Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides is the debut studio album by Scottish recording artist and producer Sophie, released on 15 June 2018, through Transgressive, Future Classic and her own label, MSMSMSM. According to one source, the title may be a variant spelling of the phrase "I love every person's insides". Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides was met with widespread acclaim by critics and received a nomination for the Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Singles
Three singles have been released off the album—"It's Okay to Cry", "Ponyboy", and "Faceshopping". The first single, "It's Okay to Cry", was a ballad in which Sophie included her own vocals for the first time.The second single, "Ponyboy", was released in December 2017. For its music video, Sophie worked with performance collective FlucT to choreograph "a dramatized ménage à trois". The most recent single, "Faceshopping", deals with gender, beauty, and the body. Its accompanying music video distorts 3D renderings of Sophie's face, intercut with strobing images.
Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a standard rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides received an average score of 86, based on 22 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for Pitchfork, Sasha Geffen praised the album as "sprawling and beautiful, while still keeping the disorienting, latex-pop feel of her fascinating production technique" and said that while Sophie's "early singles exhibited a keen feel for economy and a killer sense of humor, OIL makes a bid for transcendent beauty." Peter Boulos of Exclaim! said, "For all the praise that could be heaped on the bulk of Sophie's output, the best that comes to mind is that it sounds like no one else could have made Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides. This is the kind of music that, in 20 years, we may look back on as a pivotal point in changing the trajectory of the pop music sound."Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Heather Phares compared it favorably to Sophie's preceding release Product, claiming "Sophie is never indecisive as she takes her sounds and concepts to extremes. Where Product felt like a collection of alien pop hits, Oil of Every Pearls Un-Insides abounds with interludes, passages, and major statements that allow her to dig deeper on the album's second half." Joe Rivers of Clash wrote, "Sophie manages to incorporate the personal without detracting from what set her apart in the first place, and it makes for a record that's as affecting as it is thrilling."
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Rank | |
Allmusic | Decade in Review | - | |
Pitchfork | The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s | 74 |
Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
61st Grammy Awards | Best Dance/Electronic Album |
Track listing
All tracks written by Sophie; except tracks 3–5, 8 and 9, co-written by Cecile Believe.Personnel
Music- Sophie – lead vocals, background vocals, writing, production and mixing
- Cecile Believe – lead vocals, background vocals and writing
- Noonie Bao – background vocals
- Banoffee – background vocals
- Nick Harwood - background vocals
- Benny Long – mixing
- Eric Wrenn – art direction
- Charlotte Wales – photography
- Julia Wagner – set design
- Coco Campbell – dress design
- Emily Schubert – design
- B34 – design
- Nick Harwood – creative direction
- Sophie – creative direction
Charts
Release history
Remix album
Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Remix Album is the first remix album by Scottish recording artist and producer Sophie. It features alternative versions and remixes of songs from her debut studio album Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides as well as new songs.The album was announced during a red carpet interview at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. In July 2019, the remix album was released as part of an exclusive 3-CD set limited to 100 copies that includes the dual disc remix album, the original Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides album, as well as a clutch bag featuring its artwork. The remix album was later released as two videos on YouTube on 29 July, and then on digital and streaming platforms on September 6.