Systems/Layers is the final LP by the instrumental group Rachel's.[4] It was released on October 7, 2003, on Quarterstick Records. The album is a collaborative dance/theater piece with the New York ensemble SITI Company.[2][5]
The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart.[6]
Reception
Initial critical response to Systems/Layers was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 81, based on 14 reviews.[7]PopMatters called the album "one of the year's finest releases," writing that "its greatest gift ... is its sheer compatibility -- you can take Systems/Layers anywhere and it will speak to you."[8]Exclaim! called it "at once touching and haunted, intimate and disturbingly uncomfortable."[9]The Times deemed it the band's worst album.[10] The East Bay Express labeled it "the soundtrack to your most brilliant, reflective life."[11]