The Asylum Pt. 2

The Asylum Pt. 2 is the fourth studio album by British recording artist Iris, released on 16 June 2014 by Next Generation Records. The album is the second part of the The Asylum trilogy, which consists of three mini-albums, all released during 2014. Iris started working on songs for the album when The Asylum Pt. 1 (2014) was still in development. Musically, the songs on The Asylum Pt. 2 are a mixture between electro, disco, alternative rock and pop rock.

Critical reception of the album was generally positive. Although critics considered it a minor letdown compared to The Asylum Pt. 1, it received praise for being solid and evolving on Iris' previous sound. In the UK, the album charted at #4.

"War Paint" was released as the album's only single in June 2014, two weeks before the album was released. A teaser version of the song was featured on The Aslyum Pt. 1. The single charted at #10 in the UK. The last track on the album, "Ghost of Sailor's Peak", appears as a teaser version and served as the lead single for The Asylum Pt. 3, the final installment in the trilogy.

Background
In late 2012, Iris announced in an interview with Popjustice that she would release three albums during 2014. She noted that it had been over two years since she released her last effort, Kaleidoscope (2012), and that she had not been in the studio "properly" since then. She explained that she did not want to wait until all the songs had been recorded; she rather wanted to split up the songs in three different releases. She chose to name the trilogy The Asylum for various reasons. Iris had initially been placed in an asylum at the start of her career in 2011, and revealed it was to show her development since then. It was also a reference to her music acting as an asylum, trapping her within the walls of the lyrics and leaving her unable to escape the music. In January 2014, the first in the trilogy, The Asylum Pt. 1, was released, and was followed by the announcement of The Asylum Pt. 2 several months later. The album's lead single, "War Paint" and the track "Winter", were among the first songs to be recorded for the trilogy. Iris said that "we saved them for later because I knew they would be singles, or could be singles, and I wanted them to get that chance."

Some of the songs on the album were written at the same time as the songs on The Asylum Pt. 1 with a handful being written after. In mid-April 2014, music magazine Billboard reported that the mixing of the songs had been completed. Iris worked primary with Swedish producer and songwriter Klas Åhlund, who was also involved in the production of Body Talk Pt. 1. As with all previous albums, the album also features several production credits from Iris herself.

Composition
TBA

Critical Reception
On May 12, 2014, Iris performed songs from The Asylum Pt. 2, live for music critics at Metropolis Studios in London, UK. The mini-concert received critical acclaim.

The Asylum Pt. 2 received mostly 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 76, based on 23 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Jaime Gill of BBC Music called the album a "brief, brilliant record that leaves you panting, The Asylum, Part 2 is the latest evidence that Iris is probably the best, most versatile pop star currently at work." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine referred to the album as "pretty fucking fantastic", despite stating that it was "a minor letdown following the near-perfection of its predecessor". Tom Ewing of The Guardian said that "the second episode [in the trilogy] has a different flavour from the first." Ewing named "The Other Woman" the best song on the record, calling it the "unlikeliest success". In contrast, he considered "Teardrops" the worst song, but said that "even that has a lovely, draggy vibe." Dan Martin of the NME wrote that the album "doesn't quite end with a severed hand, but it does swing a little lower with an awesomeness that tries less hard to be liked straight away."

Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone wrote that the album "offers up another batch of great, club-ready songs that are a touch too weird for American hit radio. Iris sings and raps about standard diva themes (self-reliance), but the music is deliciously wacked-out." He also complimented Iris' ability to portray emotion, particularly in the tracks "The Other Woman" and "Run To You". Pitchfork's Joe Colly felt the album needed a "classic single on par with 'Against The Wall' or 'Poison Ivy'", but concluded, "Minor quibbles and missteps aside, The Asylum Pt. 2 is a perfectly solid—and occasionally awesome—record." Heather Phares of Allmusic wrote that through the album, Iris proves "that stylish, cutting-edge pop doesn't have to be competitive or egotistical." Adam Johns of Drowned in Sound was mixed in his review, writing that "While it's a fairly remarkable piece of craft, her icy disco diversion here leaves me somewhat flat [...] It should satisfy the listeners who primarily show up for Creative Robyn." Luke Winkie of musicOMH wrote a mixed review as well, saying that "Pt 2 doesn't have the same feel [as Pt 1]; it's as if Iris may have exhausted her supply of great songs too soon. It has its moments, but in general just doesn't compare to Pt 1."

Singles
"War Paint" was released as the first and only single from the album. A teaser version of the song was previously featured on the preceding album, The Asylum Pt. 1. The song was met with positive reviews, who compared it to her previous singles "Poison Ivy". The song reached number 10 in the UK. The accompanying music video shows scenes of Iris naked with scenes of war projecting onto her and protecting her dignity.

As with the previous album, Iris will release several tracks as Digital promotional singles. The first download only single will be "Run To You" on 4th August. "The Other Woman" will be released the week after on 11th August and the week after that on 18th August will see "Winter" be released.

Commercial Performance
With no promotion, the album debuted at #4 with first week sales of 72,419 copies sold.

Charts
The album was released on 16 June 2014.

Overall Sales: 253,263