Sillion
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Sillion
| type = Studio
| artist = Johnny Flynn
| cover = Sillion - Johnny Flynn.jpg
| alt =
| released = 24 March 2017
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Folk
| length = {{Duration|m=44|s=56}}
| language = English
| label = Transgressive
| producer =
| prev_title = Country Mile
| prev_year = 2013
| next_title = Lost in the Cedar Wood
| next_year = 2021
}}
Sillion is the fourth{{efn|Not including a live album and film soundtrack.|name=sixth}} studio album by British singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn, released in 2017 through Transgressive Records.{{Cite web|last=Shaw|first=Peter|title=JOHNNY FLYNN: SILLION|url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2017/03/johnny-flynn-sillion-2/|access-date=16 April 2021|website=www.folkradio.co.uk}}{{Cite web|last=That|first=Thank Folk For|date=31 March 2017|title=Album Review: Johnny Flynn – Sillion {{!}} Thank Folk For That|url=https://thankfolkforthat.com/album-review-johnny-flynn-sillion/|access-date=19 April 2021|language=en-GB}} The album reached no. 96 in the UK.{{Cite web|title=JOHNNY FLYNN {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/4096/johnny-flynn/|access-date=20 April 2021|website=www.officialcharts.com}}
Background
Sillion was Flynn's first studio album since 2013's Country Mile.{{Citation|title=Sillion – Johnny Flynn {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sillion-mw0003016099|language=en|access-date=19 April 2021}} In the interim, Flynn was increasingly active as an actor. The record was recorded at Soup Studio in London.{{Cite web|title=Johnny Flynn – Sillion|url=https://www.soupstudio.co.uk/giles-barrett-credits/johnny-flynn-sillion|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Soup Studio – Analogue Recording in London|language=en-US}}
Flynn has said that the album was influenced strongly by this personal life:
{{Blockquote|text=My Dad died when I was 18, and that was quite a galvanising experience,' he says, 'and there's often an element of that in anything I’m writing; every big loss that you suffer in life, I think everything comes through the conduit of that. And I had a really strong sense of my daughter having elements of my Dad when she came along, and it made me kind of laugh – that cyclical sense, of thinking of my daughter as my Dad.{{Cite web|title=Album Review: Johnny Flynn – Sillion|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/19869/reviews/4150905|access-date=2021-04-19|website=DrownedInSound|language=en}}|source=}}
The track "Heart Sunk Hank", which explores Flynn's relationship with his wife, was inspired by the folk song "Fare Thee Well".{{Cite web|last=Records|first=Transgressive|title=Johnny Flynn / 'Sillion' out now|url=http://www.transgressiverecords.com/news/detail/johnny-flynns-sillion|access-date=19 April 2021|website=www.transgressiverecords.com|language=en}} The song was also partially recorded on a 1940s Voice-o-Graph, giving it a unique sound and making it the "record's highlight" per Rhian Daly of DIY.{{Cite web|last=Subscribe|title=Johnny Flynn – Sillion {{!}} Reviews|url=http://diymag.com/2017/03/24/johnny-flynn-sillion-album-review|access-date=19 April 2021|website=diymag.com|language=en}}
Flynn released music videos for the tracks "In the Deepest", "Wandering Aengus", and "Raising the Dead", all directed by Simon Ryninks.{{Citation|title=Johnny Flynn – Wandering Aengus|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3QJZ6NrBJk&list=PLMAMCQPLZoRTzXURFwL7Sf2P-51BZ6STb|language=en|access-date=19 April 2021}}{{Citation|title=Johnny Flynn – Raising the Dead|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5wYXnkLbD0&list=PLMAMCQPLZoRTzXURFwL7Sf2P-51BZ6STb&index=6|language=en|access-date=19 April 2021}}{{Citation|title=Johnny Flynn – In the Deepest|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlt0P0FOO4g&list=PLMAMCQPLZoRTzXURFwL7Sf2P-51BZ6STb&index=4|language=en|access-date=19 April 2021}}
Reception
Sillion reached no. 96 in the UK, Flynn's third album to chart in the top 100. The record has a score of 74 on the review aggregator Metacritic, signifying "generally favorable" reviews.{{Citation|title=Sillion by Johnny Flynn|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/sillion/johnny-flynn|work=Metacritic|language=en|access-date=16 April 2021}} Timothy Monger of AllMusic indicated that the opening three tracks of the album "stand among the best of [Flynn's] career". Sarah Dawood of The Line of Best Fit praised the album, calling it "an emotionally challenging piece that engages and encapsulates its listeners" and a "piece of art."{{Cite web|title=Johnny Flynn returns with the draining, enriching Sillion|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/johnny-flynn-sillion|access-date=19 April 2021|website=The Line of Best Fit|language=en}}
In a more negative review, Harry Harris of The Skinny opined that the record felt like a "side-project" to Flynn's acting career, while still finding that it was a "perfectly fine" record.{{Cite web|title=Johnny Flynn – Sillion album review: The Skinny|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/johnny-flynn-sillion|access-date=19 April 2021|website=www.theskinny.co.uk|language=en}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = Johnny Flynn
| title7 = In Your Pockets
| length11 = 4:39
| title11 = Hard Road
| length10 = 6:34
| title10 = The Landlord
| length9 = 3:55
| title9 = Tarp in the Prop
| length8 = 4:23
| title8 = Jefferson's Torch
| length7 = 3:16
| length6 = 3:11
| title1 = Raising the Dead
| title6 = In the Deepest
| length5 = 3:55
| title5 = The Night My Piano Upped and Died
| length4 = 4:32
| title4 = Barleycorn
| length3 = 3:11
| title3 = Heart Sunk Hank
| length2 = 3:47
| title2 = Wandering Aengus
| length1 = 3:33
| total_length = 44:56
}}
References
= Notes =
{{Notelist}}