So Much for the City is the debut album of the Irish indie/pop band The Thrills. It was released in May 2003 and quickly became the number one in the Republic of Ireland, where it spent 61 weeks in the top 75,[12] and also won 'Album of the Year' at the national music awards. It was also very successful in UK, debuting at #3, remaining in the charts for 25 weeks,[13] and gave them some attention in Europe, with the single "Big Sur" reaching #17 in the UK,[13] which remains as their highest charted position in that country to date.
So Much for the City | ||||
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Studio album by The Thrills | ||||
Released | May 27, 2003 (2003-05-27) | |||
Recorded | October 2002 – March 2003 | |||
Genre | Indie rock, post-punk revival | |||
Length | 46:24 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer | Tony Hoffer | |||
The Thrills chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 72/100[1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Independent | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 6.9/10[7] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | B+[10] |
The Village Voice | C[11] |
In an interview, lead singer Conor Deasy explained the band's inspiration for the song material:
Those songs are our ways of picking us up because we were kind of miserable. We were dropped by our label. And the towns are put [in the songs] as a way of escapism, as opposed to documenting little tales about what happened when we went there. When we put in a title like "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)," it would literally pick us up a bit.[14]
The album was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Prize but lost to Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner.[15]
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]
The song "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" was ranked by Q Magazine at number 550 on their list of the 1001 best songs ever made.[17]
The song "Say It Ain't So" appeared on US President George W. Bush's iPod in 2005.[18]
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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The Thrills | |
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Studio albums | |
Extended plays | |
Singles |
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Authority control ![]() |
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