MFANS
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Correct title|M:FANS|reason=:|edit=omission}}
{{Infobox album
| name = M:FANS
| type = studio
| artist = John Cale
| cover = John Cale - MFANS.png
| alt =
| released = 22 January 2016
| recorded = 2013–2015
| venue =
| studio = A.R.M. Studio, Los Angeles, CA
| genre = Experimental rock, industrial rock, electronic music
| length = 53:43
| label = Domino/Double Six, Electric Drone
| producer = John Cale
| prev_title = Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood
| prev_year = 2012
| next_title = Mercy
| next_year = 2023
}}
{{Album reviews
| MC = 76/100{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/mfans/john-cale |title=M:FANS - John Cale |publisher=Metacritic |accessdate=10 January 2017}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Deming |title=M:FANS - John Cale |website=AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/mfans-mw0002900823 |accessdate=25 February 2016}}
| rev2 = The Line of Best Fit
| rev3 = Loud and Quiet
| rev3Score = (8/10){{cite web |url=http://www.loudandquiet.com/2016/01/john-cale-mfans-album-review/ |title=John Cale: M:Fans |last1=Wisgard |first1=Alex |date=January 2016 |website=Loud and Quiet |access-date=23 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122100312/http://www.loudandquiet.com/2016/01/john-cale-mfans-album-review/ |archivedate=22 January 2016 }}
| rev4 = Pitchfork
| rev4Score = (6.0/10){{cite web |first=Stacey |last=Anderson |title=John Cale: M:FANS / Music for a New Society - Album Reviews |website=Pitchfork |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21619-mfans-music-for-a-new-society/ |date=25 February 2016 |accessdate=25 February 2016}}
| rev5 = Under the Radar
| rev5Score = (8/10){{cite web |url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/john_cale_mfans_music_for_a_new_society |title=John Cale: FANS / Music For a New Society |last1=Lucas |first1=Dan |date=20 January 2016 |website=Under the Radar |access-date=23 January 2016}}
}}
M:FANS is the sixteenth solo studio album by Welsh musician and composer John Cale. It was released in January 2016 on the Double Six Records imprint of Domino Recording Company. Produced by Cale, it features new versions of songs from his 1982 album Music for a New Society. "Close Watch" was the album's lead single. It was released in November 2015 and features Amber Coffman from Dirty Projectors.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/see-john-cale-attend-dreamlike-masquerade-in-eerie-close-watch-video-20151117 |title=See John Cale Attend Dreamlike Masquerade in Eerie 'Close Watch' Video |last1=Grow |first1=Kory |date=17 November 2015 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=23 January 2016}}
Background
In a statement Cale recounted the process of making the album, and how the 2013 death of former bandmate and collaborator Lou Reed had informed it:
Losing Lou [too painful to understand] forced me to upend the entire recording process and begin again...a different perspective - a new sense of urgency to tell a story from a completely opposite point of view - what was once sorrow, was now a form of rage. A fertile ground for exorcism of things gone wrong and the realization they are unchangeable. From sadness came the strength of fire!!!{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/62136-john-cale-reworks-music-for-a-new-society-as-mfans-reissues-original-album/ |title=John Cale Reworks Music for a New Society as M:FANS, Reissues Original Album |publisher=Pitchfork |date=17 November 2015 |accessdate=25 February 2016}}
Accolades
| class="sortable wikitable" |
| Publication
! Accolade ! Year ! Rank |
|---|
| The Quietus
| Albums of the Year 2016 | 2016 | {{center|92{{cite web|url = http://thequietus.com/articles/21429-albums-of-the-year-2016|title =The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016 |work= The Quietus |publisher= |date=December 6, 2016 |accessdate=December 6, 2016}}}} |
Track listing
All tracks composed by John Cale; except where indicated.
- "Prelude" – 2:17
- "If You Were Still Around" (Cale, Sam Shepard) – 5:18
- "Taking Your Life in Your Hands" – 5:43
- "Thoughtless Kind" – 5:27
- "Sanctus (Sanities Mix)" – 5:19
- "Broken Bird" – 5:10
- "Chinese Envoy" – 3:51
- "Changes Made" – 3:54
- "Library of Force" – 3:09
- "Close Watch" – 5:15
- "If You Were Still Around (Choir Reprise)" (Cale, Shepard) – 4:44
- "Back to the End" – 3:34
Personnel
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
- John Cale – vocals, voice, noises, keyboards, organ, piano, electric piano, guitar, electric guitar, programmed guitar, bass, programming, synthesizer, drums, viola, samples, production, recording, mixing
- Dustin Boyer – guitar, guitar synthesizer, bass, loops, programming, drum machine, drum programming, drums, mixing, recording
- Deantoni Parks – keyboards, noises, loops
- Joey Maramba – synth bass
- Ralph Esposito – synth bass
- Alex Thomas – drums, samples
- Matt Fish – cello
- Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – viola
- Thomas Lea – viola
- Jessy Greene – violin
- Chris Bautista – trumpet
- Amber Coffman – vocals on "Close Watch"
- New Direction Church – choir
- Benjamin Goodman – choir director
- William Arthur George Cale – voice
- Margaret Cale – voice
;Technical
- Adam Moseley – mixing, recording
- Nita Scott – mixing, executive producer
{{div col end}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2016)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Flanders|74|artist=John Cale|album=Music for a New Society / M:FANS|rowheader=true|accessdate=January 30, 2016}} |
| {{album chart|Wallonia|188|artist=John Cale|album=Music for a New Society / M:FANS|rowheader=true|accessdate=January 30, 2016}} |