This Is Acting [LP]

by Sia

Overview

Reflecting her years as a music industry veteran, Sia Furler took a self-aware, practical approach to her return to the spotlight. She recorded her comeback album, 1000 Forms of Fear, to get out of her publishing contract; its acclaim led to This Is Acting, a collection of songs originally written for -- and rejected by -- clients such as Adele, Rihanna, and Beyonce. But as the album title hints, there's more going on here than recycling. In a way, Furler is acting when she writes songs to fit the images these artists portray, and her own interpretations of them add another layer of theatrical distance. This isn't necessarily a bad thing -- she initially shopped "Chandelier" to Rihanna and Beyonce before keeping it for herself and imbuing it with the unique frailty that made it a smash hit. Sia's skill at crafting songs full of drama and vulnerability that feel real, no matter how loud they get, is in full force on This Is Acting, particularly its first two tracks. Originally intended for Adele -- another master of huge-yet-genuine-sounding songs -- "Bird Set Free" and "Alive" are filled with wounded empowerment and vocal acrobatics that sound just as powerful (if less bombastic) coming from Sia. Though she returns to the intimate songwriting of her pre-pop career on "One Million Bullets" -- the lone song Furler wrote for herself -- many of This Is Acting's most interesting and successful moments find Sia taking on more unexpected roles. A pair of songs intended for Rihanna let her show off a more lighthearted side: the spare, reggae-tinged pulse of "Cheap Thrills" echoes Major Lazer's "Lean On" (yet another Rihanna reject), but a backing chorus of what sounds like alien children reinforces that this is a Sia song, while "Reaper" lets her explore a more easygoing version of her seize-the-day anthems. Given that Furler didn't originally plan to make these songs her own originally, it's impressive that This Is Acting works as well as it does -- its meta-pop is another reminder of how cleverly Sia brings her experiments into the mainstream. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	04/15/2016
Label:	Monkey Puzzle / Rca
UPC:	0888751805514
Rank:	5487

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Bird Set Free
2. Alive
3. One Million Bullets
4. Move Your Body
5. Unstoppable
6. Cheap Thrills

Disc 2

7. Reaper
8. House on Fire
9. Footprints
10. Sweet Design
11. Broken Glass
12. Space Between

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sia   Primary Artist,Vocals
Josh Valle   Guitar
T-Minus   Bass,Drums,Piano,Keyboards
Cameron Deyell   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Mist   Featured Artist
Kendrick Lamar   Featured Artist
Christopher Braide   Bass,Drums,Piano,Strings,Percussion,Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric)
Chris Wrays   Guitar,Keyboards
Greg Kurstin   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Mellotron
Jake Sinclair   Piano,Percussion,Tambourine
Jesse Shatkin   Synthesizer,Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion
Erick Serna   Guitar
The Schiller Street Gang   Featured Artist
Tobias Jesso, Jr.   Piano
Sean Paul   Featured Artist
Sisqo   Featured Artist
Garrett Ray   Drums
Oliver Kraus   Strings
Samuel Dixon   Piano
Alison Bjorkedal   Harp

Technical Credits

Bob Robinson   Composer,Composer
Josh Valle   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Jorge Gutierrez   Mixing Assistant
Dominic Halaapiapi Lopez   Composer
Wood Melodies   Remix Producer
Dom$Olo   Producer
James Brown   Engineer,Engineer
T-Minus   Engineer,Producer,Programming,String Programming
Jasper Leak   Composer
Laura Sisk   Engineer
Tyler Williams   Composer,Composer
Cameron Deyell   Producer,Vocal Engineer
Kendrick Lamar   Composer
Christopher Braide   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer
Mood Melodies   Remixing
Alan Walker   Remixing,Programming,Remix Producer,Instrumentation
Dom Solo   Composer,Producer
Erick Lang   Photography
Jaime Wosk   Engineer
Tim Kelley   Composer
Tim Kelly   Composer
Sia Furler   Composer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Noah Goldstein   Composer,Producer
Sia   Design,Creation,Photography,Art Direction,Executive Producer
Greg Kurstin   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Sam Dent   Engineer
Adele Adkins   Composer
Erik Madrid   Mixing
Chris Galland   Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Jake Sinclair   Producer,Additional Production
Jesse Shatkin   Programming,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Recording,Bass Programming,Drum Programming,String Programming,Additional Production,Synthesizer Programming,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Suzy Shinn   Engineer
Rob Suchecki   Vocal Engineer
Nikhil Seetharam   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Anders Froen   Programming,Remix Engineer,Instrumentation
Julian Burg   Engineer
David Russell   Production Manager
Ike Schultz   Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Jamie Wosk   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Tobias Jesso, Jr.   Composer
Chris Allgood   Mastering Assistant,Assistant Mastering Engineer
Gunnar Greve Pettersen   Remix Producer
Mark Andrews   Composer,Composer
Robi Rosa   Composer
Stuart White   Vocal Engineer
Marquis Collins   Composer
Kanye West   Composer,Producer
Emily Lazar   Mastering
88-Keys   Producer
Jack Antonoff   Composer,Producer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Oliver Kraus   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,String Arrangements
John Hanes   Mixing Engineer
Desmond Child   Composer
Samuel Dixon   Composer,Vocal Engineer
Sean Paul Henriques   Composer
Joseph Longo   Composer
Alex Pasco   Engineer
Charles Njapa   Composer
Michelle Holme   Design