Fires (Nerina Pallot album)

Fires is the second album by London-born singer-songwriter Nerina Pallot. First released in April 2005 on her own independent record label, Idaho Records, Fires was met with much critical acclaim but did not gain commercial recognition.

Fires
Studio album by Nerina Pallot
Released	4 April 2005 (Version 1) 24 April 2006 (Version 2)
Recorded	Sage and Sound Xstacy South Sunset Sound Los Angeles Eastcote RAK The Glue Hotel Nerina's House, London
Genre	Pop rock, alternative rock
Length	46:55
Label	Idaho Records 14th Floor Records
Producer	Nerina Pallot Howard Willing Wendy Melvoin Eric Rosse
Nerina Pallot chronology
Dear Frustrated Superstar (2001) Fires (2005) The Graduate (2009)
Alternative cover
2005 original release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Contactmusic.com	(positive)[2]
Entertainment.ie	[3]
IndieLondon	(positive)[4]
LeedsMusicScene	[5]
Sound Generator	[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The Oxford Student	(positive)[8]
The Times	(positive)[9]
Virgin Media	[10]

After working as a support act for artists such as Sheryl Crow and Suzanne Vega, Pallot was signed up to 14th Floor Records, who were impressed with the audience response and after-show sales of her album. Thus, Fires was reissued in late April 2006 with revamped artwork and some slight remixes on some of Pallot's songs. The album entered at UK #41 and later, on the strength of the popular single "Everybody's Gone to War", made it as far as #21.

To date, the album has been certified gold in the UK for sales of over 100,000,[11] and has earned Pallot a nomination at the 2007 BRIT Awards for Best British Female. As of 4 October 2009, the album has sold 138,563 copies in the UK.

Track listing

All songs written by Nerina Pallot.

1. "Everybody's Gone to War" – 3:54
2. "Halfway Home" – 4:26
3. "Damascus" – 4:42
4. "Idaho" – 4:29
5. "All Good People" – 4:16
6. "Mr King" – 4:22
7. "Geek Love" – 4:00
8. "Sophia" – 3:40
9. "Learning to Breathe" – 4:09
10. "Heart Attack" – 3:25
11. "Nickindia" – 5:28

Singles

The original release of the album was preceded by a download-only single, "Everybody's Gone to War". Two further singles, "Damascus" (June 2005) and "All Good People" (September 2005), the latter a BBC Radio 2 Single of the Week, failed to dent the UK Singles Chart. "All Good People" did, however, peak at #21 on the UK Airplay Chart in August 2005 and spent four weeks inside the Airplay Top 30.

After Pallot's success on the support slot circuit in 2005 led to her signing with 14th Floor Records, "Everybody's Gone to War" was re-released on download, CD, and 7" vinyl on 22 May 2006. With a memorable video directed by Marc Klasfeld and high-profile UK TV appearances, the song peaked at UK #14 and also peaked at #3 on the UK Airplay Chart.

A remixed version of "Sophia" followed on download, CD, and 7" vinyl after much delay on 2 October 2006, peaking at UK #32 (and #12 on the UK Airplay Chart). A fifth and final single from Fires, "Learning to Breathe", peaked at UK #70 following its release on 8 January 2007, but fared significantly better on the UK Airplay Chart, peaking at #22.

Chart statistics

Release date	Title	Chart Positions
		UK Singles Chart	UK Airplay Chart	Australia	Dutch Top 40
6/6/2005	"Damascus"	DNC
5/9/2005	"All Good People"	DNC	21
22/5/2006	"Everybody's Gone to War"	14	3	41	48
2/10/2006	"Sophia"	32	12
8/1/2007	"Learning to Breathe"	70	22

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Alex Lai. "Nerina Pallot - Fires Album Review - Contactmusic.com". Contactmusic.com.
3. "Music Review - Nerina Pallot - Fires - entertainment.ie". entertainment.ie.
4. "indielondon.co.uk - music - Nerina Pallot, Fires".
5. Clare Pidsley. "Nerina Pallot - Fires". Leeds Music Scene.
6. http://www.tourdates.co.uk/news/10902-Nerina-Pallot-Fires. Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. Adam Sweeting. "CD: Nerina Pallot, Fires". the Guardian.
8. The Oxford Student review
9. "Login".
10. Virgin Media review
11. "British certifications – Fires". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 January 2012. Type Fires in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.