Half-Light is the debut solo studio album by American musician Rostam, released on September 15, 2017.[17] The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart,[18] and received generally favorable reviews.[19]

Half-Light
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 15, 2017 (2017-09-15)
Genre
Length52:08
LabelNonesuch
Producer
Rostam chronology
I Had a Dream That You Were Mine
(2016)
Half-Light
(2017)
Changephobia
(2021)
Singles from Half-Light
  1. "Wood"
    Released: September 27, 2011[1]
  2. "Don't Let It Get to You"
    Released: November 1, 2011[2]
  3. "EOS"
    Released: January 14, 2016[3]
  4. "Gwan"
    Released: April 26, 2017[4]
  5. "Bike Dream"
    Released: June 14, 2017[5]
  6. "Half-Light"
    Released: September 8, 2017[6]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[7]
Metacritic77/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The A.V. ClubB [10]
Consequence of SoundB [11]
Exclaim!7/10[12]
NME[13]
Paste7.4/10[14]
Pitchfork7.2/10[15]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[16]
Uncut6/10[8]

Background

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Half-Light was released a year after his departure from his acclaimed indie-pop band, Vampire Weekend,[20] and his successful collaboration with the former The Walkmen singer, Hamilton Leithauser, I Had a Dream That You Were Mine. The album contains several tracks that were written many years before the release of Half-Light, with one song being written ten years prior to the album's release.[21]

Track listing

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All tracks written and produced by Rostam Batmanglij, except where noted.

Half-Light[22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Additional productionLength
1."Sumer" Ariel Rechtshaid3:36
2."Bike Dream" Rechtshaid3:22
3."Half-Light" (featuring Kelly Zutrau) 3:31
4."Thatch Snow"  3:04
5."Wood"  5:42
6."Never Going to Catch Me"  3:10
7."Don't Let It Get to You"  5:18
8."I Will See You Again"  1:16
9."Hold You" (featuring Angel Deradoorian)Francis Farewell Starlite2:34
10."When" Rechtshaid3:26
11."Rudy" Rechtshaid3:53
12."Warning Intruders" Rechtshaid3:31
13."EOS"  3:08
14."Gwan"
  • Batmanglij
  • Srivastava[a]
 4:46
15."Don't Let It Get to You" (Reprise)
 2:01
Total length:52:08
Vinyl edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleLength
16."Welcoming the Betrayers"2:35
17."Another Room"3:28
18."Oh You've Got To"3:07
19."Arc"1:20
Total length:62:38
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a lyricist.
Sample credits

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[23] 6

References

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  1. ^ "Rostam – 'Wood'". Stereogum. 27 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Rostam – 'Don't Let It Get To You'". Stereogum. November 2011.
  3. ^ "Vampire Weekend's Rostam Releases "EOS"". Pitchfork. 14 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Rostam Officially Releases "Gwan" As First Single From Forthcoming Solo Debut". Paste.
  5. ^ "Rostam Reveals Details Of New Solo Album, Shares 'Bike Dream'". NPR.
  6. ^ "Listen to Rostam's New Song 'Half-Light'". Pitchfork. 6 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Half-Light by Rostam reviews". AnyDecentMusic? Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Critic Reviews for Half-Light by Rostam". Metacritic. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  9. ^ Phares, Heather. "Half-Light - Rostam". AllMusic. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  10. ^ Modell, Josh (14 September 2017). "Vampire Weekend's Rostam goes for pop bliss on the fussy, fantastic Half-Light". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  11. ^ David, Sackllah (6 September 2017). "Rostam – Half-Light". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  12. ^ van den Hoogenband, Corey. "Rostam Half-Light". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Cochrane, Greg (13 September 2017). "Rostam – 'Half-Light' Review". NME. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  14. ^ Kohn, Daniel. "Rostam: Half-Light Review". Paste. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  15. ^ Dombal, Ryan. "Rostam: Half-Light Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  16. ^ Hermes, Will. "Review: Vampire Weekend Auteur Rostam Batmanglij Channels Worldly Vision". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  17. ^ "Rostam (Vampire Weekend) Announces Debut Album Half-Light, Shares New Song 'Bike Dream': Listen". Pitchfork. 14 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Rostam Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  19. ^ Half-Light by Rostam, retrieved 2018-02-01
  20. ^ "Rostam Batmanglij Leaves Vampire Weekend | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  21. ^ "Rostam: Half-Light Album Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  22. ^ "Half-Light by Rostam on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 15 September 2017.
  23. ^ "Rostam Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2017.