A Gilded Eternity

A Gilded Eternity
Studio album by
Loop
Released1990
Genre
Length41:41
LabelSituation Two
ProducerLoop
Loop chronology
Fade Out
(1988) 		A Gilded Eternity
(1990) 		Sonancy
(2022)

A Gilded Eternity is the third studio album by the rock band Loop. Released in 1990 on Situation Two, it was a commercial success, topping the UK Indie Charts (as their previous album Fade Out had done) and reaching #39 on the official UK album charts.

Music

By A Gilded Eternity, Loop "had mostly excised the 1960s Technicolor psychedelia that had defined their debut, Heaven's End, leaving only a molten orange lava of layered space rock that was entirely all their own", according to Brainwashed's Creaig Dunton.[3] NME journalist Chris Parkin called A Gilded Eternity "primal and loud, with sharp, nasty edges that nod towards the precise machine-rock of Can and Sonic Youth's maniacal guitar wailings".[1] Julian Marszalek of The Quietus found that the album nonetheless demonstrated that "there was far more to Loop than bludgeoning riffs and cranking up the gain control", describing it as "a collection of hypnotic mantras, tracks that used repetition deliberately and methodically to induce a trance-like state."[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Blurt6/10[6]
The Line of Best Fit78%[7]
NME8/10[8]
PopMatters9/10[9]
Record Collector[10]
Record Mirror4/5[11]
Sounds[12]

In a contemporary review for NME, Edwin Pouncey commented that "Loop hammer out a magnificent hypno-beat", characterising A Gilded Eternity as "acid house-style free form rock" suitable "for dancing to as well as listening intently to".[8] Simon Reynolds was less impressed in Melody Maker, declaring the album "a disappointment" and "more of the same" from Loop, "only less so."[13]

Head Heritage reviewer Fwump Bungle wrote in retrospect that A Gilded Eternity showed Loop "at their highest point" with a more rock-oriented sound that distinguished the band's music from that of the shoegaze movement.[14]

Track listing

The original LP release (SITU 27) consisted of two 12" discs, played at 45rpm:

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Vapour"6:08
2."Afterglow"5:09
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."The Nail Will Burn"4:51
2."Blood"5:30
Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Breathe Into Me"4:37
2."From Centre to Wave"6:01
Side D
No.TitleLength
1."Be Here Now"9:29
Total length:41:41

The original CD release (SITU 27 CD) contained ten tracks:

No.TitleLength
1."Vapour"6:07
2."Afterglow"5:08
3."The Nail Will Burn"4:51
4."Blood"5:29
5."Breathe Into Me"4:37
6."From Centre to Wave"6:00
7."Be Here Now"9:28
8."Shot With A Diamond"5:16
9."The Nail Will Burn (Burn Out)"4:49
10."Arc-Lite (Sonar)"4:28
Total length:56:13

Charts

Year Chart Position
1990 UK Indie Chart 1
1990 UK Albums Chart 39[15]

References

  1. ^ a b Parkin, Chris (19 May 2009). "Album review: Loop – 'A Gilded Eternity'". NME. Archived from the original on 30 December 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b Sentz, Tim (25 March 2022). "Album Review: Loop – Sonancy". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  3. ^ Dunton, Creaig (26 July 2009). "Loop, 'A Gilded Eternity'". Brainwashed. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. ^ Marszalek, Julian (8 June 2009). "Loop". The Quietus. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ^ Kellman, Andy. "A Gilded Eternity – Loop". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. ^ Mills, Fred (2 November 2012). "Loop – Heaven's End; The World In Your Eyes; Fade Out; A Gilded Eternity". Blurt. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  7. ^ Rueben, Simon (21 May 2009). "Loop – The World In Your Eyes & A Gilded Eternity (Expanded)". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b Pouncey, Edwin (20 January 1990). "New Gold Dream". NME. p. 22.
  9. ^ Mathers, Ian (20 November 2012). "Loop: Heaven's End / Fade Out / A Gilded Eternity / The World in Your Eyes". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Loop: A Gilded Eternity". Record Collector. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  11. ^ Crook, Darren (27 January 1990). "Loop: A Gilded Eternity". Record Mirror. p. 18.
  12. ^ Spencer, Mr (20 January 1990). "The way we wah wah". Sounds. p. 27.
  13. ^ Reynolds, Simon (20 January 1990). "Gilt Free". Melody Maker. p. 28.
  14. ^ Bungle, Fwump (11 July 2000). "Loop – A Gilded Eternity". Head Heritage. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  15. ^ "LOOP | full Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 4 September 2022.