Necessary Fictions
| Necessary Fictions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 20, 2025 | |||
| Recorded | 2024 | |||
| Studio | Arch Recording Studio | |||
| Length | 48:39 | |||
| Label | XXIM | |||
| GoGo Penguin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Necessary Fictions | ||||
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Necessary Fictions is the seventh studio album by English jazz fusion band GoGo Penguin. It was released on 20 June 2025 via XXIM in LP, CD and digital formats.[1] Necessary Fictions is preceded by the band's 2023 project, Everything Is Going to Be OK.[2] The first single, "Fallowfield Loops", was released on 17 April 2025, alongside a music video directed by Chris Illingworth and Nick Blacka.[1]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz | [3] |
| AllMusic | [2] |
| Clash | [4] |
| Mojo | [5] |
Clash rated the album seven out of ten and referred to it as the band's "most adventurous record to date," noting they "retain their understated, cinematic sound that quickly builds into expansive movements of arpeggiating piano riffs, razor-sharp drumming and fluid basslines."[4]
The album received a three and a half star rating from AllMusic, whose reviewer Paul Simpson stated, "On Necessary Fictions, they frequently use modular synthesizers, though they often create tones that sound closer to acoustic than synthetic."[2]
Mojo's Charles Waring described the album as "a love letter to their native south Manchester and its iconic brutalist architecture," and noted it as "genre-defying", giving it a rating of four stars.[5]
All About Jazz gave it a four-star rating and opined, "Necessary Fictions is the sunny-day party that follows once everyone feels properly ready to celebrate. The band sounds exuberant when stomping the place down or warmly comfortable spinning a pretty melody with charming simplicity."[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Nick Blacka, Chris Illingworth, Jon Scott.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Umbra" | 3:11 | |
| 2. | "Fallowfield Loops" | 4:44 | |
| 3. | "Forgive the Damages" | Daudi Matsiko | 4:10 |
| 4. | "What We Are and What We Are Meant to Be" | 5:37 | |
| 5. | "Background Hiss Reminds Me of Rain" | 1:39 | |
| 6. | "The Turn Within" | 5:47 | |
| 7. | "Living Bricks in Dead Mortar" | 2:52 | |
| 8. | "Naga Ghost" | 5:23 | |
| 9. | "Luminous Giants" | Rakhi Singh | 5:08 |
| 10. | "Float (Loi Krathong, 2003)" | 2:33 | |
| 11. | "State of Flux" | 4:27 | |
| 12. | "Silence Speaks" | 3:08 | |
| Total length: | 48:39 | ||
Personnel
Credits for Necessary Fictions adapted from AllMusic.[2]
- Alistair Vennart – viola
- Anna Tulchinskaya – violin
- Brendan Williams – engineer, mixing, producer
- Carol Ella – viola
- Chris Illingworth – artwork, composer, piano, string arrangements, synthesizer
- Daudi Matsiko – composer, featured artist, guitar, vocals
- Dylan Edge – violin
- Jon Scott – composer, drums
- Joseph Reiser – engineer, mixing, producer
- Nick Blacka – composer, cover photo, double bass, guitar (bass), synthesizer
- Norman Nitzsche – cut, mastering
- Peggy Nolan – cello
- Rakhi Singh – composer, featured artist, violin, vocals
- Rosemary Attree – violin
- Simon Turner – cello
- Tom Dring – assistant engineer
References
- ^ a b Murray, Robin (17 April 2025). "Gogo Penguin Announce New Album Necessary Fictions". Clash. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ^ a b c d Simpson, Paul. "Necessary Fictions – GoGo Penguin". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ^ a b Thackara, Geno (24 June 2025). "GoGo Penguin: Necessary Fictions album review". All About Jazz. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ^ a b Lee, Ben (20 June 2025). "GoGo Penguin – Necessary Fictions". Clash. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ^ a b Waring, Charles (August 2025). "Necessary Fictions". Mojo. No. 381. p. 85. ISSN 1351-0193.