Hands (album)
| Hands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Boots studio album | ||||
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Publication |
June 8, 2009 |
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| Label (s) | Sixsevenine | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, download |
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Pop , dance , electropop , synthpop |
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Title (number) |
12 + 1 |
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running time |
49:01 |
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| occupation |
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Greg Kurstin, Joe Goddard, RedOne , Jas Shaw, Fred Ball, Pascal Gabriel, Kid Gloves, Semothy Jones, Richard Stannard |
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Hands ( German: Hands ) is the debut album of English electropop - singer and musician Little Boots . It was released on June 8, 2009 under the label Sixsevenine. The album peaked at number 5 on the UK charts and number 20 on the Irish charts. The album's first single, New In Town , became a Top 20 hit, while the second single, Remedy , produced by RedOne, reached number 6 on the UK singles chart. The album's third single, Earthquake , was released on November 16.
The album mainly contains songs about love, relationships and heartbreak and can be stylistically classified into the categories of pop , dance , electro-pop and synth-pop .
background
Little Boots began recording the album in Los Angeles in the spring of 2008 . During her stay there she spent two days in the studio with RedOne , in which the song Remedy was created. In January 2009 she put the songs together for the album.
The album title Hands comes from the song of the same name, which is included on the CD version as a hidden track after the song No Brakes . According to Little Boots, the album cover represents a mixture of past and present, as a reflection of the musical styles of the album.
Track list
- "New In Town" (Victoria Hesketh, Greg Kurstin) - 3:19
- "Earthquake" (Hesketh, Kurstin) - 4:04
- "Stuck On Repeat" (Hesketh, Kurstin, Joe Goddard) - 3:22
- "Click" (Hesketh, Jas Shaw, Fred Ball) - 3:16
- "Remedy" (Hesketh, RedOne) - 3:19
- "Meddle" (Hesketh, Kurstin, Goddard) - 3:16
- "Ghost" (Hesketh, Shaw) - 3:03
- “Mathematics” (Hesketh, Kurstin, Goddard) - 3:26
- "Symmetry" (Hesketh, Roy Kerr, Anu Pillai, Kid Gloves) - 4:30
- "Tune Into My Heart" (Hesketh, Pascal Gabriel, Semothy Jones) - 3:42
- "Hearts Collide" (Hesketh, Richard "Biff" Stannard, Julian Peake) - 3:45
- "No Brakes" (Hesketh, Stannard, Peake) - 3:58
- "Hands" (Hesketh, Shaw) - 4:06
criticism
Critics were quite positive about the album in their reviews. It achieved a score of 70 to 100 on Metacritic. Matthias Manthe from Laut.de gave the album 4 out of 5 points and explained that Hands consists of a dozen excellently arranged, always entertaining dancepop pieces. "Hesketh always gives the dance floor from boomboxing in the candy store ( New In Town ) to roasting technopop ( Stuck On Repeat ) exactly the dose you want more of."
Chart successes
| country | placement | annotation |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 5 | Gold status (100,000+ sales) |
| Ireland | 20th | - |
| Europe | 90 | - |
| Japan | 36 | - |
| US Top Heatseekers 1st | 7th | - |
1 The Top Heatseeker Charts are special charts to highlight chart placements and sales by new and as yet unknown artists.
Singles
| single | Chart placement UK | Chart placement Ireland | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stuck on repeat | - | - | |
| Meddle | 97 | - | |
| New In Town | 13 | 16 | First CD release |
| Remedy | 6th | 5 | |
| Earthquake | 84 | - |
New In Town
| "New In Town" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | May 15, 2009 | |
| Recorded | Echo Studios, Los Angeles | |
| genre | Pop , electro-pop | |
| Playing time | 3:19 | |
| Label | 679 | |
| Songwriter | Victoria Hesketh, Greg Kurstin | |
| Producers | Greg Kurstin | |
| Music video | ||
| New In Town | ||
The album's lead single, New In Town ( German: Neu In Der Stadt ) was released on May 15, 2009. The song was inspired by the nights Little Boots spent in Los Angeles while recording their album. The main theme of the song is going out and partying, even though you are broke and have no friends to spend the evening with.
The music video for the song was shot by Jake Nava in April 2009 in Los Angeles. It starts with Little Boots sitting in a car and then dancing under an overpass with a group of homeless people. Then you see rival gangs dancing together.
| # | title | Playing time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | New In Town | 3:19 |
| 2. | New In Town (No One Is Safe-Alkapranos Remix) | 5:22 |
Remedy
| "Remedy" | ||
|---|---|---|
| B side | "Love Kills" | |
| Released | 17th August 2009 | |
| genre | Electropop , dance pop | |
| Playing time | 3:19 | |
| Label | 679, Atlantic | |
| Songwriter | Victoria Hesketh, RedOne | |
| Producers | RedOne | |
| Music video | ||
| Remedy | ||
The second single on the album, Remedy ( German: Heilmittel ) was the most successful to date. It was produced by RedOne , who has worked for Lady Gaga , among others . The song is about music, singing and dancing as a kind of cure for every kind of problem in life.
The single was in the charts for a total of 13 weeks.
The accompanying music video was shot by David Wilson in London. It shows Little Boots in a silver dress, playing keyboards and the tenori-on . You can see Little Boots singing into the camera and scenes in which the images were processed like in a kaleidoscope and a mirror.
| # | title | Playing time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Remedy | 3:19 |
| 2. | Love kills | 3:41 |
Earthquake
| "Earthquake" | ||
|---|---|---|
| B side | "Catch 22" | |
| Released | November 16, 2009 | |
| genre | Electropop , synthpop | |
| Playing time | 4:04 | |
| Label | 679, Atlantic | |
| Songwriter | Victoria Hesketh, Greg Kurstin | |
| Producers | Greg Kurstin | |
| Music video | ||
| Earthquake | ||
Earthquake ( German: earthquake ) is the third single on the album. It was released on November 16, 2009. The song describes a breaking relationship and every new argument and argument is compared to an earthquake and a broken heart.
The music video for the single was again shot by David Wilson and premiered on October 16, one month before the single was released. You see Little Boots singing in front of a town and playing a keyboard. You can also see them catching tears that fall in slow motion.
| # | title | Playing time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Earthquake | 4:04 |
| 2. | Catch 22 | 3:41 |
Music videos
| year | title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | New In Town | Jake Nava |
| Remedy | David Wilson | |
| Earthquake |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.radio1.gr/music/forthcoming_uk_singles.htm
- ^ Metacritic Rating For Hands = 2009-06-17 . Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ↑ Matthias Manthe: Little Boots: Hands , Review on laut.de , last accessed on October 17, 2009
- ^ "Kasabian score chart-topping album" . NME .
- ^ "Discography Little Boots" .
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/#/album/little-boots/hands/1261849
- ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/823341/1/
- ↑ Little Boots Hands in the US Heatseekers album charts
- ↑ a b “Reviews / Albums / Little Boots: Hands” on DrownedInSound.com
- ↑ Lamb, Bill. "Introducing Little Boots" .
- ↑ Little Boots offers Mercury tips BBC Radio 1, July 24, 2009
- ↑ Little Boots in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ http://www.digitalspy.com/music/a154486/little-boots-new-in-town.html
- ↑ http://www.arjanwrites.com/arjanwrites/2009/04/video-premiere-little-boots-new-in-town.html