{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Small Vessel | type = studio | artist = SJ Esau | cover = Small Vessel.png | alt = | released = {{Start date|2008|06|24|df=yes}} | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = Indie rock | length = {{Duration|m=34|s=20}} | label = Anticon | producer = SJ Esau | prev_title = Wrong Faced Cat Feed Collapse | prev_year = 2007 | next_title = Exploding Views | next_year = 2014 }} '''''Small Vessel''''' is the second studio album by British indie rock musician SJ Esau. It was released on Anticon in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anticon.com/?js=yes|title=Top Page|work=Anticon|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913133643/http://www.anticon.com/?js=yes|archive-date=September 13, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | rev1 = ''Cokemachineglow'' | rev1score = 74%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/3768/sjesau-smallvessel-2008|title=SJ Esau: Small Vessel|work=Cokemachineglow|first=Colin|last=McGowan|date=July 17, 2008|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915065415/http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/3768/sjesau-smallvessel-2008|archive-date=September 15, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev2score = 3.6/10<ref name=pitchfork>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12117-small-vessel/|title=SJ Esau: Small Vessel|work=Pitchfork|first=Evan|last=McGarvey|date=August 26, 2008|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418055422/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12117-small-vessel/|archive-date=April 18, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> | rev3 = ''PopMatters'' | rev3score = {{Rating|8|10}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/sj-esau-small-vessel/|title=SJ Esau: Small Vessel|magazine=PopMatters|first=Andrew|last=Martin|date=July 31, 2008|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924162407/http://www.popmatters.com/review/sj-esau-small-vessel/|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' | rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name=tinymixtapes>{{cite web|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/sj-esau-small-vessels|title=SJ Esau - Small Vessels|work=Tiny Mix Tapes|first=Dave|last=Gurney|date=August 8, 2008|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023191055/http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/sj-esau-small-vessels|archive-date=October 23, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> }} Matt Rinaldi of AllMusic commented that ''Small Vessel'' "continues in the same genre-bending vein as its predecessor, blending elements of indie rock, folk, hip-hop, house, techno-pop, and industrial to create an end-product that is delightfully disorienting."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/small-vessel-mw0000789419|title=Small Vessel - SJ Esau|work=AllMusic|first=Matt|last=Rinaldi|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130103103/https://www.allmusic.com/album/small-vessel-mw0000789419|archive-date=November 30, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Dave Gurney of ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' gave the album 3 stars out of 5, writing, "Like being let into a friend's bedroom studio while he or she pores over partially and/or cryptically labeled tapes containing songs and experiments at varying states of completion, SJ Esau's sophomore effort ''Small Vessels'' has the initially intoxicating feeling of being let in on a secret treasure trove of restless musical creativity."<ref name=tinymixtapes/> He added, "Untitled bits of sonic debris mix with false starts of songs; hushed passages give way to lush arrangements of vocal and instrumental beauty bordering on the epic; and unexpected transitions and breaks suddenly expand or shrink the dynamic space in which they exist."<ref name=tinymixtapes/> Evan McGarvey of ''Pitchfork'' gave the album a 3.6 out of 10, stating that "''Small Vessel''{{'}}s strengths aren't unique; you can find dozens of whimsical, pseudo-surreal songwriters of this ilk (Why?, The Guillemots, Thee More Shallows, to start) who clutter their discs with fewer scribbles and less back-handed flippancy."<ref name=pitchfork/>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | all_writing = Sam Wisternoff | title1 = (Untitled) | length1 = 0:07 | title2 = Frustrating | length2 = 2:47 | title3 = Small Vessel | length3 = 0:18 | title4 = Bastard Eyes | length4 = 3:44 | title5 = I Threw a Wobbly | length5 = 3:05 | title6 = Under Certain Things | length6 = 4:35 | title7 = Bubblehead | length7 = 2:28 | title8 = (Untitled) | length8 = 0:06 | title9 = Ruddy Spark | length9 = 1:53 | title10 = The Small Percent | length10 = 3:39 | title11 = Slate | length11 = 1:26 | title12 = Death Perception Lack | length12 = 3:16 | title13 = Human Annoyed | length13 = 1:40 | title14 = (Untitled) | length14 = 1:01 | title15 = What Happen'd | length15 = 4:14 | total_length = 34:20 }}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{Discogs master|114579|Small Vessel}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2008 albums Category:Anticon albums Category:SJ Esau albums