Ten Crowns
| Ten Crowns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 May 2025 | |||
| Studio | Maze (Atlanta)[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:20 | |||
| Label | Crown | |||
| Producer | Dave Audé | |||
| Andy Bell chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ten Crowns | ||||
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Ten Crowns is the third studio album by English singer Andy Bell.[2] It was released on 2 May 2025, by Crown Recordings, in CD, LP, cassette and digital formats.[4]
Background
[edit]Noted as a dance album with elements of Eurodisco and gospel music,[2][3] Ten Crowns is the first album by Bell in fifteen years, since Non-Stop.[2] Featuring ten songs with a total runtime of approximately thirty-six minutes, it was produced by Grammy-winning musician Dave Audé and recorded in a studio in Nashville.[2][3] The lead single of the album, "Don't Cha Know", was released on 18 February 2025.[5]
Reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| MusicOMH | [3] |
| Record Collector | [4] |
| Spill | [7] |
Ten Crowns received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, based on four reviews.[6]
Marcy Donelson of AllMusic remarked, "Often earnest, anguished, and euphoric, Ten Crowns delivers the catharsis while keeping it real."[2] MusicOMH gave the album a rating of three stars, stating "Yet while this never quite touches the highs that Erasure can produce, there's enough moments on Ten Crowns to convince that Bell and Aude make a good partnership for when Vince Clarke wants a rest."[3] Spill assigned the album a rating of four and a half out of five and described it as "a well produced, beautiful album" and "a brilliant accomplishment for Bell and Audé."[7] David Pollock of Record Collector rated the album three stars and stated, "Yet there are interesting things going on between the lyrical lines here, as love, sex, religious salvation and sin clash on "Dance for Mercy", "Dawn of Heaven's Gate" and the pop-orchestral "Thank You"."[4] The Quietus wrote, "Bell has made an album that gently expands the palette of what he's known for, but also allows him to shine as himself rather than as one half of pop's greatest odd couple."[8]
Track listing
[edit]All lyrics are written by Andrew Ivan Bell, except "Heart's a Liar" (written with Deborah Harry); all music is composed by Bell and David P. Audé, except "Heart's a Liar" (composed with Harry, Luciana Caporaso, and Nick Clow) and "Put Your Empathy on Ice" (composed with Sisely Treasure).
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Breaking Thru the Interstellar" | 3:26 |
| 2. | "Lies So Deep" (featuring Sarah Potenza) | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Heart's a Liar" (featuring Debbie Harry) | 3:30 |
| 4. | "For Today" | 3:11 |
| 5. | "Dance for Mercy" | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Don't Cha Know" | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Dawn of Heaven's Gate" | 3:56 |
| 8. | "Godspell" | 3:22 |
| 9. | "Put Your Empathy on Ice" | 4:26 |
| 10. | "Thank You" | 3:18 |
| Total length: | 36:23 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Breaking Thru the Interstellar" (extended) | 4:44 |
| 12. | "Don't Cha Know" (extended) | 4:43 |
| 13. | "Dance for Mercy" (extended) | 5:00 |
| 14. | "Heart's a Liar" (extended; featuring Debbie Harry) | 4:59 |
| Total length: | 55:51 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Ten Crowns" (Dave Audé continuous DJ mix) | 37:20 |
| Total length: | 73:43 | |
Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[1] and Tidal.[9]
- Andy Bell – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Dave Audé – production (all tracks), mixing (track 10)
- Stefan Tanner – mastering
- Samuel Wills – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 5)
- Loren Moore – mixing (tracks 2, 4, 6–9)
- Devonne Fowlkes – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 10)
- Harmonie Hall – backing vocals (tracks 1, 10)
- Joshua Lutz – guitars (tracks 1, 2)
- Sarah Potenza – featured vocals (track 2)
- Vince Clarke – additional synthesizers, sounds, guitars (track 2)
- Debbie Harry – featured vocals (tracks 3, 14)
- Kiley Phillips – backing vocals (track 3)
- Luciana Caporaso – backing vocals (track 3)
- Billy Mohler – bass guitar (track 3)
- Jerry Fuentes – guitars (track 3)
- Dave Audé – backing vocals (track 5)
- Tomas – backing vocals (track 7)
- Sisely Treasure – backing vocals (track 9)
- Paul A. Taylor – art direction, design
- Louise Hendy – design
- Sean Black – photography
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ten Crowns (Media notes). Andy Bell. Crown Recordings. 2 May 2025.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c d e f g Donelson, Marcy. "Ten Crowns – Andy Bell". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Murphy, John (2 May 2025). "Andy Bell – Ten Crowns". MusicOMH. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ a b c Pollock, David (May 2025). "Ten Crowns – Andy Bell". Record Collector. p. 103. Retrieved 14 May 2025 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Pearis, Bill (18 February 2025). "Erasure's Andy Bell announces new solo album & tour, shares "Don't Cha Know"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Ten Crowns by Andy Bell Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ a b Badgley, Aaron (2 May 2025). "Spill Album Review: Andy Bell – Ten Crowns". Spill Magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ Wade, Ian (8 May 2025). "Andy Bell – Ten Crowns". The Quietus. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "Ten Crowns (Expanded edition) / Andy Bell / Credits". Tidal. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 27 May 2025.