Communion (Years and Years album)

Background

In 2014, the group signed to Polydor Records. In January 2015, Years & Years won the prestigious BBC Sound of 2015. The trio were also nominated for the Critics Choice Award for the 2015 Brit Awards.

The album's title and release date was announced on 18 March 2015, when it was made available to pre-order on iTunes.

Singles

"Real" was released as the album's first single on 17 February 2014.

"Take Shelter" was released as the album's second single on 18 August 2014 and peaked at number 140 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Desire" was released on 23 November 2014 as the album's third single and peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

"King" was released as the album's fourth single on 27 February 2015. The song debuted at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, with a combined sales-streaming figure of 101,000 copies, and reached number 3 on the Irish Singles Chart.

"Shine" was released as the album's fifth single on 5 July 2015 and debuted at number 2 on the UK Official Chart.

"Eyes Shut" was released as the album's sixth single on 13 November 2015.

A new version of "Desire" featuring Tove Lo was released on 4 March 2016.

Critical reception

The album has received positive reviews. Communion received a score of 68 on Metacritic based on 18 professional reviews. In an enthusiastic review, AllMusic rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting the group’s ability to skillfully bridge the "ambient ’80s style synth-pop of M83 with the funky dancefloor grooves of Justin Timberlake" and transform their influences into something new. In another 4 out of 5 review, DIY praised singer Olly Alexander for managing to avoid cliché while tackling well-tread subjects such as heartbreak and loneliness, and remarks that the group adds a human touch to powerful pop anthems. Pitchfork, which rated the album a 7.4 out of 10, addressed potential critiques by remarking that while much of the album may seem familiar, Years & Years distills rather than dilutes the formula of "reimagined '80s and '90s club pop".

Multiple reviews, however, commented on the derivativeness of the songs with The Independent calling the album a "slick amalgamation of 2014’s sounds". Alex Petridis of The Guardian wrote that the group doesn’t "seem to have an original idea in their collective heads", but still acknowledged that the album’s "watertight" pop songwriting made it enjoyable. Jon Caramanca of The New York Times made a similar critique of the album, to which he referred as "diet-club music", but again praised the songwriting as excellent and effective. In an overall positive review, Billboard noted that the group has a "skill set, not a sound", particularly pointing out the album's strong melodies, emotional honesty and broad tastes. In mixed reviews, NME rated the album 4 out of 10 lamenting that the album had little to say and took no risks, while Drowned in Sound gave the album a 5 out of 10, writing that while many elements of the album were pleasant, overall it did not command listeners’ attention.

Commercial performance

Communion debuted at number 1 in the United Kingdom, outselling the rest of the top 5 combined in its first week of release. In the United States, the album debuted at number 47 selling 8,841 copies in its first week.

Communion sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide and became the fastest selling debut in 2015 from a UK signed band.

Track listing

Notes