Man Alive (Everything Everything album)

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Man Alive
A red fox in profile against a yellow circular light source; the image has purple distortion towards the bottom.
Studio album by
Everything Everything
Released27 August 2010
Recorded2008–2010
Studio
  • Bryn Derwen Studios (Bethesda, Gwynedd, Wales)
  • Cream Studios (London, England)
  • Gilsland (Cumbria, England)
  • Moolah Rouge (Stockport, England)
  • Muttley Ranch (London, England)
  • The Pool (London, England)
Genre
Length52:04
LabelGeffen
ProducerDavid Kosten
Everything Everything chronology
Man Alive
(2010) 		Arc
(2013)
Singles from Man Alive
  1. "Suffragette Suffragette"
    Released: 1 December 2008
  2. "Photoshop Handsome"
    Released: 25 May 2009
  3. "My Kz, Ur Bf"
    Released: 5 October 2009
  4. "Schoolin'"
    Released: 14 June 2010

Man Alive is the debut studio album by British band Everything Everything. Recorded in various studios across England and Wales between 2008 and 2010 with producer David Kosten, it was released on 27 August 2010 in the United Kingdom through Geffen Records. The album peaked at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. The songs "Suffragette Suffragette", "Photoshop Handsome", "MY KZ, UR BF" and "Schoolin'" were released as singles between 2008 and 2010, though the first three were re-recorded for the album.

The songs on Man Alive draw from a wide variety of styles, such as math rock, R&B, hip hop, electronica, baroque, and choral music, with overtly detailed lyrics sung by Jonathan Higgs in a rhythmic, falsetto style. Several of the songs originated as demos made by Higgs on his laptop, which were refined and expanded upon in the studio, though some tracks simply remixed Higgs' demos. Due to the long recording period, it is the only album to feature original guitarist Alex Niven, although most of the tracks feature his replacement Alex Robertshaw, in what would be the band's lineup for all subsequent releases.

The album was received well by critics, and placed highly on year-end "best of" lists; British magazine The Fly declared it the fifth-best album of 2010, while NME placed it at number 43. It and its tracks were nominated for two Ivor Novello Awards, and the album was also nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize.[1] Critics praised the album for its originality and versatility, whilst others felt it lacked a clear direction and found the complexity of the material difficult to follow.

Recording and production[edit]

The majority of Man Alive was recorded at Bryn Derwen Studios, a small residential studio in Bethesda, Gwynedd, Wales. The band recorded songs originally developed over a two-year period in two-week stints.[2] The band brought David Kosten on board to produce after previously working together on the "MY KZ, UR BF" single in 2009, which was received positively. These sessions were the first to feature guitarist Alex Robertshaw, who stepped in to replace Alex Niven after he left the band to resume his studies.

Promotion and release[edit]

Everything Everything (vocalist Higgs and bassist Pritchard pictured) performing in support of the album in 2010

The album's cover art, depicting an urban red fox, is based on a photograph by Swiss photographer Laurent Geslin. Additional photography on the album art was contributed by Paul Cecil.[3]

The album was released on 27 August 2010 through Geffen Records in the United Kingdom. Higgs told the NME that the band chose the title from the lyrics on the record, and that they briefly toyed with "Taj Mahal" as a potential title.[4] To commemorate the release, they played a small show at The Barfly in Camden Town dressed in white boilersuits, which the NME likened to the uniform of the anarchist group the WOMBLES.[4]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
BBC(very positive)[6]
Drowned in Sound[7]
The Fly[8]
The Guardian[9]
musicOMH[10]
NME[11]
Pitchfork3.8/10[12]

Aggregating website Metacritic reported a normalised rating of 72 out of 100, based on eight reviews, indicating "generally positive" reception.[5] Reviewers generally praised the album's eccentricity; BBC Music's Alix Buscovic commented that "[Everything Everything] know more than most how to craft a song, how to make an album. They know how to give it depth, light and dark, and they – crucially – know when to stop."[13]

Other reviewers criticised the album for its pretentiousness. Giving the album 3.8 out of ten, Ian Cohen of Pitchfork argued the album filled a niche that "was unoccupied for good reason", comparing its sound to "what would happen if Dismemberment Plan got a crash course in Pro Tools and a record deal with Fueled By Ramen".[14]

Man Alive was nominated for the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Album", while the single "My Kz, Ur Bf" received a nomination for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically".[15] The album was also nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize,[1] though this was ultimately won by PJ Harvey's Let England Shake.[16]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Kz, Ur Bf"
3:37
2."Qwerty Finger"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Alex Robertshaw
  • Niven
3:53
3."Schoolin'"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
4:40
4."Leave the Engine Room"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
3:09
5."Final Form"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
5:28
6."Photoshop Handsome"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
  • Niven
3:19
7."Two for Nero"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
4:22
8."Suffragette Suffragette"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
  • Niven
4:06
9."Come Alive Diana"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
4:15
10."NASA Is on Your Side"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
  • Niven
5:06
11."Tin (The Manhole)"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
4:29
12."Weights"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
  • Niven
5:40
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Hiawatha Doomed"3:25
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Wizard Talk"5:17
Deluxe disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Luddites and Lambs"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Niven
3:46
14."Suffragette Suffragette - Single Version / 2008"Higgs4:05
15."Crisis Over - Demo"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Niven
3:05
16."Come Alive Diana - Demo"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
4:05
17."Hey Jude Law - Demo"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Niven
2:42
18."The Kids Are Obese - Demo"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Niven
2:16
19."Riot on the Ward"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
3:32
20."DNA Dump"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Niven
3:05
21."Photoshop Handsome - 7" Version/2009"Higgs3:25
22."Even the Dogs"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
4:12
23."Hiawatha Doomed"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
  • Niven
3:26
24."Schoolin' - Acoustic Version"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
  • Niven
4:58
25."Wizard Talk"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
5:03
26."Carry Me Home"
  • Sedric Thomas Johnson
  • Will Mount
3:52
27."Hiawatha Doomed - Demo"
  • Higgs
  • Pritchard
  • Spearman
  • Robertshaw
  • Niven
4:01

Personnel[edit]

Adapted from the Man Alive liner notes.[17]

Everything Everything

Production

  • David Kosten – production, mixing (tracks: 4, 5, 7, 10, 11)
  • Lexxx – engineering (tracks: 2, 9), additional recording (tracks: 2, 9)
  • Mark Eastwood – engineering (tracks: 1, 10)
  • Everything Everything – recording, production, engineering (tracks: 2, 4)
  • Metropolis Mastering – mastering
  • John Davies – mastering engineer (track 3)
  • Adrian Bushby – mixing (tracks: 1–3, 6, 9, 12)
  • Childbirth – additional production, recording (tracks: 4, 7, 11)
  • Daniel Rejmer – recording (tracks: 2, 9)
  • David Wrench – recording

Charts[edit]

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 17

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format
Ireland[20] 27 August 2010
United Kingdom[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Mercury Prize 2011: The nominees". BBC News. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Interview...Everything Everything". GoldFlakePaint. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  3. ^ "About". www.permuted.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b Stokes, Paul (3 September 2010). "Everything Everything celebrate 'Man Alive' release with 'anarchist' London gig - NME". NME. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Man Alive". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  6. ^ "Everything Everything Man Alive Review". BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. ^ Lukowski, Andrzej (2 September 2010). "Everything Everything - Man Alive / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Everything Everything / New Album Reviews / Music News from THE FLY - The UK's Most Popular Music Magazine". The Fly. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  9. ^ Maddy Costa (29 August 2010). "Everything Everything: Man Alive | CD review | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  10. ^ "Everything Everything - Man Alive | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  11. ^ "NME Album Reviews - Album review: Everything Everything - 'Man Alive' (Geffen)". NME. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Everything Everything: Man Alive | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  13. ^ Buscovic, Alix. "BBC - Music - Review of Everything Everything - Man Alive". Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  14. ^ Cohen, Ian (15 September 2010). "Everything Everything: Man Alive Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  15. ^ Gabbatt, Adam (19 April 2011). "Ivor Novello awards: Plan B and Everything Everything lead nominations". the Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  16. ^ Topping, Alexandra (6 September 2011). "PJ Harvey wins Mercury music prize for the second time". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  17. ^ Man Alive (vinyl booklet and case back cover). Everything Everything. New York City: Geffen Records. 2010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  20. ^ "iTunes - Music - Man Alive by Everything Everything". Itunes.apple.com. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  21. ^ "iTunes - Music - Man Alive by Everything Everything". Itunes.apple.com. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
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