Action Adventure
Studio album by DJ Shadow
Released	October 27, 2023 (2023-10-27)
Length	57:37
Label	Mass Appeal
Producer	DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow chronology
Our Pathetic Age (2019) Action Adventure (2023)
Singles from Action Adventure
"Ozone Scraper" Released: August 18, 2023

Action Adventure is the seventh studio album by American music producer Joshua Paul Davis, released on October 27, 2023, through Mass Appeal.

Contents

• Background
• Critical reception
• Track listing
• Personnel
• Charts
• References

Background

Davis offered a first insight into his upcoming musical output on August 9, 2023. In an effort to "get personal" and make music for himself again, he no longer saw a use to "give someone else a runway" or make music that was "formatted for vocalists". ^[1] With this record, the producer challenged himself to "write music that flexed different energies". ^[2] In preparation for the production, Davis bought 200 tapes recorded off an 1980s-era radio mix on eBay and listened to previously unheard records from his 60,000-strong vinyl record collection. ^[3]

One of the main questions Davis asked himself throughout the recording process was which chord progression would be "most natural" and "least predictable". ^[4] The album reflects his "relationship to music" as well as his "life as a collector and curator". ^[5]

The producer announced the album release on August 18. ^[6] Unlike its predecessor Our Pathetic Age , which contained a multitude of guest appearances, Action Adventure has no featured artists and is "mostly instrumental". ^[7] Davis shared the lead single "Ozone Scraper" on August 18, a "peppy, synth-powered" track accompanied by a video filmed in Uzbekistan. Directed by Stefano Ottaviano, the visuals capture a "zen-like feeling". ^[8] Promotion of the album was set to encompass three performance dates in October 2023. ^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100 [10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
And It Don't Stop	A− [12]
The Irish Times	[13]
Louder Than War	[14]
Mojo	[15]
Pitchfork	6.9/10 [16]
Record Collector	[17]
Tom Hull – on the Web	B+ ( ) [18]
Uncut	7/10 [19]
Under the Radar	4.5/10 [20]

Action Adventure received a score of 67 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on eight critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. ^[10] Louder Than War named it album of the week and described it as "a great comeback from a great talent who's been in hibernation waiting to release a monstrous set of pure brilliance". ^[14] AllMusic's Paul Simpson wrote that Action Adventure "doesn't sound like DJ Shadow's other records, but it's exactly the type of album he would make—a risky, expectation-bucking set that only fully makes sense to the artist himself". ^[11]

The Irish Times ' Lauren Murphy found the album to have "an undoubted sense of nostalgia" and called it "a reminder that DJ Shadow still has plenty to offer". ^[13] Mojo commented that "even when further adrift from the lost funk sampledelia that made his name, Shadow's production brilliance shines through", ^[15] and Uncut felt that "the album flags a bit in the middle but maintains enough propulsion to easily glide past those saggy moments". ^[19] Matthew Ismael Ruiz of Pitchfork remarked that "some of the beats [...] feel hollow without a charismatic rapper to float over them" and "much of the album's early runtime builds towards a climax that never comes", although felt that "the drums are captivating enough to save more than one song from sleeping at the wheel". ^[16]

Track listing

All tracks are arranged by Joshua Davis.

Sample credits

• "All My" contains a sample of "Expatriot", written and performed by Loudon Wainwright III.
• "Witches vs. Warlocks" contains a sample of "(Wir Sind Die) Schmetterband", written by Georg Herrnstadt, and performed by Schmetterlinge.
• "A Narrow Escape" contains a sample of "The Runner", written and performed by Sam Spence.
• "You Played Me" contains a sample of "Baby Got Me Goin", written by Ron Townsend, and performed by Jan Jerome.
• "Free for All" contains a sample of "Loose Goose", written by Kenny Aaronson, and performed by Dust.
• "Fleeting Youth (An Audible Life)" contains a sample of "Tourmaline", written and performed by Eugene Bowen.
• "She's Evolving" contains a sample of "Work", written by Carol Grimes and Maciek Hrybowicz, and performed by Carol Grimes.

Personnel

• DJ Shadow – production, mixing, programming
• Mikael "Count" Eldridge – mixing
• Mark Bijasa – artwork
• Ron Lesser – cover painting

Charts

References