The English Riviera (album)

The English Riviera is the third studio album by English synthpop band Metronomy, released in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2011 by Because Music. Following the release of their last album Nights Out in 2008, original member Gabriel Stebbing left the band - from this album, Olugbenga Adelekan had joined on bass and Anna Prior had joined on drums. However, Stebbing recorded the bass parts on the album prior to his departure.

The English Riviera
Studio album by
Metronomy
Released8 April 2011 (2011-04-08)
RecordedSmokehouse Studios (London), Motorbass (Paris)
Genre
Length45:04
LabelBecause
ProducerJoseph Mount
Metronomy chronology
Nights Out
(2008)		 The English Riviera
(2011)		 Love Letters
(2014)

The album was nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[1]
Metacritic78/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Daily Telegraph[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Irish Times[6]
Mojo[7]
NME9/10[8]
The Observer[9]
Pitchfork6.4/10[10]
Q[11]
Uncut[12]

The NME placed the album at number two on its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2011,[13] while Uncut and Q listed the album at numbers three and seventeen, respectively.[14][15] Mike Williams of NME wrote, "With this, his third full-length album, Joe Mount has transformed his Metronomy project from a jaunty, brilliant, yet ultimately niche electro outfit into one of the most expansive and visionary pop bands in the country".[8]

Singles
  • "She Wants" was released as the lead single from the album on 26 January 2011. The promo video (directed in Jul & Mat) takes place during a house party with the action being played out in reverse in one continuous take. The bandmembers are absent although pictures of the group's faces can be seen throughout the video. At one point a QR code is mounted on a wall, providing an interactive feature that allows fans to access the Metronomy website after being scanned.
  • "The Look" was released as the second single on 11 March 2011. The video, directed by Lorenzo Fonda, depicts the band performing the song in a white room alongside stop motion animated sequences featuring seagulls. The band scenes were filmed in London while the animation was produced in Los Angeles. Frontman Joseph Mount is seen playing a Yamaha Electone EX-2 organ. The song is played over the end titles of the 2013 Pedro Almodóvar film "I'm So Excited" (Los amantes pasajeros).
  • "The Bay" was released as the third single on 10 June 2011. The video, directed by David Wilson, intersperses bird's-eye views of Torbay (known as the English Riviera) and the band performing the song at various places in Torquay where the video was shot.
  • "Everything Goes My Way" was released on 17 October 2011. The video features the band along with guest vocalist Roxanne Clifford having a stroll in a nature reserve surrounded by deer.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Joseph Mount.

No.TitleLength
1."The English Riviera"0:37
2."We Broke Free"4:05
3."Everything Goes My Way"3:30
4."The Look"4:37
5."She Wants"3:51
6."Trouble"4:46
7."The Bay"4:50
8."Loving Arm"3:31
9."Corinne"3:16
10."Some Written"6:03
11."Love Underlined"5:58
iTunes bonus tracks[16]
No.TitleLength
12."Tens and Tens"4:39
13."She Wants" (video)5:07
14."The English Riviera Track by Track" (video)10:23

Personnel
Band
  • Joseph Mount – arranger, art direction, producer (all tracks); vocals (tracks 2–11); bass guitar (tracks 6, 7); clavinet, Yamaha CS2x (track 11); conga, EDP Wasp (track 7); drums (tracks 2–7, 10); guitar (tracks 2, 4–7, 9); handclaps (track 3); Minimoog (tracks 4, 7); Moog modular (track 8); Moog Source (tracks 4, 8, 10); percussion (tracks 3–11); Roland Juno-60 (tracks 2, 4); Solina String Ensemble (track 5); talk box, Yamaha CS-80 (track 6); Wurlitzer 200A (tracks 6, 10); Yamaha CS-50 (track 10)
  • Oscar Cash – guitar (track 3); handclaps (tracks 3, 4, 9); saxophone (tracks 3, 7); Siel Orchestra (track 4); Roland Juno-60 (tracks 5, 9)
  • Olugbenga Adelekan – bass guitar, backing vocals, handclaps (track 9)
  • Anna Prior – backing vocals (track 5); drums (tracks 9, 11); vocals, handclaps (track 9)
Additional

Charts and certifications

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[23] Gold 50,000[24]
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 100,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Commercial performance

As of January 2012 UK sales stand at 54,417+ copies according to The Guardian.[26] In 2012 it was awarded a double gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 150,000 copies throughout Europe.[27]

Release history
Country Date Label
Ireland[28] 8 April 2011 Because Music
United Kingdom[29] 11 April 2011
France[30] Warner Music
Germany[31] 15 April 2011
Australia[32] 6 May 2011 Because Music
Canada[33] 31 May 2011 Warner Music
United States[34] 26 July 2011 Because Music, Big Beat Records, Atlantic Records
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References
  1. "The English Riviera by Metronomy reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  2. "Reviews for The English Riviera by Metronomy". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  3. O'Brien, Jon. "The English Riviera – Metronomy". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  4. Burrows, Tim (8 April 2011). "Metronomy: The English Riviera, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  5. Sullivan, Caroline (7 April 2011). "Metronomy: The English Riviera – review". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  6. Carroll, Jim (29 April 2011). "Metronomy". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  7. "Metronomy: The English Riviera". Mojo (210): 114. May 2011.
  8. Williams, Mike (13 April 2011). "Album Review: Metronomy – 'The English Riviera' (Because)". NME. IPC Media. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  9. Grundy, Gareth (10 April 2011). "Metronomy: The English Riviera – review". The Observer. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  10. Love, Joshua (19 April 2011). "Metronomy: The English Riviera". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  11. "Metronomy: The English Riviera". Q (298): 114. May 2011.
  12. "Metronomy: The English Riviera". Uncut (168): 91. May 2011.
  13. "NME's 50 Best Albums of 2011". NME. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  14. "Uncut's Top 50 Albums of 2011". Stereogum. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  15. "Q's 50 Best Albums of 2011". Stereogum. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  16. "The English Riviera by Metronomy". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  17. "ARIA Digital Albums – Week Commencing 16th May 2011" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Metronomy – The English Riviera" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  19. "Lescharts.com – Metronomy – The English Riviera". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  20. "Swisscharts.com – Metronomy – The English Riviera". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  21. "Metronomy | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  22. "Classement Albums – année 2011" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  23. "French album certifications – Metronomy – The English Riviera" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20131015095217/http://infodisc.fr/Ventes_Album11.php
  25. "British album certifications – Metronomy – The English Riviera". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 February 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The English Riviera in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  26. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/jan/16/indie-rock-slow-painful-death?newsfeed=true
  27. http://www.vut.de/index.php?id=42&tx_vutnews_pi1%5Barticle%5D=210&cHash=b7db7c5c120f55ac6c06cd370dbeec86
  28. "Metronomy – English Riviera". Tower Records Ireland. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  29. "Metronomy: English Riviera". HMV. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  30. "The English riviera : Metronomy" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  31. "Metronomy – The English Riviera" (in German). Warner Music Germany. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  32. "English Riviera, The – Metronomy". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  33. "ENGLISH RIVIERA by METRONOMY". HMV Canada. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  34. "English Riviera: Metronomy". Amazon.com. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
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