Love Is Dead (Kerli album)
Encyclopedia
Love Is Dead is the debut studio album
by Estonian recording artist Kerli. It was released in the United States on July 8, 2008 by Island Records
. The album peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Heatseekers Albums
chart, which measures the popularity of albums by new artists. It also reached #126 on the Billboard 200
and the top spot on the Estionian Albums Chart.
, electronic
, gothic metal
, and trip hop
. Kerli wrote the album in over five years. During an interview with entertainment website andPOP, she mentioned the album's subject:
raved that the album is "more than just 'alternative music;' it's alternative art. Kerli's vision extends far beyond the notes recorded on her CD, and that's instantly apparent from her twisted fairytale aesthetic." Heather Phares of Allmusic concluded that "despite its faults, it is one of the most unique albums released by a major label in 2008." About.com
's Ben Norman agreed, stating that it is "one of the best and most unique major label offerings of 2008, and hardly something to miss. With Kerli's emergence into the dance scene, I predict that this is the album to watch." Slant Magazine
reviewer Sal Cinquemani complimented the album's first three tracks, "Love Is Dead", "Walking on Air
", and "The Creationist", commenting that "they display enough diversity and musical savvy, if not actual talent, to warrant an endorsement", but criticized songs like "Creepshow" ("over-the-top") and "Butterfly Cry" ("plodding"). He also added that "[t]he formulas employed throughout Love Is Dead are often trite but the undeniable excitement and awe with which she approaches them is just as frequently refreshing."
Christy Grosz from the Los Angeles Times
wrote that "[a]lthough her songs occasionally feature the alto
piano of Apple
or the otherworldly trilling of Morissette
or Björk
, her voice can sound thin and inconsistent, giving the whole thing a somewhat derivative feel" and that "a little more creepiness would give Kerli the edge that her appearance advertises." In his review for Blender
, Andrew Harrison noted that "Love Is Deads gothic gray walls of riff and throbbing drum machines are convincing enough, and Kerli has clearly lived a tough old life so far. Unfortunately, it translates into kohl
-eyed pantomime
, rather than cathartic
music, with lyrics so hopelessly trite they sound like a feel-good tract for preschoolers." Vail Daily
s Charlie Owen felt that the album "reveals Kerli's talent but sounds more like she's trying to find a direction than blazing a trail."
in the United States, selling 5,500 copies in its first week. It also entered at number three on the Top Heatseekers
chart (peaking at number two two weeks later) and peaked at number 141 on the Top Digital Albums chart. With this, Kerli is the first Estonian artist to chart on the Billboard 200, where the album spent four weeks before dropping off. Despite having four single releases, the only song that made any impact on the charts was "Walking on Air". Sales of the album were considered a disappointment in the U.S.; however, Kerli has already moved on to record her second album (due to be released in 2011) with support of her record label. To date, Love Is Dead has sold 67,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan
.
" was released on April 8, 2008. It was moderately successful in some countries, peaking at number 1 in Estonia, 25 in Germany and 37 in Swizterland. This was the only single from the album to chart in any major markets. A music video was released on 19 May 2008.
"Love Is Dead" was the first promotional single released by Kerli, and was released as a single on September 23, 2008. The song was released as a CD single
after a digital
release. The song received positive reviews saying that the song sounded like Army of Me
by singer Björk
. The song did not chart in any countries, though a music video was released.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Estonian recording artist Kerli. It was released in the United States on July 8, 2008 by Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. The album peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Heatseekers Albums
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart, which measures the popularity of albums by new artists. It also reached #126 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and the top spot on the Estionian Albums Chart.
Background and writing
The album, musically, mixes different styles of music throughout the record, such as alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
, and trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
. Kerli wrote the album in over five years. During an interview with entertainment website andPOP, she mentioned the album's subject:
Release
Originally due to be released in April 2008, the album was pushed back to July 29 and then pushed up to July 8. It eventually gained a wider European release in 2009 with a release in Italy in February, in Germany in April, and in Austria and Ireland in summer 2009.Critical reception
Love Is Dead received positive to mixed reviews from music critics. Rick Florino of ArtistdirectARTISTdirect
Founded in 1994, Artistdirect, Inc. is an online digital media entertainment company. It owns several websites including Artistdirect.com, UBL.com and the Artistdirect Network...
raved that the album is "more than just 'alternative music;' it's alternative art. Kerli's vision extends far beyond the notes recorded on her CD, and that's instantly apparent from her twisted fairytale aesthetic." Heather Phares of Allmusic concluded that "despite its faults, it is one of the most unique albums released by a major label in 2008." About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's Ben Norman agreed, stating that it is "one of the best and most unique major label offerings of 2008, and hardly something to miss. With Kerli's emergence into the dance scene, I predict that this is the album to watch." Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
reviewer Sal Cinquemani complimented the album's first three tracks, "Love Is Dead", "Walking on Air
Walking on Air
"Walking on Air" is a song performed by Estonian singer-songwriter Kerli. It is the second official single from her debut album, Love Is Dead . It was originally featured on her now out of print self-titled EP . It is written by Kerli and Lester Mendez and produced by Mendez...
", and "The Creationist", commenting that "they display enough diversity and musical savvy, if not actual talent, to warrant an endorsement", but criticized songs like "Creepshow" ("over-the-top") and "Butterfly Cry" ("plodding"). He also added that "[t]he formulas employed throughout Love Is Dead are often trite but the undeniable excitement and awe with which she approaches them is just as frequently refreshing."
Christy Grosz from the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote that "[a]lthough her songs occasionally feature the alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
piano of Apple
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Apple met international acclaim for her 1996 debut album, Tidal, which was a critical and commercial success...
or the otherworldly trilling of Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
or Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, her voice can sound thin and inconsistent, giving the whole thing a somewhat derivative feel" and that "a little more creepiness would give Kerli the edge that her appearance advertises." In his review for Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
, Andrew Harrison noted that "Love Is Deads gothic gray walls of riff and throbbing drum machines are convincing enough, and Kerli has clearly lived a tough old life so far. Unfortunately, it translates into kohl
Kohl (cosmetics)
Kohl is an ancient eye cosmetic. It was made by grinding galena and other ingredients. It is widely used in South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of West Africa to darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes...
-eyed pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
, rather than cathartic
Catharsis
Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...
music, with lyrics so hopelessly trite they sound like a feel-good tract for preschoolers." Vail Daily
Vail Daily
The Vail Daily is a free, 15,000 circulation newspaper in Eagle County, Colorado, published seven days a week. The Vail Daily is distributed in stores, coffee shops, restaurants, bars and workplaces and also has a comprehensive online website. The Vail Daily covers the Colorado communities of...
s Charlie Owen felt that the album "reveals Kerli's talent but sounds more like she's trying to find a direction than blazing a trail."
Chart performance
The album debuted at number 126 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in the United States, selling 5,500 copies in its first week. It also entered at number three on the Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart (peaking at number two two weeks later) and peaked at number 141 on the Top Digital Albums chart. With this, Kerli is the first Estonian artist to chart on the Billboard 200, where the album spent four weeks before dropping off. Despite having four single releases, the only song that made any impact on the charts was "Walking on Air". Sales of the album were considered a disappointment in the U.S.; however, Kerli has already moved on to record her second album (due to be released in 2011) with support of her record label. To date, Love Is Dead has sold 67,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
.
Singles
The album's first single is called "Love is Dead," which is also the name of the respective album the song is featured on. There is a video on VEVO of it that was put of on November 21, 2009. It has, on August 14, three million views. For the album's second single, "Walking on AirWalking on Air
"Walking on Air" is a song performed by Estonian singer-songwriter Kerli. It is the second official single from her debut album, Love Is Dead . It was originally featured on her now out of print self-titled EP . It is written by Kerli and Lester Mendez and produced by Mendez...
" was released on April 8, 2008. It was moderately successful in some countries, peaking at number 1 in Estonia, 25 in Germany and 37 in Swizterland. This was the only single from the album to chart in any major markets. A music video was released on 19 May 2008.
"Love Is Dead" was the first promotional single released by Kerli, and was released as a single on September 23, 2008. The song was released as a CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
after a digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
release. The song received positive reviews saying that the song sounded like Army of Me
Army of Me
"Army of Me" is a song by Björk, released in 1995 as the first, and leading, single from her second solo album Post. The song also appeared, later in the same year on the soundtrack of Tank Girl as well as in the soundtrack of Sucker Punch in 2011...
by singer Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. The song did not chart in any countries, though a music video was released.
Track listing
- Love Is Dead contains elements of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Rose RoyceRose RoyceRose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...
(written by Miles Gregory)
Charts
| Chart (2008/2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
61 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Wallonia) |
52 |
| Estonian Albums Chart | 1 |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
64 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
92 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
126 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
2 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | July 8, 2008 | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Island Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... |
| Belgium | July 25, 2008 | Universal Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
|
| Italy | February 27, 2009 | ||
| Germany | April 24, 2009 | ||
| Poland | August 7, 2009 |