Concrete Love

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Concrete Love
Four men standing in front of a cloudy skyline
Studio album by
Courteeners
Released18 August 2014 (2014-08-18)
GenrePost-punk, synth-pop
Length46:15
LabelCooperative Music
ProducerJoseph Cross
Courteeners chronology
Anna
(2013) 		Concrete Love
(2014) 		Mapping the Rendezvous
(2016)
Singles from Anna
  1. "How Good It Was"
    Released: 1 September 2014
  2. "Next Time You Call"
    Released: 10 November 2014

Concrete Love is the fourth studio album by British rock band Courteeners, released on 18 August 2014 via Cooperative Music label.[1]

Background

Courteeners released their third studio album Anna in February 2013.[2] It peaked at number six in the UK Albums Chart; out of its three singles, "Lose Control" was the only one to chart, reaching number 82 in the United Kingdom.[3] The band promoted the album with two tours of the UK – one at the start of the year and the other at the end – and special performances at Castlefield Bowl.[4] Frontman Liam Fray and Joe Cross, who had produced Anna, went to Montmartre, Paris to work on demos for the band's next album.[5][6] Cross took his laptop and a few instruments to help them; the pair eventually came up with an album's worth of songs.[5] Following the second UK tour, the band went on hiatus; it did not last long as Fray explained: "the good songs just kept coming and people still seemed quite hungry for us, so we carried on".[7][8] Following this, Fray and Cross went to Whitby to do further work on the demos.[5]

Composition and lyrics

Concrete Love is an indie rock and synth-pop album that expands on the sound of Anna, drawing from 1980s music.[9][10] AllMusic reviewer Matt Collar said the band "delve even deeper into a layered post-punk sound that finds them adding more guitars and even strings on some cuts".[9] Fray described the material as "stories, they come from somewhere. They're a little bit less literal, a bit more abstract [...] I've always been a fan of that kind of kitchen sink style of writing. [...] There are little pockets of abstract dotted around. So there's a bit more, 'Let people make their mind up', I guess, than the last record".[1]

"White Horses" features country-leaning acoustic guitars, backed by industrial beats.[11] On "How Good It Was", Fray explained that "it almost felt like a kind of Beach Boy Motown, as a kind of homage to Danny Zuko and it happened".[1] It is an indie pop song dealing with love during one's childhood years.[12] "Small Bones" describes long distance relationships; the horns heard in evoke the work of Arcade Fire.[10][13] "Has He Told You That He Loves You Yet" is a pseudo-psychedelic track, sung from the perspective of a father to their teenage offspring.[12] "Black & Blue" has a punk rock rhythm echoing the sound of their first two studio albums, St. Jude (2008) and Flacon (2010), with Fray's vocals recalling Liam Gallagher of Beady Eye.[11][13]

With "International", Fray mentioned how he spent more time working on it than any other song on the album: "I just felt very bare and very exposed and I didn’t like it at all. It was difficult".[5] The simplistic lyrics of "Next Time You Call" earned it a comparison to Reverend and the Makers.[13] "Summer" is a 1960s sunshine pop song, while "Saboteur" includes a synthesizer-led breakdown.[11][6] "Saboteur" has robotic-sounding vocals and a psychedelic atmosphere.[13] Fray said "Dreamers" deals with people that are viewed as outsiders from British football: "I’m not just saying it’s a class issue, it’s a taste and a fashion issue too".[5] The closing track, "Beautiful Heads", features a chord progression akin to a Church service.[13] Fray felt "Winter Wonderland" was "custom built for live shows"; he wrote it on a piano at Norah Jones' New York City home, and had previously performed in 2011.[14]

Release

On 20 June 2014, Concrete Love was announced for released in two months' time; the album's track listing and artwork was posted online. Alongside this, "Summer" was made available for streaming.[15] The band held a one-off show at the 100 Club in London, where they debuted five new songs from the forthcoming album.[16][17] The How Good It Was EP was released on 21 July 2014, containing the outtakes "Hometown One", "Sunflower" and "Why Are You Still With Him?".[18][19] The music video for "How Good It Was" was posted on YouTube on 6 August 2014.[20] They supported the Killers for a one-off show in Glasgow and appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.[21] Concrete Love was released on 18 August 2014; a deluxe edition included a DVD of footage filmed during their 2013 Castlefield Bowl performances.[15] "How Good It Was" was released as the album's lead single on 1 September 2014.[22] Courteeners embarked on a tour of the UK, which ran into November 2015, ending with a performance at the Liverpool Arena.[23] The London date was stopped abruptly when a fan lit a flare inside the venue; the band were told by various venues and authorities to stop any performances should someone set off a flare.[24] "Next Time You Call" was released as the album's second single on 10 November 2014.[25]

Courteeners performed at Heaton Park in Manchester in June 2015, marking the first time that a band in three years[26] All 25,000 tickets sold out in 40 minutes; they were supported by Peace, Bipolar Sunshine and Blossoms.[27][28] Following this, Courteeners appeared at the Isle of Wight, Glastonbury, T in the Park and V Festivals.[29][30][31] The music video for "Small Bones" was posted on YouTube on 1 November 2015.[32] The band closed out the year with a UK tour, which ended with five consecutive shows O2 Apollo in Manchester, with support from Declan McKenna and Pretty Vicious.[33][34] "Winter Wonderland" was released as a single on 17 November 2015; the seven-inch vinyl record featured an acoustic version of "Small Bones" as its B-side.[35][36] Ten days later, Concrete Love was reissued under the name Concrete Love – Extra Love, which consisted of the original album, the How Good It Was EP, "Winter Wonderland", a phone recording of "Next Time You Call" and acoustic versions of "Summer", "How Good It Was", "International" and "Small Bones".[37] The music video for "Winter Wonderland" was posted on YouTube on 21 December 2015.[38] Around this time, bassist Mark Cupello left the band and was replaced by Cross.[39]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?5.6/10[40]
Metacritic61/100[41]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Gigslutz[13]
Hot Press3.5/5[42]
The Irish Times[10]
The Line of Best Fit5/10[12]
NME[43]

Concrete Love was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 61, based on five reviews.[41] AnyDecentMusic? gave it an average score of 5.6, based on six reviews.[40]

Renowned for Sound contributor Andrew Le said aside from a "few shortcomings, the Courteeners’ new album proves why the band has performed well as a live act, as its guitar riffs and choruses should incite sing-alongs at its concerts".[11] The Irish Times writer Lauren Murphy felt the band "fails to offer anything beyond their anthemic indie-rock [...] it’s not quite enough to make these perfectly passable songs remarkable in any way".[10] Sam Willis of The Line of Best Fit ponder if "there['s] anything new here? Absolutely not", explaining that the band had not evolved since their previous work.[12] Gigslutz writer Beth Kirkbride said it felt "very much like it wasn’t left to cook for long enough [...] I’m still hungry after eating it".[13] NME's Barry Nicolson felt that the album's biggest drawback was its "lack of inspiration, perhaps a result of the speedy turnaround between this record and its predecessor".[43]

Concrete Love debuted at number three in the UK Albums Chart, eventually being certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry in 2018.[3][44] It also reached number four in Scotland.[45] "How Good It Was" charted at number 42 in Scotland and number 66 in the UK.[3][46] "Summer" peaked at number 98 in Scotland and number 104 in the UK.[47][48]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Liam Fray.

No.TitleLength
1."White Horses"3:58
2."How Good It Was"4:05
3."Small Bones"4:13
4."Has He Told You That He Loves You Yet"4:11
5."Black & Blue"3:51
6."International"4:43
7."Next Time You Call"3:32
8."Summer"3:35
9."Saboteur"3:35
10."Dreamers"5:14
11."Beautiful Head"5:18
Total length:46:15

Credits

Courteeners
  • Liam Fray – vocals, guitars,
  • Daniel Moores – guitars
  • Mark Cuppello – bass guitars
  • Michael Campbell – drums
  • Adam Payne – Keyboards
  • Continuous

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ^ a b c XFM Announcement Archived 10 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Tim Cocker, Courteeners announce new album Concrete Love, XFM, 18 August 2014.
  2. ^ Renshaw, David (4 February 2013). "This week's new releases: February 4". NME. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Courteeners / full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  4. ^ Touring in support of Anna:
  5. ^ a b c d e Kinney, Fergal (22 October 2014). "Liam Fray interviewed, by Fergal Kinney". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Courteeners announce new album 'Concrete Love'". Louder Than War. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  7. ^ Cooper, Leonie (13 December 2013). "The Courteneers announce 2014 hiatus". NME. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  8. ^ Cooper, Leonie (28 July 2014). "The Courteeners' Liam Fray: 'Brandon Flowers is the second best-looking man in rock after me'". NME. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Collar, Matt. "Concrete Love - Courteeners / Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d Murphy, Lauren (15 August 2014). "Courteeners: Concrete Love". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d Le, Andrew. "Album Review: The Courteeners – Concrete Love". Renowned for Sound. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d Willis, Sam (15 August 2014). "Courteeners - Concrete Love". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Kirkbride, Beth (17 August 2014). "The Courteeners 'Concrete Love' - Album Review". Gigslutz. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  14. ^ Hillyard, Kim (16 November 2015). "The Courteeners reveal Christmas charity single 'Winter Wonderland' – listen". NME. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b Stubbs, Dan (20 June 2014). "Courteeners announce new album – hear first track, 'Summer'". NME. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  16. ^ Cooper, Leonie (8 July 2014). "Courteeners announce intimate London gig". NME. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Courteeners debut five new songs at intimate London show". NME. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  18. ^ "How Good It Was - EP by Courteeners". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  19. ^ Haigh, Josh (21 July 2014). "The Courteeners to release new EP 'How Good It Was' – listen". NME. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  20. ^ Courteeners (6 August 2014). Courteeners - How Good It Was (Official Video). Retrieved 8 April 2022 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ Davidson, Amy (20 June 2014). "Courteeners announce new album Concrete Love - listen to new song". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  22. ^ "How Good It Was" (sleeve). Courteeners. Self-released. 2014. Promo 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ Cooper, Leonie (21 August 2014). "Courteeners announce autumn tour". NME. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  24. ^ Renshaw, David (9 November 2014). "The Courteeners stop London performance after flare is lit in the venue – watch". NME. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Next Time You Call" (sleeve). Courteeners. Self-released. 2014.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ Wright, Lisa (25 November 2014). "The Courteeners announce Heaton Park show for June 2015". NME. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  27. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (4 June 2015). "The Courteeners on hometown gig: 'Morrissey's invited but we don't know if he can handle the mud'". NME. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  28. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (18 May 2015). "Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham quotes Courteeners lyrics on Twitter". NME. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  29. ^ Cooper, Leonie (8 January 2015). "The Courteeners, Ash and The View added to Isle of Wight Festival line-up". NME. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  30. ^ Simpson, Dave (8 June 2015). "The Courteeners review – homecoming heroes savour their big moment". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  31. ^ Pell, Mike (2 March 2015). "kasabian & calvin harris to headline v festival 2015". MTV. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  32. ^ Courteeners (1 November 2015). Courteeners - Small Bones(Official Video). Retrieved 8 April 2022 – via YouTube.
  33. ^ "The Courteeners announce UK tour". NME. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  34. ^ Clare, Katie (11 December 2015). "The Courteeners: O2 Apollo,Manchester – live review". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  35. ^ "Winter Wonderland - Single by Courteeners". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  36. ^ "Winter Wonderland" (sleeve). Courteeners. [PIAS]. 2016. COOP008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  37. ^ Hendicott, James (11 November 2015). "The Courteeners announce deluxe version of 'Concrete Love' and new single 'Winter Wonderland'". NME. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  38. ^ Courteeners (21 December 2015). Courteeners - Winter Wonderland (Official Video). Retrieved 8 April 2022 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ "The Courteeners announce new album at T in the Park". NME. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  40. ^ a b "Concrete Love by The Courteeners reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  41. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Concrete Love". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  42. ^ O'Regan, Colm (22 August 2014). "The Courteeners 'Concrete Love' - Album Review". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  43. ^ a b Nicolson, Barry (15 August 2014). "The Courteeners - 'Concrete Love'". NME. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  44. ^ a b "British album certifications – Courteeners – Concrete Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  45. ^ a b "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  46. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 27 July 2014 - 02 August 2014". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  47. ^ "CLUK Update 28.06.2014 (wk25)". Zobbel.de. 28 June 2014. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  48. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 22 June 2014 - 28 June 2014". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  49. ^ "Courteeners | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 9 April 2022.

External links

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