on the album, appeared. The album was originally due to be released in autumn 2018. This date had to be postponed due to the success of the single No Roots and the associated longer tour. Merton used the time on tour to form her thoughts into texts. The music on the album was not created on tour, but in the studio.
The album was produced by Nicolas Rebscher and Alice Merton. The song Funny Business was produced by Merton and John Hill. The recordings took place at the end of 2018 in the Funkhaus Nalepastraße in Berlin and took longer than planned. In the USA the album was released on the Mom + Pop Music label . For the songs Why So Serious , funny business and Learn to Live were music videos released. The LP version was released on peppermint flavored vinyl.
background
The album title refers to the mint plant . On the album cover you can see Alice Merton with a mint leaf in her mouth . In an interview, Merton stated that she woke up one day and knew that was the name of the album. Mint would also help her when she was afraid , e.g. B. in the form of mint tea or chewing gum .
“Mint helps, but only against the symptoms, not against the reasons why these fears plague me. Sometimes they get out of hand, I meditate and think that I should do anxiety therapy. But what always gives me relief is writing songs. "
Learn to Live reflects on the last three years by founding their own record label. In addition, she wishes to be able to live without constantly having to think about the consequences of her actions. The song 2 Kids is about Merton and her fellow student Paul Grauwinkel. Both studied at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg in Mannheim and met at a bus stop. They later moved to Berlin together to start a music career. In Homesick Merton sings about the fact that she doesn't feel homesick for certain places, but rather misses people because she grew up in many different places herself.
I Don't Hold a Grudge is a reckoning with a friend who abandoned Merton at an important time in her life. The only love song on the album is Honeymoon Heartbreak . Trouble in Paradise is about an argument with her producer during the recording. Why So Serious , on the other hand, describes Merton's opinion that people shouldn't take themselves too seriously. Furthermore, the song is a reaction to the many questions asked whether Alice Merton is now a one-hit wonder or whether she is feeling a lot of pressure because of the great success of No Roots .
Track list
| # | title | Author (s) | Producer (s) | length |
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| 1 | Learn to Live | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:56 |
| 2 | 2 kids | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:31 |
| 3 | No roots | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:55 |
| 4th | Funny business | Alice Merton, John Hill | Alice Merton, John Hill | 3:05 |
| 5 | Homesick | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:16 |
| 6th | Lash out | Alice Merton, Dave Bassett | Alice Merton, Dave Bassett | 3:14 |
| 7th | Speak your mind | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:32 |
| 8th | I don't hold a grudge | Alice Merton, Pete Hutchings, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:39 |
| 9 | Honeymoon Heartbreak | Alice Merton, Michelle Leonard, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:23 |
| 10 | Trouble in Paradise | Alice Merton, Tobias Kuhn, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 2:57 |
| 11 | Why So Serious | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | Alice Merton, Nicolas Rebscher | 3:43 |
reception
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Reviews
According to Manuel Berger from laut.de it would be " ignorant to label Alice Merton as a one-hit wonder because of the song No Roots , as she provides almost a dozen counter-arguments with her debut album". With its "diversity and the absolute will to create your own style, Mint forms a good basis on which to build a sustainable career". Elisabeth Woronzoff of the online magazine Pop Matters described Mint as "an electrifying and empowering album that reaffirms Alice Merton's position in pop music and reinforces her strengths as an artist". The only "weak point would be the lyrical clichés ".
For Felix Heinecker from the online magazine Plattentests.de there are "ten fresh pieces on Mint in addition to No Roots , most of which have a rocky element within the pop spectrum and above all have a wonderfully concise bass playing". With less than 39 minutes playing time, the album would be “compact enough not to let you get bored”. However, according to Heinecker, it remains unclear why “a few songs in the 08/15 scheme” follow.
Chart placements
Mint entered the German album charts at number two. In Austria and Switzerland, the album reached number 19 and 21 respectively. The single Why So Serious reached number 66 on the Austrian single charts.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Alice Merton in the Austrian charts. Hung Medien, accessed March 16, 2019 .
- ^ A b Adam Rathe: With "Mint," Alice Merton is About to Have the Breakout Album of 2019. Town & Country, accessed on March 22, 2019 (English).
- ↑ a b Manuel Berger: "The Berlin audience is difficult". laut.de , accessed on March 16, 2019 .
- ^ A b Xavier Voigt-Hill: Alice Merton: “I love slugs! I like how they're really slimy ”. Bopappreciation.com, accessed March 22, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c Steffen Rüth: "I have to trust myself even more." Unicum.de , accessed on March 20, 2019 .
- ^ Robert Fröwein: Alice Merton: Queen of Indie Mainstream Pop. Kronen Zeitung , accessed on March 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Alice Merton - Mint in the German charts. GfK Entertainment , accessed on March 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Alice Merton in the Swiss hit parade. Hung Medien, accessed March 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Manuel Berger: catchy tunes, lurking tragedies, sparkling pop stars. laut.de, accessed on March 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Elizabeth Moron Zoff: Alice Merton Encourages Us to Embrace Joy and fearlessness on 'MINT'. Pop Matters , accessed March 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Felix Heinecker: All right. Plattentests.de, accessed on March 23, 2019 .