Secondhand Rapture

Secondhand Rapture
Studio album by MS MR
Released	May 10, 2013
Recorded	2011–12
Genre	Indie pop, alternative rock
Length	42:06
Label	Columbia Records, Creep City Records
Producer	Lizzy Plapinger, Max Hershenow, Tom Elmhirst
MS MR chronology
Candy Bar Creep Show (2012) Secondhand Rapture (2013) Spotify Sessions (2013)
Singles from Secondhand Rapture
"Hurricane" Released: June 10, 2012 "Fantasy" Released: March 8, 2013 "Think of You" Released: August 5, 2013 "Fantasy" / "Dance Yrself Clean" Released: November 7, 2013

Secondhand Rapture is the debut studio album by American duo MS MR, released on May 14, 2013 by Columbia Records. The album was written and produced by MS MR with additional production and mixing done by Tom Elmhirst. The album features the singles "Hurricane", "Fantasy" and "Think of You". "Bones" was used in a promotional trailer for the third season of Game of Thrones in early 2013, and in an episode of Pretty Little Liars. Secondhand Rapture peaked at No. 116 on the Billboard 200 and sold 3,500 copies during its first week.^[1]

Singles

• "Hurricane" was released as the first European single. The song was popular in Germany and made it to No. 38 on that country's singles charts. In April 2013, "Hurricane" was rereleased as the second international single from the album.
• "Fantasy" was released as the official lead single from the album. The music video was released on February 4, 2013. The single reached No. 77 in Australia's ARIA Charts.
• "Think of You" was released as the third single. The music video was released on February 4, 2013.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	60/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Consequence of Sound	C+[4]
Filter	(83%)[5]
The Independent	[6]
musicOMH	[7]
Pitchfork	6.0/10[8]
PopMatters	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]

Secondhand Rapture garnered mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 15 reviews.^[2]

Laurence Green, writing for musicOMH, praised the album's warm production, melodies and consistency, declaring, "For all its rich fashionable stylings, Second Rapture is a pop album to its very core and wears the tag with pride".^[7] AllMusic's Heather Phares said, "MS MR concentrate on a sullen yet sultry mood for the bulk of Secondhand Rapture, and while that delivers several notable tracks -- "Fantasy" and "Head Is Not My Home" chief among them—at times it's almost too much. Still, the album's strongest tracks show that the duo has plenty of talent and potential". "^[3] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine praised the album, noting that "MS MR's knack for durable hooks, in fact, is what keeps the album's gloomy goth-pop anchored".^[10]

Pitchfork contributor Laura Snapes described the band's sound as "brooding, rhythmically strong pop songs that fall halfway between the poutiness of Lana Del Rey and the hyperactive fizz of HAIM", but criticized their "obsessively curated" strategy", inconsistent lyrical approach and deviations from their sonic template of "deep, thunderous rumblings, celestial twinkling, foggy shrouds, and the sweet clarity of a pastel dawn".^[8] Sasha Geffen of Consequence of Sound commended Plapinger's nuanced lyrical delivery and Hershenow's "rich orchestral palette", concluding that "Secondhand Rapture blurs the line between throwing up our hands in defeat and throwing them up in joy".^[4]

Track listing

All tracks written by MS MR, additional production by Tom Elmhirst. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hurricane"	3:46
2.	"Bones"	4:15
3.	"Ash Tree Lane"	3:13
4.	"Fantasy"	3:28
5.	"Dark Doo Wop"	2:53
6.	"Head Is Not My Home"	3:33
7.	"Salty Sweet"	3:12
8.	"Think of You"	3:26
9.	"Twenty Seven"	3:39
10.	"BTSK"	3:27
11.	"No Trace"	3:16
12.	"This Isn't Control"	3:58
Total length:		42:06

Amazon exclusive version (MP3 download)
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Fantasy" (Nicita Remix)	3:39

iTunes bonus track
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Fantasy" (Kele from Bloc Party Remix)	5:56

Spotify bonus track
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Strings"	3:57

Secondhand^2: The Remix EP[11]
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Think of You (Wet Remix)"	3:45
2.	"Think of You (HAERTS Remix)"	5:36
3.	"Hurricane (Goldroom Remix)"	5:44
4.	"Fantasy (Nicita Remix)"	3:40
5.	"Fantasy (Xaphoon Jones Late Nite Mix)"	3:35
6.	"Bones (Hot Sugar Remix)"	3:56
Total length:		26:16

Personnel

MS MR

• Lizzy Plapinger (MS)
• Max Hershenow (MR)

Additional personnel

• MS MR – art direction, design
• Anita Marisa Boriboon – art direction, design
• Tyler Kohloff – photography
• Lana Lackey – styling
• Laura Stiassini – hair and make-up
• Carmen Maria Traud – illustration

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12]	22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	126
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14]	36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	51
UK Albums (OCC)[16]	65
US Billboard 200[17]	116
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[18]	24
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[19]	2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[20]	35

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format(s)	Name
Germany	May 10, 2013	Columbia, Sony Music	CD, digital download, vinyl	Secondhand Rapture
France			digital download
United Kingdom
France	May 13, 2013		CD
United Kingdom			CD, vinyl
Worldwide	May 14, 2013		CD, digital download, vinyl
	April 8, 2014		digital download	Secondhand^2: The Remix EP

References

1. "Upcoming Releases - HITS Daily Double". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
2. "Secondhand Rapture by MS MR". Metacritic. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
3. Phares, Heather. "Secondhand Rapture - MS MR". AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
4. Geffen, Sasha (May 20, 2013). "Album Review: MS MR – Secondhand Rapture". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
5. Studarus, Laura (May 14, 2013). "REVIEWS MS MR Secondhand Rapture - COLUMBIA". Filter. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
6. Montgomery, Hugh (May 11, 2013). "Album: Ms/Mr, Secondhand Rapture (RCA)". The Independent. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
7. Green, Laurence (May 13, 2013). "MS MR – Secondhand Rapture". MusicOMH. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
8. Snapes, Laura (May 22, 2013). "MS MR: Secondhand Rapture". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
9. James, Matt (May 13, 2013). "MS MR: Secondhand Rapture". PopMatters. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
10. Cinquemani, Sal (May 10, 2013). "MS MR: Secondhand Rapture". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
11. iTunes: Second^2: The Remix EP https://itunes.apple.com/de/album/secondhand-2-the-remixes-ep/id849942299
12. "Australiancharts.com – MS MR – Secondhand Rapture". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
13. "Ultratop.be – MS MR – Secondhand Rapture" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
14. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
15. "Swisscharts.com – MS MR – Secondhand Rapture". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
16. "MS MR | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved September 7, 2013.
17. "MS MR - Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
18. "MS MR - Chart history: Top Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
19. "MS MR - Chart history: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
20. "MS MR - Chart history: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2013.