| Artist |
Metronomy |
| Album Title: |
Small World |
| Album Cover: |
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| Primary Genre |
Alternative & Punk: Indie |
| Format |
Vinyl |
| Released |
02/18/2022 |
| Label |
Because Music |
| Catalog No |
BEC 5907714 |
| Bar Code No |
5 060899 077151 |
| Packaging |
Gatefold LP Sleeve |
| Tracks |
| A1.
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Life And Death (3:01)
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| A2.
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Things Will Be Fine (3:30)
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| A3.
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It's Good To Be Back (3:53)
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| A4.
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Loneliness On The Run (3:39)
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| A5.
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Love Factory (5:03)
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| B1.
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I Lost My Mind (3:44)
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| B2.
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Right On Time (3:44)
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| B3.
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Hold Me Tonight (3:31)
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| B4.
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I Have Seen Enough (3:34)
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| Date Acquired |
03/24/2022 |
| Personal Rating |
 |
| Acquired from |
Bandcamp Artist Website |
| Purchase Price |
26.40 |
Web Links |
All Music Guide Entry:
Bandcamp entry:
Discogs entry:
MusicBrainz entry: |
Notes |
Notes:
Gatefold sleeve
Made in France
Credits:
Design – The Letter Press
Lacquer Cut By – Matt Colton
Mastered By – Matt Colton
Mixed By – Ash Workman
Photography By [Sleeve] – Kate Mount
Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Organ [Yamaha D85] – Oscar Cash
Producer – Ash Workman, Joseph Mount
Written-By, Drums, Bass Guitar, Synthesizer [Roland Juno 60, Roland System 100], Organ [Yamaha D85] – Joseph Mount
Barcode and Other Identifiers:
Barcode (Sticker Scanned): 5060899077151
Barcode (Sticker Text): 5 060899 077151
Barcode (Cover Scanned): 5060899077144
Barcode (Cover Text): 5 060899 077144
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| Reviews |
Small World Review by Heather Phares:
Unlike many artists who made music inspired by the COVID-19 global pandemic, Metronomy's Joe Mount didn't write songs driven by the era's political climate or the blurry times spent in lockdowns. Instead, on Small World he uses the craving for familiarity, comfort, and optimism sparked by the pandemic as a starting point for sunny-sounding songs that manage to find some deeper truths in what initially seem like platitudes. Mount may be in an even more philosophical mood than he was on Metronomy's previous album, Metronomy Forever. Where that album was a sprawling mix of reflective pop songs and synth experiments that made for unpredictable and sometimes uneven listening, this time Mount does more with less. At a trim nine songs, Small World is just over half the size of Metronomy Forever and keeps the focus firmly on Mount's songwriting skills. Though his talents as a producer often overshadow his lyrics, memorable and affecting songs have been a part of Metronomy's DNA since Nights Out, and Small World features some of the most engaging songs of Mount's career. "Things Will Be Fine" looks back on teenage angst with the kind of hope that comes from experience and plenty of strummy, good-natured hooks; "It's Good to Be Back" is even more deceptively cheery, pitting bubbly choruses against verses that aren't quite so certain. It's a technique Metronomy also uses cleverly on "Right on Time," a song that overcomes its doubts with fizzy, disco-tinged refrains that stop just short of cloying. In keeping with the renewed focus on songwriting, Small World's production and arrangements are restrained and often surprisingly classic, though not stiflingly so; the lush musings of "Life and Death" are Mount's version of a vintage singer/songwriter ballad, but the tinny drum machine pinning them down is pure Metronomy. The emphasis on strings of all kinds -- acoustic, electric, and bowed -- makes for a refreshingly grounded feel on songs like "Loneliness on the Run," which finds contentment in small things over ambling chord changes that recall Badly Drawn Boy, and gives a heady thrill to "Hold Me Tonight," a duet with Porridge Radio that packs a rom-com's worth of meet cutes and happy endings into its bouncy riffs and giddy strings. In some ways, Small World is the pop album Metronomy have always been capable of making, and in others, it subverts expectations. Writing happy songs that aren't annoying is a tall order, but Mount and company pull it off with enough flair to make Small World a satisfying microcosm of Metronomy's music.
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| Cover 1 |
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| Cover 2 |
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| Cover 3 |
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| Cover 4 |
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| Cover 5 |
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| Cover 6 |
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| Cover 7 |
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| Cover 8 |
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| Cover 9 |
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