Ouroboros (Ray LaMontagne album)

Ouroboros
An image of the Moon in red, surrounded by a ring of light.
Studio album by
Ray LaMontagne
ReleasedMarch 4, 2016 (2016-03-04)
RecordedFebruary 2015
StudioLa La Land, Louisville, Kentucky, United States[1]
GenrePsychedelic rock
Length39:37
LabelRCA
ProducerJim James
Ray LaMontagne chronology
Supernova
(2014) 		Ouroboros
(2016) 		Part of the Light
(2018)
Singles from Ouroboros
  1. "Hey, No Pressure"
    Released: January 20, 2016
  2. "The Changing Man" / "While It Sill Beats"
    Released: July 1, 2016

Ouroboros is the sixth studio album by Ray LaMontagne, released on March 4, 2016. It features My Morning Jacket's frontman Jim James, who also produced the record.[1] Lead single "Hey, No Pressure" debuted online on January 20, 2016.[2] The rest of My Morning Jacket, minus James, joined LaMontagne on the road for the album's release tour.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80⁄100 (10 reviews)[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
American Songwriter[6]
Drowned in Sound8⁄10[7]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Ouroboros received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 10 critic scores.[4] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Marcy Donelson writing that this "is a deliberate work of album rock".[5] Writing for American Songwriter, Lee Zimmerman scored this release 4 out of 5, calling it "one of the more challenging major label efforts released this year".[6] At Drowned in Sound, Haydon Spenceley gave this album an 8 out of 10, cautioning listeners that "it's so different from the majority of [LaMontagne's] previous output that it might take some time to truly get to grips with".[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Ray LaMontagne.

Part One

  1. "Homecoming" – 8:28
  2. "Hey, No Pressure" – 6:34
  3. "The Changing Man" – 4:13
  4. "While It Still Beats" – 4:10

Part Two

  2. "In My Own Way" – 6:36
  3. "Another Day" – 3:05
  4. "A Murmuration of Starlings" – 2:33
  5. "Wouldn't It Make a Lovely Photograph" – 3:58

Personnel

  • Ray LaMontagne – vocals (1–6, 8), electric guitar (2, 3, 4, 5, 7), acoustic guitar (1, 2, 5, 6, 8)
  • Dan Dorff – CP70 (1, 3–8), RMI (1, 3, 4, 5, 7), piano (1, 3, 4), vibes (1, 7), Mellotron (3, 4), Trident synthesizer (3, 7), Multivox piano (2), Juno (2), pump organ (5), pocket piano (7)
  • Meghan Foley – art direction, design
  • Anne Gauthier – assistant
  • Dave Givan – drums, percussion (1–5, 7, 8)
  • Jim James – electric guitar (2, 3, 4, 5, 7), background vocals (2, 3, 4, 5), saxophone (2), Juno (2), Trident synthesizer (7)
  • Seth Kaufman – bass (1–5, 7, 8), meditation box (1, 5, 6, 7), electric guitar textures (1, 2), slide guitar (2)
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Alexis Marsh – background vocals (3, 4)
  • Kevin Ratterman – Moog bass (5, 7), piano strings (1), pocket piano (2), Moog F/X (6)
  • Brian Stowell – photography

Charts

Sales chart performance of Ouroboros
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] 130
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11] 13
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 22
Irish Albums (IRMA)[13] 54
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 49
US Billboard 200[15] 13

References

  1. ^ a b Vain, Madison (January 8, 2016). "Inside Ray LaMontagne's Sessions with Jim James for His New Album". Entertainment Weekly. Time, Inc.
  2. ^ Vain, Madison (January 20, 2016). "Ray LaMontagne Shares 'Hey, No Pressure' Off New Album". Entertainment Weekly. Time, Inc.
  3. ^ "Ray LaMontagne & Members Of My Morning Jacket Bring Ouroboros Tour To Boston - Review, Setlist & Photos". Jambase.com. June 27, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Ouroboros by Ray LaMontagne Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Donelson, Marcy (n.d.). "Ouroboros – Ray LaMontagne". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Zimmerman, Lee (March 4, 2016). "Ray LaMontagne: Ouroboros". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Haydon, Spenceley (March 10, 2016). "Album Review: Ray LaMontagne – Ouroboros". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Ray LaMontagne – Ouroboros". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ray LaMontagne – Ouroboros" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ray LaMontagne – Ouroboros" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  11. ^ "Ray LaMontagne Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Ray LaMontagne – Ouroboros" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  13. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 10, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  15. ^ "Ray LaMontagne Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2016.