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| '''''"Couples"''''' is the second album by ] band ]. It was released on 7 April 2008 via ], with the first single, "]", released on 24 March 2008.<ref>{{cite web | title=Long Blondes Wrap Up New Album|publisher=Aversion.com | date=21 December 2007 | url=http://www.aversion.com/news/news_article.cfm?news_id=9882 | accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref> | '''''"Couples"''''' is the second album by ] band ]. It was released on 7 April 2008 via ], with the first single, "]", released on 24 March 2008.<ref>{{cite web | title=Long Blondes Wrap Up New Album|publisher=Aversion.com | date=21 December 2007 | url=http://www.aversion.com/news/news_article.cfm?news_id=9882 | accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref> The quotation marks in the album title were included as a reference to the ] album ].<ref> {{cite web | url = http://www.roughtraderecords.com/thelongblondes | title = The Long Blondes Biography | accessdate = 2014-01-24 | publisher = Rough Trade Records}}</ref> | ||
| ==Recording== | ==Recording== | ||
Revision as of 11:01, 24 January 2014
This article is about the The Long Blondes album. For the novel by John Updike, see Couples. For other uses, see Couple (disambiguation).
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"Couples" is the second album by Sheffield band The Long Blondes. It was released on 7 April 2008 via Rough Trade Records, with the first single, "Century", released on 24 March 2008. The quotation marks in the album title were included as a reference to the David Bowie album "Heroes".
Recording
The album was recorded in October 2007 with Erol Alkan reprising production duties, having already produced many of their b-sides including "Fulwood Babylon", "All Bar One Girls" and "Five Ways to End It".
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Drowned In Sound | (8/10) |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | positive |
| Metro | |
| Mojo | |
| Music Week | positive |
| NME | (6/10) |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.8/10) |
| Uncut | |
The album was generally well received by critics. The Independent called it "one of the albums of the year from one of the bands of the decade". The Fly described it as "a dark, sultry and sublime album" and gave it a four out of five stars. Uncut gave the album four stars and called it a "sleek, sexy affair....Flirtations with a darker sound and Donna Summer-style disco emerge", Mojo labelled the album "ambitious and close to unique". Drowned In Sound said that the band had created "an ambitious, forward-thinking pop record that tops their debut by quite some distance", and Allmusic called the LP an "exciting, challenging, daring listen that's full of brains".
Despite good reactions from many top music critics in the UK, Pitchfork Media had an average take on the album, writing that "In an attempt to be taken seriously, they've sacrificed too much of their effervescent appeal." The album was rewarded a 5.8/10, compared to the 8.2 score their debut album received.
Click Music's Andrew Grillo named Couples his 9th best album of 2008.
Track listing
All tracks written by The Long Blondes.
- "Century" – 5:36
- "Guilt" – 4:35
- "The Couples" – 3:37
- "I Liked the Boys" – 1:59
- "Here Comes the Serious Bit" – 2:49
- "Round the Hairpin" – 5:43
- "Too Clever by Half" – 4:26
- "Erin O'Connor" – 3:09
- "Nostalgia" – 3:12
- "I'm Going to Hell" – 5:58
- Bonus tracks
- "Picture of You" (UK iTunes bonus track)
- "Going Grey" (UK iTunes bonus track)
Personnel
The Long Blondes
- Emma Chaplin – guitars, keyboards, vocals
- Dorian Cox – guitars, keyboards, vocals, lyrics (except on tracks 1 and 4)
- Reenie Hollis – bass guitar, vocals
- Kate Jackson – lead vocals, lyrics (on tracks 1 and 4), artwork
- Screech Louder – drums
Technical personnel
- Erol Alkan – producer, mixer
- Jimmy Robertson – engineer
- Mark 'Elton' Alloway – assistant engineer
- John Sephton – assistant engineer
- Paul Harris – assistant engineer
- Guy Davie – mastering, at the Exchange
- Kate Jackson – artwork
- Steve Harries – photography
References
- "Long Blondes Wrap Up New Album". Aversion.com. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- "The Long Blondes Biography". Rough Trade Records. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- Allmusic review
- Drowned In Sound review
- The Guardian review
- The Independent review
- Metro review
- Mojo review
- Music Week review
- NME review
- Pitchfork Media review
- Uncut review
- The Long Blondes: Couples (2008): Reviews
- Price, Simon (6 April 2008). "Album: The Long Blondes, "Couples" (Rough Trade)". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- "The Long Blondes Cancel Shows / News Stories / Music News from THE FLY - The UK's Most Popular Music Magazine". The Fly. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ "Couples Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- Webb, Rob (3 April 2008). "The Long Blondes - "Couples" / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- allmusic ((( Couples > Review )))
- "Pitchfork Album Review". 11 April 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- Writer's Choice: Albums Of The Year Part 5
- "Long Blondes Reveal North American Tour, Tracklist". Pitchforkmedia.com. 8 February 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
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