Couples (The Long Blondes album)

Couples is the second album by the Sheffield band The Long Blondes. It was released on 7 April 2008 by Rough Trade Records, with the first single, "Century", released on 24 March 2008.[1] The quotation marks in the album title were included as a reference to the David Bowie album "Heroes".[2]

Couples
Studio album by The Long Blondes
Released	7 April 2008
Genre	Indie rock
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Erol Alkan
The Long Blondes chronology
Someone to Drive You Home (2006) Couples (2008) Singles (2008)

Recording

The album was recorded in October 2007.produced by Erol Alkan who had previously produced many of the band's B-sides including "Fulwood Babylon", "All Bar One Girls" and "Five Ways to End It".

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Drowned In Sound	(8/10)[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The Independent	positive[6]
Metro	[7]
Mojo	[8]
Music OMH	[9]
NME	(6/10)[10]
Pitchfork Media	(5.8/10)[11]
Uncut	[8]

The album was generally well received by critics.[12] The Independent called it "one of the albums of the year from one of the bands of the decade".[13] The Fly described it as "a dark, sultry and sublime album" and gave it a four out of five stars.[14] Uncut gave the album four stars and called it a "sleek, sexy affair....Flirtations with a darker sound and Donna Summer-style disco emerge",[15] Mojo labelled the album "ambitious and close to unique".[15] Drowned In Sound said that the band had created "an ambitious, forward-thinking pop record that tops their debut by quite some distance",[16] and Allmusic called the LP an "exciting, challenging, daring listen that's full of brains".[17]

Despite good reactions from many 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.[18]

Click Music's Andrew Grillo named Couples his ninth best album of 2008.[19]

Track listing

All tracks written by The Long Blondes.

1. "Century" – 5:36
2. "Guilt" – 4:35
3. "The Couples" – 3:37
4. "I Liked the Boys" – 1:59
5. "Here Comes the Serious Bit" – 2:49
6. "Round the Hairpin" – 5:43
7. "Too Clever by Half" – 4:26
8. "Erin O'Connor" – 3:09
9. "Nostalgia" – 3:12
10. "I'm Going to Hell" – 5:58[20]

Bonus tracks

11. "Picture of You" (iTunes bonus track)
12. "Going Grey" (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

1. "Long Blondes Wrap Up New Album". Aversion.com. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
2. "The Long Blondes Biography". Rough Trade Records. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
3. Allmusic review
4. "Album Review: The Long Blondes - "Couples"". DrownedInSound.
5. Betty Clarke. "CD: The Long Blondes, Couples - Music - The Guardian". the Guardian.
6. "Album: The Long Blondes,". The Independent.
7. Arwa Haider for Metro. "The Long Blondes: Couples". Metro.
8. "Reviews for Couples by The Long Blondes - Metacritic". Metacritic.
9. Pia, Camilla. "The Long Blondes – Couples". Music OMH. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
10. "NME Reviews - The Long Blondes - NME.COM". NME.COM. 11 April 2008.
11. "Pitchfork Media review". Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
12. "Reviews for Couples by The Long Blondes". Metacritic.
13. Price, Simon (6 April 2008). "Album: The Long Blondes, "Couples" (Rough Trade)". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
14. "The Long Blondes Cancel Shows". The Fly. 18 June 2008. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
15. "Couples reviews". Metacritic.com. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
16. Webb, Rob (3 April 2008). "The Long Blondes - "Couples"". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
17. Allmusic Couples review
18. "Pitchfork Album Review". 11 April 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
19. "Writer's Choice: Albums Of The Year Part 5". clickmusic.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
20. "Long Blondes Reveal North American Tour, Tracklist". Pitchforkmedia.com. 2 February 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.