The Balcony (album)

The Balcony
Studio album by Catfish and the Bottlemen
Released 15 September 2014 (2014-09-15)
Genre
Length 37:12
Label
Producer Jim Abbiss
Catfish and the Bottlemen chronology
Kathleen and the Other Three
(2014)		 The Balcony
(2014)
Singles from The Balcony
  1. "Homesick"
    Released: 18 May 2013
  2. "Kathleen"
    Released: 18 March 2014
  3. "Cocoon"
    Released: 23 September 2014
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic52/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Clash6/10[3]
The Guardian[4]
MusicOMH[5]
NME4/10[6]
Q[1]
"XS Noize"7/10[7]

The Balcony is the debut studio album by Welsh rock band Catfish and the Bottlemen. It was released on 15 September 2014 in the United Kingdom and 15 January 2015 in the United States. On 9 January 2015, The Balcony was awarded a Gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry. The album cover depicts outlines of two headless people pleasuring each other's genitals. The illustration is by New York artist Tim Lahan who originally posted it to his Flickr account in 2009 and was subsequently contacted by the band.[8] It has been nominated for the Welsh Music Prize 2014–15.[9] As of 2016, the album has sold 37,000 copies in the United States.

Reception

Critical reception of the album was mixed, with review aggregator Metacritic giving it 52/100 based on 6 reviews.[1] Writing for AllMusic, Scott Kerr gave it three and a half stars out of five, saying that McCann's "weathered and assured vocals" gave an impression of a more experienced band and that Billy Bibby provided "grand Johnny Marr-inspired guitar hooks that are unapologetically catchy, gritty, and full of swagger".[2] Ben Homewood of NME was more critical, giving the album 4/10 for being "ham-fisted and about nine years too late" despite "unstoppable desire and conviction".[6] Tillie Elvrum of XS Noize rated the album 7/10, calling it "an incredibly polished debut album."[10]

Track listing

Words by Van McCann and music by Catfish and the Bottlemen

No. Title Length
1. "Homesick"   2:28
2. "Kathleen"   2:41
3. "Cocoon"   3:57
4. "Fallout"   3:30
5. "Pacifier"   3:58
6. "Hourglass"   2:18
7. "Business"   3:42
8. "26"   3:39
9. "Rango"   2:58
10. "Sidewinder"   3:27
11. "Tyrants"   4:39
Total length:
 37:12

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 51
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 10
US Billboard 200[13] 121
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[14] 8
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[15] 9
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] 13

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for The Balcony". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 Kerr, Scott. "The Balcony – Catfish and the Bottlemen". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Rivers, Joe (15 September 2014). "Catfish And The Bottlemen – The Balcony". Clash. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Gibsone, Harriet (11 September 2014). "Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Balcony review, self-assured, if dated". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Marsh, Graeme (11 September 2014). "Catfish And The Bottlemen – The Balcony". MusicOMH. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  6. 1 2 Homewood, Ben (23 September 2014). "Catfish & The Bottlemen – 'The Balcony'". NME. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Elvrum, Tillie. "Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Balcony". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "CATFISH COAST TO COAST: A photo tour across America with CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN PT 5 - Catfish Coast to Coast is five cities, five photographers, five favorite shots, and five questions documenting each photographer’s impressions of the event". Xsnoize.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  9. ↑ "Wales Music Prize shortlist for 2014-15 unveiled". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  10. ↑ "CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN - THE BALCONY - If you've spent any time listening to indie/alternative radio in the past couple of months you've heard Catfish and the Bottlemen’s single Kathleen. Kathl". Xsnoize.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  11. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (31 January 2015). "ARIA Albums: Taylor Swift 1989 Spends 8th Week On Top". Noise11. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Catfish & the Bottlemen | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Catfish and the Bottlemen – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Catfish and the Bottlemen. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Catfish and the Bottlemen – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Catfish and the Bottlemen. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "Catfish and the Bottlemen – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Catfish and the Bottlemen. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Catfish and the Bottlemen – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Catfish and the Bottlemen. Retrieved 25 January 2015.


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