Eska (album)
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = ESKA
| type = studio
| artist = Eska
| cover =Eska (album).jpg
| alt =
| released = 27 April 2015
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Neofolk|experimental folk|pop}}
| length = {{duration|m=35|s=17}}
| label = {{hlist|Naim|Earthling Recordings}}
| producer = {{hlist|Eska|Matthew Herbert|David Okumu|Leroy Robinson|John McLaughlin|Louis Hackett}}
| prev_title = Gatekeeper
| prev_year = 2013
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
ESKA is the eponymous debut album of British singer-songwriter Eska, released on 27 April 2015.{{cite web |url=https://eskaonline.bandcamp.com/album/eska |title=ESKA by ESKA |publisher=bandcamp |accessdate=2016-01-04}} The album was released in collaboration with Naim Records and Eska's own Earthling Recordings. It was shortlisted for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize.
Critical reception
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = Independent On Sunday
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite news|last=Male|first=Howard|title=ESKA - ESKA|newspaper=Independent on Sunday|date=April 26, 2015}}
| rev2 = The Observer
| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Mardles|first=Paul|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/apr/26/eska-review-session-singer-centre-stage|title=Eska - session singer takes centre stage with ‘mind-bending gem’|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=June 21, 2016}}
| rev3 = musicOMH
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Paton |first=Daniel |url=http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/eska-eska |title=Eska - Eska |work=musicOMH |date=2015-04-28 |accessdate=2016-06-21}}
| rev4 = The 405
| rev4Score = {{Rating|7|10}}{{cite web|last=Bignon|first=Lyle|url=http://www.thefourohfive.com/music/review/eska-142|title=ESKA - ESKA|work=The 405|date=April 28, 2015|accessdate=June 21, 2016}}
| rev5 = Uncut
| rev5Score = 8/10{{cite magazine|last=Lewis|first=John|title=Eska - ESKA|magazine=Uncut|date=May 2015}}
| rev6 = Evening Standard
| rev6Score = 4/5{{cite news|last=Godwin|first=Richard|title=Eska - ESKA|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=April 24, 2015}}
| rev7 = Financial Times
}}
Upon release, ESKA was received with acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The Observer wrote that ESKA was a "mind-bending gem", offering particular praise for "This Is How a Garden Grows". Praise for "This Is How a Garden Grows" was mirrored in Mixmag who made it a Tune of the Month writing "...having toured and performed with Grace Jones, The Cinematic Orchestra.{{cite magazine|title=Tune Of The Month: ESKA - This Is How The Garden Grows|magazine=Mixmag|date=April 2015}} Writing for Uncut, John Lewis praised Eska escaping of her influences saying, "so distinctive and confessional is Eska's voice she's created a British pastoral music that defies classification". Writing for the Independent on Sunday, Howard Male said of the album, "Only a couple of times a decade does a new artist come along who so impresses that I find myself getting excited about what they’ll do next, even as I’m still assimilating their debut." In describing ESKA, Male calls the album "touching, powerful, experimental and sensuous – you could pick just about any positive adjective and it would apply," and in describing the individual tracks, the reviewer states that "each song here is both an independent entity of striking originality and a vital part of a truly cohesive album that is sure to be deemed a classic in decades to come."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| total_length = 35:17
| title1 = This Is How a Garden Grows
| writer1 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra1 = {{hlist|Eska|Matthew Herbert}}
| length1 = 3:52
| title2 = Gatekeeper
| writer2 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra2 = {{hlist|Eska|David Okumu}}
| length2 = 4:59
| title3 = Rock of Ages
| writer3 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi|Edward Maclean}}
| extra3 = {{hlist|Eska|Matthew Herbert}}
| length3 = 4:29
| title4 = Boundaries
| writer4 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra4 = {{hlist|Eska|Matthew Herbert}}
| length4 = 3:54
| title5 = She's in the Flowers
| writer5 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi|Anselmo Netto}}
| extra5 = {{hlist|Eska|Matthew Herbert|David Okumu}}
| length5 = 3:10
| title6 = Shades of Blue
| writer6 = {{hlist|Eska|Leroy Robinson|John McLaughlin}}
| extra6 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi|Louis Hackett}}
| length6 = 4:04
| title7 = Heroes & Villains
| writer7 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra7 = {{hlist|Eska|Louis Hackett}}
| length7 = 3:03
| title8 = To Be Remembered
| writer8 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra8 = {{hlist|Eska|Matthew Herbert}}
| length8 = 3:04
| title9 = Dear Evelyn
| writer9 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra9 = {{hlist|Eska|Louis Hackett}}
| length9 = 2:01
| title10 = So Long Eddy
| writer10 = {{hlist|Louis Hackett|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra10 = {{hlist|Louis Hackett|Eska}}
| length10 = 2:41
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Japanese edition bonus tracks{{cite web|url=https://p-vine.jp/music/pcd-24477#.Y9V2WxZUuEc|title=Eska|publisher=p-vine.jp|accessdate=January 28, 2023|language=japanese}}
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| total_length = 42:42
| title11 = Red
| writer11 = {{hlist|Eska|Jesse Hackett|Robin Mullarkey}}
| extra11 = {{hlist|Eska|Matthew Herbert|David Okumu}}
| length11 = 5:18
| title12 = Dear Evelyn
| note12 = Song Version
| writer12 = {{hlist|Eska Mtungwazi}}
| extra12 = {{hlist|Eska|Louis Hackett}}
| length12 = 1:59
}}
References
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