The White Album

The White Album is the tenth studio album by British recording artist Alesha. It was first released by Fusion Records on October 10, 2016. Alesha experiments with a variety of musical influences on The White Album, which is considered one of her most diverse records. The album explores modern, electronic styles, drawing inspiration from such subgenres as dream pop and neo-psychedelia. Inspired by Alesha's experiences filming Exile in Nashville (2016), the record also incorporates folk rock, soul and even country influences.

After living between Britain and the United States for years, Alesha permanently relocated her family to New York in 2016 amid a turbulent political and social climate in both countries. Lyrically, The White Album has been perceived simultaneously as Alesha's most personal and most political work to date. More introspective songs discuss loneliness, selfishness and identity crisis, while politically charged tracks touch on environmentalism, immigration and poverty. "Old England" is about the United Kingdom's vote to withdraw from the European Union.

The White Album was an immediate success upon release, both commercially and critically. It reached number one on the albums chart, while the record's lead single "Petroleum" spent two nonconsecutive weeks at number one. Alesha opted for a minimalist promotional campaign upon the album's release, before partnering with multinational entertainment company Netflix to present the documentary Alesha: The White Album and concert special Midwinter.

Background and development
Alesha released her ninth studio album afterhours in 2015. Inspired by queer counterculture of the 1980s and early '90s, afterhours drew inspiration from varying synthpop trends, including New Wave and house music. Lyrically, Alesha placed herself in the historical context, creating a concept album that focused on acceptance, equality, sexuality and social stigma. The album's lead single "In Love Today" sold over a million copies, becoming Alesha's first diamond-certified single. The album spawned two more number one singles in the form of "M4M" and "Cruising". Alesha embarked on the Cruising World Tour, which launched in London on New Years Eve 2015 and culminated in San Juan, Puerto Rico on June 30, 2016.

In April 2016, Alesha told Mexican newspaper El Universal that she had not yet begun recording her eleventh studio album, stating that she was focused on her current show and was "not there yet." At this time, Alesha had composed just one song for the album, "Fire + Jade". However, she had completed work on a soundtrack project for the film Exile in Nashville (2016), directed by Gus Van Sant. Alesha said that it took her a long while to conceptualize a studio album, with afterhours having been "such a labor of love."

After living between the United Kingdom and the United States for years – namely London and New York, Alesha and her family permanently relocated to the States. The volatile political climate in both countries influenced Alesha to create her most political album yet and, according to an interview with Rolling Stone, "the album I've always wanted to make." Alesha began recording the album at Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree, California, located in the High Desert. She continued recording at iconic studios around the country, such as Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee and RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as at Dreamland Recording near the site of Woodstock in upstate New York.

Concept and artwork
Surrounded by sociocultural conflict and political turmoil, Alesha was inspired by seminal rock albums from the 1960s and '70s, another particularly turbulent time in modern history. However, after drawing influence from the '80s for afterhours, Alesha was firmly against making another "period piece". Instead, Alesha looked to the artistic and political impact of artists like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, and Bruce Springsteen. In an interview with Billboard magazine, sound engineer Marc Ramirez pointed to two culturally significant albums in particular – self-titled albums by The Beatles in 1968 and Fleetwood Mac in 1975, both, especially the former, often referred to as 'The White Album'. Alesha wanted to produce a modern equivalent to seminal albums from that time without necessarily recreating them. Initially, Alesha hoped to craft an album split between modern electronic soundscapes and more traditional folk. Ultimately, The White Album at once leans towards a more timely sound while striving for timelessness.

The smoke bomb motif carried throughout the album campaign is based on art by Italian photographer Filippo Minelli, while the album's inlays feature images of natural disasters, such as severe storms, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions, originally taken by photojournalists. Alesha herself was photographed by Willy Vanderperre for the promotional images and inlays, seen against a white backdrop in different colored utility coats splattered with white paint. Alesha chose to focus less on her own image throughout the course of the album's promotion, instead hoping to "reflect images of the world."

Music and lyrics
The White Album features styles of dream pop, folk, neo-psychedelia, synth pop, and trance. Most of the record employs modern soundscapes rooted in electronic music, while still departing from the 1980s and '90s-inspired sound of afterhours. The White Album also bears influences of Alesha's extended exposure to the music of the Southern United States whilst filming Exile in Nashville. Frequent smoke breaks with her driver, a Nashville, Tennessee native, resulted in her introduction to bluegrass and "outlaw country". Alesha developed an appreciation for the country genre, praising what she described as the immediacy of the themes and the straightforward narrative structure of many of the songs she listened to. During a stint in Las Vegas, Alesha became infatuated with the Southwest, as well as desert rock and Americana music.

Themes of the album include escapism, loneliness and renewal, while also touching on political issues such as climate change, exploitation of natural resources, immigration and poverty. "I think there was a deliberate effort on Alesha's part to not just sing about her own life, but to look outwardly and sing about the world," Fusion Records founder and CEO Syd Wolfe told Billboard magazine. The White Album has been labeled Alesha's most personal album, even when compared to Buried Underneath (2005), Bigger Than God (2009) and The Martyr (2011). Like those albums, Alesha offers lyrical introspection and outward observation as she strays from mainstream pop to explore alternative styles. Alesha aimed to create her "most textural" record by incorporating a wide variety of influences and fashioning cohesive, textured soundscapes. The album is sequenced in such a way that each song flows seamlessly into the next.

Songs
The opening track, "Mirror", is a dream pop or shoe gaze song with a typically ethereal soundscape and "billowy synth lines," according to Pitchfork writer Stuart Berman. "Mirror" sees Alesha confronting her reflection, indicating that she is unfamiliar with the woman standing before her and longs to find the girl she "once used to know." "Llorona" takes its title from a legendary ghost prominent in the folklore of Hispanic America. According to the tradition, La Llorona ("The Weeping Woman") is the ghost of a woman who lost her children and cries while looking for them by the river, often causing misfortune to those who hear her. In "Llorona", Alesha asks the titular woman why she cries, over a backing track inspired by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Alesha commented that the song is dedicated to Millennials and their successors, many of whom have become "rightfully jaded" about the state of the world.

Lead single "Petroleum" uses the rise and fall of a romantic relationship as a metaphor for the exploitation of finite natural resources such as oil. Musically, it has a "dorky disco-funk vibe," according to Alesha. As the title suggests, "Outlaw" is inspired by outlaw country. While writing, Alesha recalled the lyrics to songs like "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash and "Friend of the Devil" by the Grateful Dead. "Old England" is a bluesy, psychedelic rock song in which Alesha rejects the traditional values and nationalist ideals of her home country. The song was inspired by the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, more commonly known as "Brexit". Alesha alludes to the age of discovery, singing "New worlds were waiting for me."

"Fire + Jade" was the first song to be completed for The White Album, although Alesha was unsure whether or not it would be used for the Exile in Nashville soundtrack. Noted by several music critics as the most "pop" song on the album, the track "absorbs EDM and trance in the album's seemingly infinite palette of sound." "Saltwater" is a mid-tempo song with psychedelic roots with impersonal lyrics that create "a strange and elusive atmosphere," according to Christian Morales of The Stanford Daily. Alesha sings of escapism, isolation and loneliness "in a detached manner". This vagueness carries through to the next track, "Alright", in which Alesha muses the state of the world and its future. Although it has not been explicitly stated, it is presumed that "Alright" was inspired by the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The song has a "darker edge".

"Winter", the penultimate track, speaks of rebirth and emotional renewal. Although the song is not a holiday song, Alesha does reference Christmas in the first bridge; the song has been compared to Joni Mitchell's "River" (1971), a melancholy ballad which has become a modern Christmas standard. Album closer "Migrant" was originally written under the title "Migrant Love Song". The lyrics detail either an immigrant or refugee couple traveling to find opportunity and asylum, only to die in one another's arms. Musically, the indie-folk song has a sunny disposition and a simple melody, but the upbeat music is counterpointed by the morose subject matter.

Critical reception
The White Album received acclaim from music critics. On Metacritic, the album holds an average critic score of 84, based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Ian Cohen of Pitchfork gave the album a "Best New Music" designation, saying, "Nearly every song on The White Album is a revelatory statement of Alesha's range and increasing expertise as a producer, arranger, songwriter, and vocalist while maintaining her own essence". Spin ' s Harley Brown called it "the purest — and most complex — distillation of everything that makes Alesha such a nearly physical pleasure to listen to". Brown added, "The real magic of The White Album, though, is in how Alesha so effectively (and genuinely, for the most part) manipulates the listener's emotions without necessarily revealing any herself."

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote "A lot of the album's power and strangeness comes from the way [the lyrics] cut against the lusciousness of the arrangements... and the loveliness of the melodies." He praised Alesha for creating psychedelia by leaving the listener "simultaneously baffled and intrigued", rather than resorting to cliched psychedelic music effects. Darren Levin of Rolling Stone Australia said "the first thing that really strikes you about The White Album is how hi-fi it actually is", and that after listening to the album, "you really do get the feeling you're watching one of rock's most restlessly creative minds at work". The White Album appeared on several critics' lists of the best albums of 2016.

Commercial response
On October 30, 2016, The White Album entered the official albums chart at number one, becoming Alesha's eleventh number one album (and eighth number one studio album). It sold 106,239 copies in its first week – Alesha's second highest first-week sales frame (behind 2015's afterhours). The following week, The White Album sold an additional 103,130 copies, although it fell to number two behind the release of Shell Ruin's Died Blonde: A Netflix Original Series Soundtrack. It remained at number two for a second week (its third week on the chart overall), spending two additional weeks in the top five. In its sixth week charting, The White Album was certified gold as sales passed 500,000 copies. Following the premiere of Alesha's Netflix concert special Midwinter and the release of second single "Winter", The White Album returned to the top five at number three as a whopping 172,922 copies were sold during Christmas week. In its tenth week on the chart, at number four, the album shifted another 146,592 units.

Promotion
Alesha chose to forego a traditional promotional campaign, relying heavily on word-of-mouth and a digital media presence. Unlike with previous releases, Alesha offered no television appearances or performances and declined to be interviewed by the press. Billboard magazine ran an exclusive feature entitled "Inside 'The White Album'", doubling as the only photoshoot from the early promotional campaign. The magazine discussed the recording process with those who worked on the album, such as Alesha's manager, backing musicians, sound engineers, and Fusion CEO Syd Wolfe.

In December 2016, multinational entertainment company Netflix posted a series of visual teasers to its social media accounts, employing the same smoke bomb photography as the artwork for The White Album. Days later, pop-up art installations saw plumes of colored smoke appear in city centers and near landmarks around the world. Alesha and Netflix formally announced their partnership, as well as the impending premiere of the documentary film Alesha: The White Album. On December 9, the documentary was available to stream in over 200 countries. On December 16, Netflix hosted the premiere of Midwinter, an exclusive concert special featuring the first performances of material from The White Album.

Singles
"Petroleum" was released as the album's lead single on October 10. Accompanied by two separate music videos, it spent two nonconsecutive weeks at number one on the official singles chart. "Winter" followed as the second single from The White Album on December 19. It became 2016's Christmas number one, Alesha's first single to crown the holiday chart (and her first attempt since 2005).

Track listing

 * 1) "Mirror"
 * 2) "Llorona"
 * 3) "Petroleum"
 * 4) "Outlaw"
 * 5) "Old England"
 * 6) "Fire + Jade"
 * 7) "Saltwater"
 * 8) "Alright"
 * 9) "Winter"
 * 10) "Migrant"