Any Man in America
| Any Man in America | ||||
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| Blue October studio album | ||||
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Publication |
2011 |
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| Label (s) | Megaforce Records , Brando Records , Up / Down Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
13 |
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running time |
62:05 |
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Studio (s) |
Matchbox Studios ( Austin, Texas ) |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Any Man in America is the sixth studio album by the Texas rock band Blue October . It was released on August 16, 2011 in the USA and reached number 8 on the US charts . The album was produced by Tim Palmer .
Production and publication
The album was produced and recorded at Matchbox Studios in Austin, Texas between the summer of 2010 and March 2011. It was released via Furstenfeld's own label Up / Down Records (RED Distribution) as well as Megaforce Records and Brando Records .
The first single The Chills was released as a download on May 31, 2011 and first broadcast on American radios at the end of June. On June 9, 2011, the official music video (producer: Matt Fields) for the album's second single entitled The Feel Again (Stay) was released .
The album was released on August 16 in the US and on August 26, 2011 in Europe. It sold 27,275 copies in the first week, making it the best-selling debut album, the best-selling rock album, the second best-selling independent album and the eighth best-selling album in general. The album also sold well on iTunes. There it was marked as the “highest selling alternative album” and as the “fifth best selling album overall”.
Music and lyrics
The band varies their musical style on the album. In addition to the alternative rock typical of Blue October, there are also elements of post-grunge , art-rock , progressive rock and, for the first time, increasingly hip-hop and rap elements. Furstenfeld cited his boredom in the rock music that he felt during the recording as the motivation . He also believes that rappers know how to express problems "as bluntly as possible".
Most of the songs on the album are about Justin Furstenfeld's divorce and the related custody battle over his daughter. In the song The Flight , the singer describes a panic attack that the protagonist suffers during a flight from Lincoln to Minneapolis . The lyrics were written by Justin Furstenfeld. Andy Sharp, Dwight Baker, and Tim Palmer partly supported him in developing the songs. The song The Feel Again was written by all musicians in the band.
Cover and inlay
The cover was drawn by Tim Palmer's three-year-old daughter Bluebelle. This is a drawing that is supposed to represent singer and guitarist Justin Furstenfeld. The inlay mainly contains pictures of the band, Justin Furstenfeld and his daughter. Only the lyrics of the song The Worry List are printed. Singer Justin Furstenfeld has left a dedication for his daughter on the back of the inlay.
reception
Kai Butterweck from laut.de awarded two out of five stars and found the album to be a "tasty bombast soundtrack for moody melancholics."
Kulturnews awarded four out of six stars and wrote: “... after the downright optimistic album Approaching Normal, they now dare to try dark songs and rap interludes again. This makes for a healthy change that is pleasantly good for the sound of the quintet. As long as the drama doesn't get too much. "
Florian from Metalize.me says that the band is incomparable in their music. He is of the opinion that everyone who has the opportunity to attend a concert by the band should take advantage of this.
Torsten Schlimbach from Dream Out Loud Magazine describes the band's music as a “soul striptease” by singer Justin Furstenfeld , which is digestible, but still authentic and honest. He describes the music as being too thick, but that's exactly what fans love about Blue October. Schlimbaum is of the opinion that the band lives and loves their music.
Bender from Stormbringer.at , on the other hand, describes the album as rather flat with an irritating presentation, which does contain some bright spots (“The Getting Over It Part”), but does not want to fit into the overall concept. Some tracks are overly kitschy ("The Worry List", "The Feel Again") and others contain completely misplaced rap interludes ("For the Love", "Any Man in America"). The critic assumes that the group cannot make a breakthrough in Europe with this album either.
Track list
- Everything (AM Limbo)
- The Feel Again (Stay)
- The Money Tree
- For the love
- Drama everything
- The chills
- The Flight (Lincoln to Minneapolis)
- Any Man in America
- You waited too long
- The honesty
- The Getting Over It Part
- The Worry List
- The Follow Through
Individual evidence
- ↑ Any Man in America (album) in the US charts
- ^ Building albums sales chart. Retrieved August 22, 2011
- ^ Shauna O'Donnell, "Blue October Lands Highest Chart Debut of Their Career" . August 24, 2011. Accessed on September 24, 2011. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.kulturnews.de/knde/artist.php?artist=Blue+October
- ↑ Scott Iwasaki: Interview: Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October . June 13, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
- ↑ Aaron Will Schick: Interview with Blue October vocalist and guitarist Justin Furstenfeld. Puregrainaudio.com, September 14, 2011, accessed February 25, 2012 .
- ^ Booklet of the album Any Man in America , 2011
- ↑ http://www.laut.de/Blue-October/Any-Man-In-America-%28Album%29
- ↑ CULTURAL NEWS : Album review for Any Man In America
- ↑ METALIZE.me: Any Man in America - album review ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Torsten Schlimbaum: Dream Out Loud Magazine : Any Man in America Album review ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bender: Stormbringer.at : Any Man in America (3/5)
