| Music for Tourists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 January 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 [1] | |||
| Genre | Indie pop | |||
| Label | Absolutely Kosher | |||
| Producer | Duncan Sheik | |||
| Chris Garneau chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music for Tourists is an indie pop album by Chris Garneau. It was released in the year of 2007 on January 23 on the Absolutely Kosher record label.
After playing in Brooklyn for some time, Garneau was recommended to record company Absolutely Kosher by Jamie Stewart, whose band Xiu Xiu was on that label. [2] According to Garneau the album took around two years to record before it was released, as producer Duncan Sheik was very busy and there was a lot of downtime during recording. [1]
The album was released on January 23, 2007 and failed to chart in the US. [2] The release was followed by a tour that visited most of the UK and the US in 2007, as well as a few locations in France in 2008. [3]
Garneau said that he chose the 'cartoon-esque' cover art instead of a photo of himself because he wanted to keep it "kind of light". [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [4] |
| Pitchfork Media | (2.3/10) [5] |
| PopMatters | (4/10) [6] |
| Radar Online | [7] |
| Stylus Magazine | B+ [8] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |   [9] |
The response by critics was generally negative. Mark Hogan of Pitchfork Media was particularly critical, calling the lyrics of "Black & Blue" 'just terrible'. [10] PopMatters' Joe Tacopino agreed, calling the album "lyrically atrocious". [11] Matt Thompson of Radar also criticised the lyrics, but concluded that the album wasn't bad. [12] Allmusic's Marisa Brown called it a "cumbersome affair", giving it a rating of 2.5 out of 5. [13]
Xiu Xiu is an American experimental rock band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of multi-instrumentalists Stewart, Angela Seo, and percussionist David Kendrick. The band's name comes from the film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, which has influenced the sound of their music, according to Stewart.
A Promise is the second studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 18, 2003 by 5 Rue Christine.
Absolutely Kosher Records is an independent California-based record label founded in 1998 in San Francisco by Cory Brown. The label moved to Berkeley in 2002 and then to Emeryville in October 2006 when it partnered with Misra Records. The two labels remain separate entities.
The Wrens were an American indie rock band from New Jersey. The group consisted of Charles Bissell (guitar/vocals), brothers Greg Whelan (guitar/vocals) and Kevin Whelan (bass/vocals), and Jerry MacDonald (drums). They released three albums; a fourth album was recorded and mastered for a planned 2013 release, but was subsequently retracted. After reworking his contributions, Bissell teased a 2021 release for the new album, but the band broke up shortly after following disagreements over business arrangements. The band had a reputation for their intense live shows – following a gig at the University of London Union in London in March 2006, The Guardian declared that "on this form the Wrens are surely one of the best live bands in the world".
Knife Play is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Xiu Xiu, released on February 19, 2002.
Koushik Ghosh is a Bengali-Canadian electronic musician from Dundas, Ontario. Koushik is signed to Stones Throw Records and has released a collection of singles and EPs from 2001–2005 on that label, Be With (2005), and the debut full length, Out my Window (2008). He has worked with Four Tet, Caribou, and remixed Madvillain.
The Dead Science was an experimental pop band based in Seattle.
Frog Eyes are an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada fronted by Carey Mercer. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They have released eight albums and two EPs and are noted for their collaboration with Dan Bejar of Destroyer.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? was a post punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band had an eclectic style, combining horns and keyboards with pop and rock rhythms.
Shut Up I Am Dreaming is the second studio album by Sunset Rubdown, released in May 2006 on Absolutely Kosher Records. It is the first album showcasing the expanded Sunset Rubdown line-up, featuring new members Camilla Wynn Ingr, Michael Doerksen, and Jordan Robson-Cramer. The album was met with critical acclaim. It was named the 27th best album of 2006 by Stylus Magazine and the 15th best on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2006.
The Air Force is the fifth album by Xiu Xiu. It was released on September 12, 2006, and is produced by Greg Saunier of Deerhoof, who also performs on the album with band members Caralee McElroy and Jamie Stewart.
+/-, or Plus/Minus, is an American indietronic band formed in 2001. The band makes use of both electronic and traditional instruments, and has sought to use electronics to recreate traditional indie rock song forms and instrumental structures. The group has released two albums on each of the American indie labels Teenbeat Records and Absolutely Kosher, and their track "All I do" was prominently featured in the soundtrack for the major film Wicker Park. The group has developed a devoted following in Japan and Taiwan, and has toured there frequently. Although many artists append bonus tracks onto the end of Japanese album releases to discourage purchasers from buying cheaper US import versions, the overseas versions of +/- albums are usually quite different from the US versions - track lists can be rearranged, artwork with noticeable changes is used, and tracks from the US version can be replaced as well as augmented by bonus tracks.
Random Spirit Lover is Sunset Rubdown's third LP, released on October 9, 2007. The album marked Sunset Rubdown's change from the Absolutely Kosher Records label to the Bloomington, Indiana-based Jagjaguwar records. The album was recorded in January 2007 at Breakglass Studios in Montreal with Jace Lasek and Dave Smith.
Chris Garneau is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Since releasing his debut album, Music for Tourists, Garneau has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Europe, and Asia.
Women as Lovers is the sixth studio album by American avant-garde band Xiu Xiu. It was released on January 29, 2008, by Kill Rock Stars, and shares its title with the Martin Chalmers translation of Elfriede Jelinek's 1975 novel Die Liebhaberinnen.
Azeda Booth was a Canadian experimental-pop band formed in Calgary in 2004, influenced by glitch, IDM, and experimental music. Self-described as "Cherry-Pop", Azeda Booth's music pulled from many genres.
C-Sides is an indie pop EP by Chris Garneau. It was released on November 26, 2007, on the Absolutely Kosher record label.
El Radio (2009) is Chris Garneau's second full-length album, released on US label Absolutely Kosher Records, and European label Fargo Records, in July 2009.
Grouper is the solo project of American musician, artist and producer Liz Harris. She has released material on her own label and other independent labels since 2005. Grouper released the critically acclaimed Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill in 2008, followed by five more records, including a two-part album, A I A, and the piano-led album Ruins. Her twelfth album, Shade, was released in 2021.
Always is the eighth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on February 28, 2012.
