BlueHammer85
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So Much for the City is the debut album of the Irish indie/pop band The Thrills. It was released in May 2003 and quickly became the number one in the Republic of Ireland where it spent 61 weeks in the top 75, and also won 'Album of the Year' at the national music awards. It was also very successful in UK, debuting at #3, remaining in the charts for 25 weeks, and gave them some attention in Europe, with the single "Big Sur" reaching #17 in the UK, which remains as their highest charted position in that country to date.
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. ”
The album was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Prize but lost to Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner.
1. Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)
2. Big Sur
3. Don't Steal Our Sun
4. Deckchairs And Cigarettes
5. One Horse Town
6. Old Friends, New Lovers
7. Say It Ain't So
8. Hollywood Kids
9. Just Travelling Through
10. Your Love Is Like Las Vegas
11. 'Til The Tide Creeps In (Contains Hidden Track 'Plans')
Review 213
Off to Paris for a long weekend, so getting my review in early.
'So Much For The City' made the Thrills an instant success - Very much a Beach Boys vibe with jangly Indie upbeat Summer songs, with so many references to America it's surprising this band is actually from Ireland.
One horse Town', 'Big Sur' and Don't Steal Our Sun' are strong up tempo numbers as stand alone singles - but away from them some of the slower songs are weak and pretty average at best.
Still, It's a fresh and very accomplished debut album.
6.9/10