Girl with No Face is the third studio album by Canadian avant-pop singer Allie X, released on February 23, 2024, by Twin Music and distributed by AWAL. The album was nearly entirely written and produced by Allie X during the four years following her previous studio album Cape God (2020) and received acclaim from music critics.
| Girl with No Face | ||||
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 Standard edition cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 23, 2024 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:32 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Allie X | |||
| Allie X chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Girl with No Face | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Deluxe edition cover | ||||
Background and composition
editOn February 21, 2020, Allie X released her second studio album, Cape God and intended to embark on a concert tour to promote it. After the COVID-19 lockdowns forced her to postpone the concerts,[5] she began working on the album in the summer of the same year.[6] Allie X first announced the album in Rolling Stone on November 16, 2023, describing it as "aggressive, indulgent and bold." On the creation of the album the singer said, "I'm not going to be trying to please anyone else, because there's literally no one else in this room. I may have created something that's completely off-trend here, but it's definitely something that I enjoy." The album's title, cover, and music videos allude to an overarching theme of identity, with Allie X saying "I feel like there was a sort of death that happened, like an erasure of maybe previous identities, and rather than emerging with a fully-formed new identity, I feel like I'm still in progress, I'm figuring it out. I like the idea that masks are flexible in that way. They're a protection. I'm starting to think that maybe that's the way that I want to go through life."[7]
The album features a synthesizer-heavy retro pop sound inspired by the 1980s and late 1970s, with comparisons drawn to Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Cocteau Twins, Blondie, Vince Clarke, Kate Bush, Madonna, Kraftwerk, a-Ha, The Human League, The B-52s, and Talking Heads.[8][7][9][10] Synth-pop features prominently on songs like "Weird World" "Truly Dreams", "John and Jonathan",[9][10] while "Hardware/Software" and "Truly Dreams" explore new wave and disco, respectively.[10][3]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100[11] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [12] |
| DIY |  [3] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[9] |
| Slant Magazine | [10] |
Upon release, Girl with No Face was met with acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 85, based on seven reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[11]
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung declared that the album was, "Heavy on the '80s influence, it's both nostalgic and futuristic, placing Allie X into the sonic tradition that she used for inspiration. A revelatory experience that's somehow been hidden within her all these years, Girl with No Face is a bold reclamation of artistic self from a thrilling pop auteur."[12] DIY writer Otis Robinson described the album as, "Like a thespian Transylvanian vampire in leathery gay bars, on third album Girl With No Face, Allie X careens through ghoulish '80s glam rock, weaving together sounds of the analogue, the synthetic and the theatrical: an energetic retrospection to digest all the mundane, vulgar, maddening and unsettling future contemporaneity she faces".[3] Tom Kingsley of The Line of Best Fit praised the albums retro 80s sound, writing that "Pastiche is a risk for many artists, but for Hughes it's an opportunity, giving her unsettling, shape-shifting persona full command" and that "If Cape God felt like Hughes beginning to create her own universe, Girl with No Face marks her apotheosis as her deity."[9]
In the review for Slant Magazine, Dana Poland compared the album to Hughes' previous releases; " Almost every song on Girl with No Face was written and produced by Hughes, and this creative autonomy gives the album a personal touch that past releases like 2017's CollXtion II lacked. The songs here are imbued with an obvious newfound strength and confidence.[10]
The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.[13]
Track listing
editCredits adapted from Apple Music.[14]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Weird World" | Alexandra Hughes | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Girl with No Face" |
| 4:23 |
| 3. | "Off with Her Tits" | Hughes | 3:16 |
| 4. | "John and Jonathan" |
| 4:22 |
| 5. | "Galina" | Hughes | 4:30 |
| 6. | "Hardware Software" | Hughes | 2:28 |
| 7. | "Black Eye" |
| 4:32 |
| 8. | "You Slept on Me" | Hughes | 4:11 |
| 9. | "Saddest Smile" | Hughes | 3:07 |
| 10. | "Staying Power" | Hughes | 4:12 |
| 11. | "Truly Dreams" |
| 4:33 |
| Total length: | 43:32 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Bon Voyage" |
| 3:24 |
| 13. | "Galina" (featuring Empress Of) | Hughes | 4:30 |
| 14. | "Our Lady of Sorrows" |
| 4:43 |
| 15. | "Weird World" (featuring Vestron Vulture) | Hughes | 2:56 |
| 16. | "Off with Her Tits" (featuring TR/ST) | Hughes | 3:14 |
| 17. | "Staying Power" (featuring Dionnysuss) | Hughes | 2:39 |
| 18. | "Weird World" (featuring Sidewalks and Skeletons) | Hughes | 3:47 |
| 19. | "Bon Voyage" (Portuguese Version) | Hughes | 3:26 |
| 20. | "Truly Dreams" (featuring Slowz) | Hughes | 4:29 |
| 21. | "Galina" (Piano Version) | Hughes | 4:24 |
Notes
- On physical copies of the album, "Hardware Software" is stylized as "Hardware/Software".
Personnel
editCredits adapted from Apple Music.[14]
- Allie X – lead vocals, production
- George Pimentel – electric guitar (1, 2, 4–11)
- Lecomte de Brégeot – production (4)
- Justin Meldal-Johnsen – additional production
- Mike Schuppan – engineering
- Tony Hoffer – mixing
- Dave Cooley – mastering
- Marcus Cooper – photography[15]
Charts
edit| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] | 78 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[17] | 13 |
References
edit- ^ "Allie x - Girl With No Face". Sputnik. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Eustis, Nick (March 8, 2024). "Girl With No Face by Allie X". Medium. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Robinson, Otis. "Allie X - Girl with No Face review". DIY. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Ortiz, Heidi (March 25, 2024). "Album review: Girl With No Face by Allie X". The Tacoma Ledger. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Molamphy, Paul (March 13, 2020). "Allie X Talks Cape God, Her Headlining Tour, and Embracing a Transitional Moment". Quest. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- ^ Magnocavallo, Fabio (February 21, 2024). "Girl With No Face: Allie X Interview". EUPHORIA. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Mier, Tomás (November 16, 2023). "Allie X Is Tearing Up Her Sound and Going Back to the Eighties". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ McHugh, George (February 24, 2024). "Allie X - Girl With No Face". Retro Pop. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Kingsley, Tom (February 19, 2024). "Allie X: Girl with No Face review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Poland, Dana (February 18, 2024). "Allie X Girl with No Face Review: Giving Voice to the Voiceless". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "Allie X - Girl with No Face". Metacritic. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Yeung, Neil Z. "Allie X - Girl with No Face". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Polaris Music Prize long list: the Beaches, Tobi, Elisapie, Beverly Glenn-Copeland and more". CBC Music, June 11, 2024.
- ^ a b Girl With No Face by Allie X on Apple Music, February 23, 2024, retrieved March 4, 2024
- ^ "Girl With No Face, by Allie X". Allie X. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2024.