Chaos Angel
{{Short description|2024 studio album by Maya Hawke}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Chaos Angel
| type = studio
| artist = Maya Hawke
| cover = Chaos Angel.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|2024|05|31}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 35:32
| label = Mom + Pop
| producer = Christian Lee Hutson
| prev_title = Moss
| prev_year = 2022
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Chaos Angel
| type = studio
| single1 = Missing Out
| single1date = February 14, 2024
| single2 = Dark
| single2date = March 20, 2024
| single3 = Hang in There
| single3date = April 24, 2024
}}
}}
Chaos Angel is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter and actress Maya Hawke. It was released on May 31, 2024 via Mom + Pop.
Background
In October 2023, Hawke sung alongside her father Ethan Hawke on a cover of the Willie Nelson song "We Don't Run" from his 1996 album Spirit.{{cite web |last1=Dunworth |first1=Liberty |date=February 15, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke announces new album 'Chaos Angel' with reflective single 'Missing Out' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/maya-hawke-announces-new-album-chaos-angel-with-reflective-single-missing-out-3587971 |website=NME |language=en-GB |access-date=March 5, 2024}}
On February 14, 2024, alongside the debut of single "Missing Out", it was announced that Chaos Angel would be releasing May 31, 2024.{{cite magazine |last1=Paul |first1=Larisha |date=February 14, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke Knows Everything and Nothing at All on New Single 'Missing Out' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/maya-hawke-chaos-angel-album-announcement-single-1234968074/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=May 26, 2024}}
Writing and recording
On Chaos Angel, Hawke reunites with regular contributors Christian Lee Hutson, Benjamin Lazar Davis and Will Graefe who she worked with on Moss. Hawke says that her third LP is an "altogether happier album" than its predecessor Moss. Hawke cited James Blake and Adrianne Lenker as musical influences on Chaos Angel.{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=H. Alan |date=May 24, 2024 |title=For Maya Hawke's New Album 'Chaos Angel,' It's All About the Lyrics |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2024/06/07/maya-hawkes-new-album-chaos-angel-its-all-about-lyrics-1904239.html |website=Newsweek |language=en-US |access-date=May 26, 2024}} Most of Chaos Angel was recorded before Hawke shot the film Wildcat in January and February 2023, except the closing title track that was written and recorded after principal photography on Wildcat had concluded.{{cite web |last1=Parker |first1=Lyndsey |date=May 30, 2024 |title=Music Is in Maya Hawke's Wise Blood |url=https://floodmagazine.com/162622/maya-hawke-chaos-angel-wildcat-digital-cover/ |website=Flood Magazine |language=en-US |access-date=June 2, 2024}}
"Dark" was written when Hawke was experiencing a period of severe anxiety about falling asleep.{{cite web |last1=Walker |first1=Sophie Leigh |date=May 20, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke's necessary acts of chaos |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/maya-hawke-necessary-acts-of-chaos |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US |access-date=May 26, 2024}} With fears that "my brain would forget how to breathe and I would die in my sleep", Hawke saw a doctor who told her that she "had to become okay with dying".{{cite magazine |last1=Madarang |first1=Charisma |date=March 20, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke Calls 'Dark' a 'Cut and Dry' Song About New Love |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/maya-hawke-dark-chaos-angel-1234990915/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=June 2, 2024}} The track's chorus was written before the release of Moss but was set aside as Hawke said it "felt too real to me to finish that song and put it on that record".
Release and promotion
The first single from Chaos Angel to be released was the alt-pop track "Missing Out" on February 14, 2024.{{cite web |last1=Hatfield |first1=Amanda |date=February 14, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke announces new LP 'Chaos Angel,' shares "Missing Out" |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/maya-hawke-announces-new-lp-chaos-angel-shares-missing-out/ |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US |access-date=March 6, 2024}} The track deals with Hawke's experience of living near Brown University where her younger brother attended college. She partied with his classmates in an attempt to capture the formative college experience she never had. She recalled feeling in "a different place in my life than these people I was around".{{cite web |last1=Ackroyd |first1=Stephen |date=February 14, 2024 |title=Maya Hawle Has Announced Her New Album, 'Chaos Angel' |url=https://readdork.com/news/maya-hawke-new-album-chaos-angel/ |website=Dork |language=en-GB |access-date=March 6, 2024}} In a review for Exclaim!, Karlie Rogers called the track "a captivating, dizzying portrait, painted with careful precision".{{cite web |last1=Rogers |first1=Karlie |date=February 16, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke Keeps a Tally of Regrets on "Missing Out" |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/exclaim-staff-picks-maya-hawke-missing-out |website=Exclaim! |language=en-CA |access-date=March 5, 2024}} The music video for "Missing Out" was directed by Alex Ross Perry.{{cite web |last1=Strauss |first1=Matthew |date=February 14, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song "Missing Out": Watch |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/maya-hawke-announces-album-shares-video-for-new-song-missing-out-watch/ |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US |access-date=March 5, 2024}} On February 28, Hawke performed "Missing Out" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.{{cite web |last1=Ragusa |first1=Paolo |date=March 1, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke Performs "Missing Out" on Fallon: Watch |url=https://consequence.net/2024/03/maya-hawke-missing-out-fallon/ |website=Consequence of Sound |language=en-US |access-date=March 5, 2024}}
On March 14, 2024, Hawke announced that the second single to be released from Chaos Angel would be "Dark" on March 20.{{cite web |last1=Jacob |first1=Lola |date=March 14, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke announces new single 'Dark' out next week. |url=https://www.coupdemainmagazine.com/maya-hawke/19627 |website=Coup de Main |language=en-US |access-date=March 18, 2024}}
"Hang In There" was released as the third single from Chaos Angel on April 24, 2024.{{cite web |last1=Garvey |first1=Marianne |date=April 24, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke releases new single ahead of her third album |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/24/entertainment/maya-hawke-hang-in-there/index.html |website=CNN |language=en-US |access-date=May 26, 2024}} The track deals with supporting a friend who has been in a toxic relationship while acknowledging "the restraint required when you can't intervene for fear of being pushed away".{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Tyler Damara |date=April 24, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke supports a friend through a toxic relationship on new single, "Hang In There" |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/maya-hawke-supports-a-friend-through-a-toxic-relationship-on-new-single-hang-in-there |website=The Line of Best Fit |access-date=May 26, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Harrison |first1=Dan |date=April 24, 2024 |title=Maya Hawke Has Shared Her Latest 'Chaos Angel Preview, 'Hang In There' |url=https://readdork.com/news/maya-hawke-single-hang-in-there/ |website=Dork |language=en-GB |access-date=May 26, 2024}} According to Dork, "Hang In There" evokes singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell.
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 81/100{{cite web |title=Chaos Angel by Maya Hawke |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/chaos-angel/maya-hawke |publisher=Metacritic |language=en-US |access-date=June 2, 2024}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/chaos-angel-mw0004222407|title=Chaos Angel by Maya Hawke|last= Donelson|first=Marcy|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=June 4, 2024}}
| rev2 = Far Out
| rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/maya-hawke-chaos-angel-album-review/|title=Maya Hawke – Chaos Angel album review: best at its biggest|website=Far Out|last=Harbron|first=Lucy|date=May 30, 2024|access-date=June 4, 2024}}
| rev3 = The Line of Best Fit
| rev4 = Under the Radar
}}
Chaos Angel received a score of 81 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on four critics' reviews, which the website categorized as "universal acclaim". Andy Von Pip's review for Under the Radar called Chaos Angel Hawke's "most intricate and thematically rich work yet".
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Chaos Angel track listing
| title1 = Black Ice
| writer1 = {{hlist|Maya Hawke|Levon Hawke|Jesse Harris|Christian Lee Hutson}}
| length1 = 4:44
| title2 = Dark
| writer2 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Benjamin Lazar Davis}}
| length2 = 3:13
| title3 = Missing Out
| writer3 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Bridget Kearney|Will Graefe|Davis|L. Hawke}}
| length3 = 3:37
| title4 = Wrong Again
| writer4 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Kearney|Graefe|Davis}}
| length4 = 3:37
| title5 = Okay
| writer5 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Kearney|Graefe|Davis}}
| length5 = 3:58
| title6 = Better
| writer6 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Hutson}}
| length6 = 1:18
| title7 = Big Idea
| writer7 = M. Hawke
| length7 = 3:42
| title8 = Hang In There
| writer8 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Hutson}}
| length8 = 3:57
| title9 = Promise
| writer9 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Hutson}}
| length9 = 2:50
| title10 = Chaos Angel
| writer10 = {{hlist|M. Hawke|Hutson}}
| length10 = 4:36
| total_length = 35:32
}}
Personnel
Musicians
- Maya Hawke – lead vocals
- Will Graefe – electric guitar (tracks 1–6, 10), vocals (1, 4, 5), acoustic guitar (2–4)
- Christian Lee Hutson – Mellotron (tracks 1, 2, 8–10), electric guitar (1, 3, 5, 9), vocals (1, 5, 9, 10), acoustic guitar (2, 5, 6, 8, 9), piano (3, 4, 6, 8, 10); bass, drums, slide guitar (6); organ (9)
- Benjamin Lazar Davis – synthesizer (tracks 1, 8), bass (2, 3, 5, 8, 10), vocals (2, 5), drums (2), double bass (10)
- Eliza Lamb – vocals (tracks 1, 2)
- Michael Riddleberger – drums (1, 3, 4)
- Levon Hawke – vocals (track 1)
- Fiona Agger – vocals (track 1)
- Sadie Sink – vocals (track 1)
- Jesse Harris – vocals (track 1)
- Shahzad Ismaily – synthesizer (track 3), bass (4)
- Chris Votek – cello (tracks 5, 10)
- Zach Dellinger – viola, violin (tracks 5, 10)
- Luanne Homzy – viola, violin (tracks 5, 10)
- Paul Cartwright – viola, violin (tracks 5, 10)
- Jonathan Low – percussion (track 6)
- Marshall Vore – drums (track 8)
Technical
- Christian Lee Hutson – production
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Steve Fallone – mastering
- Jonathan Low – mixing
References
{{reflist}}
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