So Much for the City

Last updated

So Much for the City
The Thrills-So Much for the City (album cover).jpg
Studio album by
Released27 May 2003 (2003-05-27)
RecordedOctober 2002 – March 2003
Genre Indie rock, post-punk revival
Length46:24
Label Virgin
Producer Tony Hoffer
The Thrills chronology
So Much for the City
(2003)
Let's Bottle Bohemia
(2004)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 72/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [3]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]
Pitchfork 6.9/10 [7]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Spin B+ [10]
The Village Voice C [11]

So Much for the City is the debut album of the Irish indie/pop band The Thrills. It was released on 27 May 2003 and quickly achieved success in Ireland, spending 61 weeks in the top 75 of the Irish Albums Chart. [12] The album also won 'Album of the Year' at the national music awards. It gained significant popularity in the UK, debuting at #3 and remaining in the charts for 25 weeks. [13] The single "Big Sur" reached #17 in the UK, [13] which remains their highest charted position in the country to date.

Contents

In an interview, lead singer Conor Deasy explained the band's inspiration for the song material:

Those songs are our ways of picking us up because we were kind of miserable. We were dropped by our label. And the towns are put [in the songs] as a way of escapism, as opposed to documenting little tales about what happened when we went there. When we put in a title like "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)," it would literally pick us up a bit. [14]

The album was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Prize but lost to Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner . [15]

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [16]

The song "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" was ranked by Q Magazine at number 550 on their list of the 1001 best songs ever made. [17]

The song "Say It Ain't So" appeared on US President George W. Bush's iPod in 2005. [18]

Track listing

  1. "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" – 4:13
  2. "Big Sur" – 3:07
  3. "Don't Steal Our Sun" – 2:50
  4. "Deckchairs and Cigarettes" – 4:58
  5. "One Horse Town" – 3:15
  6. "Old Friends, New Lovers" (feat. string arrangements by David Campbell) – 4:01
  7. "Say It Ain't So" – 2:44
  8. "Hollywood Kids" – 5:33
  9. "Just Travelling Through" – 3:21
  10. "Your Love Is Like Las Vegas" – 2:23
  11. "'Til the Tide Creeps In" / "Plans" (hidden track) – 10:06

Singles

Charts

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References

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  5. "Album: The Thrills". The Independent . 27 June 2003. Archived from the original on 30 June 2003. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  6. Hilburn, Robert (26 October 2003). "When Irish eyes are California dreamin'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  7. Petrusich, Amanda (21 July 2003). "The Thrills: So Much for the City". Pitchfork . Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  8. "The Thrills: So Much for the City". Q (204): 112. July 2003.
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  11. Christgau, Robert (25 May 2004). "Consumer Guide: Anti-Gravitational Boots". The Village Voice . Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  12. The Thrills – So Much For The City – Music Charts
  13. 1 2 "The Thrills". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 25 March 2012.
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  17. "Rocklist.net... Q - 1001 Best Ever Songs". Q Magazine.
  18. Bumiller, Elisabeth (11 April 2005). "White House Letter:President Bush's iPod". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
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