Quality Over Opinion is the sixth solo album and fourth studio album by American musician Louis Cole. It was released on October 14, 2022, on Brainfeeder.[2] It was nominated for Best Alternative Jazz Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards; and the single "Let it Happen" was nominated for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals the previous year.[3]
Quality Over Opinion was Cole's second album released through Brainfeeder, after 2018's Time.[1] The album was recorded and produced in Cole's home studio, with Cole performing most of the instruments himself.[2][4] According to Cole, inspirations for the album included Gustav Mahler, György Ligeti, Miles Davis, Meshuggah, Morten Lauridsen, and Super Mario Kart.[2]
Cole released four singles in the months leading up to the album's release: "Let it Happen", "I'm Tight", "Not Needed Anymore", and "Dead Inside Shuffle".[2][5] Cole filmed music videos for all four of these, as well as for "Park Your Car on My Face" and "Shallow Laughter / Bitches". He also released a full-album lyric video of himself lip syncing along in a bathroom mirror.[6] In an article for NPR, Nate Chinen noted Cole's "deadpan dance" moves and absurdist humor in the video for "I'm Tight".[7]
Quality Over Opinion was met with positive reviews, with Chinen describing the album as "bracing"[7] and Ammar Kalia of The Guardian calling it Cole's "most accomplished and well-rounded work to date".[8] Michael Major of BroadwayWorld described "I'm Tight" as "a sleek, laser-focused Funk rocket, based on an utterly irresistible bassline."[2]