Split is the third studio album by English rock band Lush, released on 4AD on 13 June 1994 in the United Kingdom and a day later in the US. Two commercial singles were released from the album: "Desire Lines" and "Hypocrite", both released on 30 May 1994. Split was reissued by 4AD on CD in July 2001.
| Split | ||||
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| Studio album by Lush | ||||
| Released | 13 June 1994 | |||
| Recorded | October–December 1993 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre |
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| Length | 52:06 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer |
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| Lush chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Split | ||||
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Lush chose to work with producer Mike Hedges because they "loved" his work on Sulk by the Associates, A Kiss in the Dreamhouse by Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Seventeen Seconds by the Cure, according to Miki Berenyi.[1] They first recorded at Rockfield in Wales and then mixed at Hedges's house in France, but as Phil King remembered it, "it sounded as flat as a pancake, no dynamics at all".[1] They finally decided to have the entire album remixed by Alan Moulder, because he had already worked with My Bloody Valentine and Ride. Berenyi's verdict was positive, "Alan was brilliant".[1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] |
| NME | 6/10[4] |
| Pitchfork | 8.2/10[5] |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Select | 2/5[7] |
Select's Roy Wilkinson gave the album a negative review, describing it as "mid-paced stuff, fitting between melancholy and listlessness".[7] The review went on to state, "There's nothing wrong with a dose of heavyweight introspection per se. But a pretty deft touch is needed to translate it movingly to the recording studio".[7]
In a retrospective review, Andy Kellman, writing for AllMusic, was far more positive: "Split touches on most forms of emotional turbulence. A legitimizing stunner, the record prevented the band from being lost amidst the bunker of form-over-function dream pop bands. Split shattered every negative aspect of those failed acts with flying colors. A fantastic record within any realm."[2] In 2018, Pitchfork ranked the album at number 27 on its list of "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums".[8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Light from a Dead Star" | Miki Berenyi | 3:15 |
| 2. | "Kiss Chase" | Berenyi | 3:17 |
| 3. | "Blackout" | Emma Anderson | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Hypocrite" | Berenyi | 2:53 |
| 5. | "Lovelife" | Anderson | 3:56 |
| 6. | "Desire Lines" | Anderson | 7:37 |
| 7. | "The Invisible Man" | Anderson | 2:14 |
| 8. | "Undertow" | Berenyi | 4:57 |
| 9. | "Never-Never" | Anderson | 8:04 |
| 10. | "Lit Up" | Anderson | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Starlust" |
| 4:32 |
| 12. | "When I Die" | Anderson | 4:17 |
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 13 June 1994 | 4AD | CD | CAD 4011 CD |
| LP | CAD 4011 | |||
| Cassette | CAD C 4011 | |||
| United States | 14 June 1994 | 4AD/Reprise | CD | 9 45578-2 |
| Japan | 1 July 1994 | Nippon Columbia | CD | COCY-78078 |
| Japan | 20 March 1996 | Nippon Columbia | CD (reissue) | COCY-80093 |
| United Kingdom | 2 July 2001 | 4AD | CD (reissue) | GAD 4011 CD |
Lush
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[9] | 19 |
| US Billboard 200[10] | 195 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[11] | 3 |
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