Total Loss (album)

Total Loss
Studio album by How to Dress Well
Released	October 2, 2012 (2012-10-02)
Genre	Alternative R&B, ambient
Length	42:15
Label	Acéphale Records, Weird World
Producer	How to Dress Well, Rodaidh McDonald, Forest Swords
How to Dress Well chronology
Love Remains (2010) Total Loss (2012) "What Is This Heart?" (2014)

Total Loss is the second studio album by American musician How to Dress Well. It was released in September 2012 on Acephale Records in North America and Weird World Records in other regions.^[1][2] The track "Cold Nites", which was co-written and co-produced by Forest Swords, was released as a single.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.6/10[3]
Metacritic	77/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Fact	4/5[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The Irish Times	[8]
NME	8/10[9]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[10]
Q	[11]
Slant Magazine	[12]
Spin	7/10[13]
Uncut	8/10[14]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77% based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[4]

It was listed 33rd on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012.^[15] Pitchfork placed it at number 28 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2012.^[16]

Accolades

Accolades for Total Loss

Publication	Accolade	Rank
Beats Per Minute[17]	Top 50 Albums of 2012	8
Consequence of Sound[18]	Top 50 Albums of 2012	29
Exclaim![19]	Top 50 Albums of 2012	36
Fact[20]	Top 50 Albums of 2012	6
The Line of Best Fit[21]	Top 50 Albums of 2012	15
Pitchfork[22]	Top 50 Albums of 2012	28
Under the Radar[23]	Top 100 Albums of 2012	22

Track listing

Total Loss track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"When I Was in Trouble"	3:22
2.	"Cold Nites"	3:38
3.	"Say My Name or Say Whatever"	4:24
4.	"Running Back"	3:17
5.	"& It Was U"	3:04
6.	"World I Need You, Won't Be Without You (Proem)"	2:48
7.	"Struggle"	4:28
8.	"How Many?"	5:02
9.	"Talking to You"	4:14
10.	"Set It Right"	4:46
11.	"Ocean Floor for Everything"	3:12

Bonus 7"^[24]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Again" (Janet Jackson cover)	4:25
2.	"Blue Crystal Fire" (Robbie Basho cover)	4:56
3.	"Set It Right" (a capella version)	4:25

Charts

Chart performance for Total Loss

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25]	63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26]	141
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[27]	35
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[28]	18

References

1. "Acephale Records – How to Dress Well". acephale.bigcartel.com. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
2. "Weird World Records Releases". weirdworldrecordco.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
3. "Total Loss by How to Dress Well reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
4. "Reviews for Total Loss by How to Dress Well". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
5. Phares, Heather. "Total Loss – How to Dress Well". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
6. Calvert, John (September 10, 2012). "Total Loss". Fact. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
7. Simpson, Dave (September 20, 2012). "How to Dress Well: Total Loss – review". The Guardian. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
8. Carroll, Jim (October 12, 2012). "How to Dress Well". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
9. Calvert, John (September 7, 2012). "How To Dress Well – 'Total Loss'". NME. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
10. Cohen, Ian (September 20, 2012). "How to Dress Well: Total Loss". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
11. "How to Dress Well: Total Loss". Q (315): 103. October 2012.
12. Liedel, Kevin (September 14, 2012). "How to Dress Well: Total Loss". Slant Magazine. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
13. Baron, Zach (September 18, 2012). "How To Dress Well, 'Total Loss' (Acephale/Weird World)". Spin. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
14. "How to Dress Well: Total Loss". Uncut (186): 76. November 2012.
15. "Stereogum's Top 50 Albums Of 2012". Stereogum. December 5, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
16. "The Top 50 Albums of 2012 (3/6)". Pitchfork. December 20, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
17. "The Top 50 Albums of 2012". Beats Per Minute. December 14, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
18. "Top 50 Albums of 2012". Consequence of Sound. December 14, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
19. keast, James (December 21, 2012). "Exclaim!'s Best Albums of 2012". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
20. "The 50 Best Albums of 2012". Fact. December 3, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
21. "The Best Fit Fifty: Albums of 2012". The Line of Best Fit. December 17, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
22. "The Top 50 Albums of 2012". Pitchfork. December 20, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
23. "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2012". Under the Radar. March 27, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
24. Breihan, Tom (August 16, 2012). "How To Dress Well Covers Janet Jackson". Stereogum. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
25. "Ultratop.be – How To Dress Well – Total Loss" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
26. "Ultratop.be – How To Dress Well – Total Loss" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
27. "How To Dress Well Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
28. "How To Dress Well Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2019.

External links

• Total Loss at Discogs (list of releases)