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Alternative Light Source

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Alternative Light Source
Studio album by
Released8 June 2015
Genre
Length52:18
LabelInfectious
ProducerNeil Barnes, Adam Wren
Leftfield chronology
Rhythm and Stealth
(1999)
Alternative Light Source
(2015)
This Is What We Do
(2022)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Clash8/10[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[5]
Mojo[6]
musicOMH[7]
The Observer[8]
Record Collector[9]
Release Magazine10/10[10]
Uncut[11]

Alternative Light Source is the third album by the English electronic group Leftfield, released on 8 June 2015. It is the first new material following the band's 1999 album Rhythm and Stealth. It is also the first Leftfield album without Paul Daley, as well as the first since the band's return in 2010.

On 1 June 2015, the album premiere was streamed live on Leftfield's website, coupled with live tweeting about it on the band's Twitter feed with hashtag #leftfieldstream.[12]

Critical reception

[edit]

Nick Annan of Clash said "Alternative Light Source is a worthy successor to Rhythm & Stealth, not as sparse or hard hitting but brimming with energy, ideas and familiar Leftfield diaphragm-rattling bass."[3] Mojo's Stephen Worthy commented that Neil Barnes "meets the challenge" of releasing a followup to Leftfield's previous albums that went platinum, and said that the album, "...aided by a clutch of judicious guest appearances, balances crowd-pleasing festival epics, intense techy workouts and bubbling synth lullabies."[6]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Bad Radio" (featuring Tunde Adebimpe)5:22
2."Universal Everything" (featuring Georgia Barnes)7:06
3."Bilocation" (featuring Channy Leaneagh of Poliça)4:24
4."Head and Shoulders" (featuring Sleaford Mods)5:24
5."Dark Matters"5:02
6."Little Fish" (featuring Channy Leaneagh of Poliça)6:08
7."Storms End"5:00
8."Alternative Light Source"3:16
9."Shaker Obsession"5:22
10."Levitate for You" (featuring Ofei)5:14
Total length:52:18

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 111
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 31
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 74
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 6

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Alternative Light Source by Leftfield". Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Alternative Light Source - Leftfield - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b Annan, Nick (25 June 2015). "Leftfield – Alternative Light Source". Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  4. ^ Dennis, Jon (4 June 2015). "Leftfield: Alternative Light Source review – beauty and ecstasy on 90s dance act's impressive return". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  5. ^ Palmer, Michael (10 June 2015). "Leftfield return and it's like they've never been gone". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b Worthy, Stephen (7 November 2016). "Leftfield – Alternative Light Source". Mojo. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Leftfield – Alternative Light Source - Album Reviews - musicOMH". www.musicomh.com. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  8. ^ Woodcraft, Molloy (7 June 2015). "Leftfield: Alternative Light Source review – a masterpiece of texture". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  9. ^ Smith, Phil (5 June 2015). "Alternative Light Source - Leftfield". Record Collector. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Leftfield – Alternative Light Source". Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  11. ^ "There's shade as well as light, too: Dark Matters is beautiful, its minor-key arpeggios glistening in the twilight."
  12. ^ "TONIGHT: Leftfield to live-stream new album". Never Enough Notes. 1 June 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Leftfield – Alternative Light Source". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Leftfield – Alternative Light Source" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Leftfield – Alternative Light Source" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Leftfield – Alternative Light Source" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Leftfield – Alternative Light Source" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 June 2015.