Poptical Illusion

Poptical Illusion (stylised as POPtical uoᴉsnllI) is the eighteenth studio album by the Welsh musician and composer John Cale, released on 14 June 2024 by Double Six and Domino. In contrast to his previous album Mercy (2023) which featured many collaborators at different studios, Poptical Illusion was produced by Cale along with his manager Nita Scott in his Los Angeles studio with Cale performing most of the instruments.^[2][3]

Poptical Illusion
Studio album by John Cale
Released	14 June 2024 (2024-06-14)
Studio	ARM (Los Angeles)
Genre	Electronic[1]
Length	63:59
Label	Double Six Domino
Producer	John Cale Nita Scott
John Cale chronology
Mercy (2023) Poptical Illusion (2024)
Singles from Poptical Illusion
"How We See the Light" Released: 26 March 2024 "Shark-Shark" Released: 8 May 2024

Background

On 26 March 2024 the first single from the album, "How We See the Light", was released along with a music video directed by Pepi Ginsberg.^[4] On 8 May the second single, "Shark-Shark", was released with a music video directed by Abigail Portner.^[5] On 19 August the third single, "Davies and Wales" was released along with a music video directed by Jethro Waters.^[6] Two tracks – "Beethoven in the Old West" and "News of Nicholas" – are only available on a 7" bonus single that comes with the limited edition 2LP version of the album.^[7]

Critical reception

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings for POPtical Illusion

Publication/critic	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
MOJO	75 Best Albums of 2024	28	[8]
Uncut	80 Best Albums of 2024	21	[9]

Track listing

Poptical Illusion track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"God Made Me Do It (Don't Ask Me Again)"	4:48
2.	"Davies and Wales"	4:15
3.	"Calling You Out"	4:49
4.	"Edge of Reason"	5:23
5.	"I'm Angry"	5:25
6.	"How We See the Light"	4:45
7.	"Company Commander"	4:07
8.	"Setting Fires"	5:40
9.	"Shark-Shark"	5:00
10.	"Funkball the Brewster"	5:34
11.	"All to the Good"	4:30
12.	"Laughing in My Sleep"	5:45
13.	"There Will Be No River"	3:58
Total length:		63:59

All tracks are written by John Cale.

Bonus 7" tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Beethoven in the Old West"
14.	"News of Nicholas"

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Running Out"
15.	"Invention of Language"

Notes

• "All to the Good" is omitted from the vinyl versions, but is available with purchase through an MP3/WAV download card, along with an alternate mix of "Shark-Shark".^[7]

Personnel

• John Cale – vocals, synthesizers, production (all tracks); drums (tracks 1–4, 6–12), bass (1–3, 6–10, 12), piano (1, 2, 13), organ (2–5, 9, 10), fretless bass (4), Empirical Egyptian Scale piano (6), noises (7, 8), sampler (7, 10, 13), guitar solo (8); guitars, SampleTron (9); electric keyboard (11), electric piano (12), bass organ (13)
• Nita Scott – production (all tracks), background vocals (track 3), keyboards (4, 8, 12), samples (4, 12), programming (4), drum programming (8), drums (10, 12); noises, sampler (10); bass (11)
• Dustin Boyer – recording (all tracks), guitar (tracks 1–3, 6, 7, 9), acoustic guitar (5), noises (7)
• Seven Davis Jr. – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 4, 11)
• Mikaelin "Blue" Bluespruce – mixing (tracks 2, 5–8, 10, 12, 13)
• Justin Raisen – mixing (track 9)
• Mike Bozzi – mastering
• Björn Copeland – artwork
• Rob Carmichael – design

Charts

Chart performance for Poptical Illusion

Chart (2024)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10]	38
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11]	79
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12]	129
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13]	45
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[14]	145
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[15]	91
Scottish Albums (OCC)[16]	27
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17]	78
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[18]	80
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[19]	32
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[20]	10