Along the Way (Mark McGuire album)

2014 studio album by Mark McGuire

Along the Way

Studio album by

Mark McGuire

Released| February 4, 2014 (2014-02-04)
Length| 67:31
Label| Dead Oceans
Producer| Mark McGuire
Mark McGuire chronology
| Get Lost
(2011)  | Along the Way
(2014)  | Beyond Belief
(2015)

|
|

Singles from  Along the Way

1. "The Instinct"
Released: 2013

Along the Way is a solo studio album by Mark McGuire, a former member of Emeralds. It was released on Dead Oceans on February 4, 2014.[1] "The Instinct" was released as a single from the album.[2]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 73/100[3]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [4]
Blurt| [5]
Fact| 3/5[6]
The 405| 8/10[7]
The Line of Best Fit| [8]
MusicOMH| [9]
NME| 7/10[10]
Pitchfork| 7.9/10[11]
Tiny Mix Tapes| [12]
Under the Radar| [13]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]

Fred Thomas of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, commenting that "Along the Way represents the most ambitious material from McGuire to date, including deeper production and a plethora of various instruments that never made it into the laser-focused explorations of solo guitar that made up previous albums."[4] He added: "It's an incredible feat for an artist to make something so enormous and unfolding without losing himself in the process, but McGuire has done just that, and as a result has turned in his most detailed and soul-searching work."[4] Tom Fenwick of Under the Radar gave the album 7 stars out of 10, writing: "Carving out layers of sound from digital percussion, distant auto-tuned vocals, and washes of synthesized atmospherics, he surrounds them with his virtuosic playing of electric and acoustic guitar."[13]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Mark McGuire.

I: To All Present in the Hall of LearningNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Awakening"| 1:20
2.| "Wonderland of Living Things"| 2:51
3.| "In Search of the Miraculous"| 5:53
4.| "To the Macrobes (Where Do I Go?)"| 5:05
5.| "Astray"| 1:55

II: The Age of RevealingNo.| Title| Length

|
|

6.| "Silent Weapons (The Architects of Manipulation)"| 5:14
7.| "The Instinct"| 12:00

III: After the Heavy RainsNo.| Title| Length

|
|

8.| "The Human Condition (Song for My Father)"| 4:11
9.| "For the Friendships (Along the Way)"| 8:30
10.| "Arrival Begins the Next Departure"| 5:11

IV: To the Palace of the SelfNo.| Title| Length

|
|

11.| "The War on Consciousness"| 6:05
12.| "The Lonelier Way"| 5:37
13.| "Turiya (The Same Way)"| 3:47
Total length:| 67:31

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from liner notes.

* Mark McGuire – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, santur, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, talkbox, percussion, drum machine, tape samples, electronics, effects, production, arrangement, mixing, photography, design, layout
* James Plotkin – mastering
* Daniel Murphy – design, layout

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Breihan, Tom (January 27, 2014). "Stream Mark McGuire Along the Way". Stereogum. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
2. ^ Hudson, Alex (August 22, 2013). "Mark McGuire Releases New 12-Inch off 'Along the Way'". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
3. ^ a b "Along the Way by Mark McGuire". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
4. ^ a b c Thomas, Fred. "Mark McGuire - Along the Way". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
5. ^ Mills, Fred (April 11, 2014). "Mark McGuire – Along the Way". Blurt. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
6. ^ Pattison, Louis (February 24, 2014). "Along the Way". Fact. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
7. ^ Morrison, John (February 3, 2014). "Mark McGuire - Along The Way". The 405. Archived from the original on July 3, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
8. ^ Lo, Chris (January 28, 2014). "Mark McGuire – Along The Way". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
9. ^ Meller, David (January 29, 2014). "Mark McGuire – Along The Way". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
10. ^ Snapes, Laura (January 30, 2014). "Mark McGuire - 'Along The Way'". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
11. ^ Currin, Grayson Haver (February 6, 2014). "Mark McGuire: Along the Way". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
12. ^ Phillips, Matthew. "Mark McGuire - Along the Way". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
13. ^ a b Fenwick, Tom (February 7, 2014). "Mark McGuire: Along the Way". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Along the Way at Discogs (list of releases)

*[No.]: Number