Twisted City

Last updated

Twisted City
Twistedcity.jpg
Studio album by
Released2006
Genre Rock
Label Right Track/Universal
Producer Chris Singleton
Chris Singleton chronology
Twisted City
(2006)
Lady Gasoline
(2010)
Image used on back cover and promotional poster
Chris Singleton at London Bridge.jpg
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Twisted City is a 2006 album by Dublin singer-songwriter Chris Singleton. A self-engineered and produced album, it took two and a half years to complete. The album was conceived as a tube journey through London; every song was a 'stop on the line' and dealt with Chris' experiences of the city, both personal and professional. The album was mastered in May 2006 by well-known engineer Geoff Pesche (Coldplay, Gorillaz, Kylie Minogue) at Abbey Road Studios, London and was released in the UK and Ireland in September 2006 by Right Track/Universal Music Operations. Given the association between the album and the tube, the launch event for the album took place on the London Underground in August 2006 and attracted coverage from ITV News and BBC Radio. "Twisted City" received a warm welcome from rock critics, receiving positive reviews from The Irish Times, Hotpress, Clash Magazine and The Daily Express amongst others.

Contents

Although Chris Singleton is an Irish artist, Twisted City takes as its main influences classic English rock. Particular influences include The Beatles (see 'Pieces' and 'Wherever'), T.Rex (in particular, 'Gimme Something'), David Bowie ('Worry Number One') and The Stone Roses ('The Only One'). As a result of these influences, the album arguably has more of a 'rock band' sound to it than those of other contemporary Irish singer-songwriters.

'Twisted City' as free download

Following the release of Radiohead's 'In Rainbows,' Chris Singleton decided in late 2007 to experiment with a similar model of distribution for the album by making it temporarily available as a free download. Upon signing up to receive news updates, and recommending the album to their friends, visitors to could download the album at no cost. The record was made available on a microsite which featured a flash-programmed 'virtual tape' which people clicked on receive their album.

'Twisted City Tour'

In January 2008 Chris added an additional component to the free download of the album, by providing a downloadable guidebook to accompany it. The guidebook, containing a list of the locations which inspired the album, enabled listeners to go on a 'Twisted City Tour', where they visited each of the album's "stops" and played the relevant track on an MP3 player.

Singles

There were four singles released from 'Twisted City' in 2006 and 2007. These were:

Track listing

  1. "Worry Number One"
  2. "Gimme Something"
  3. "Get Up"
  4. "Tonight"
  5. "Stop Following"
  6. "Pieces"
  7. "The Only One"
  8. "Wherever"
  9. "You Carry On"
  10. "Twisted City"
  11. "People"

Related Research Articles

Therapy? Northern Irish rock band

Therapy? are a rock band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band recruited Larne bassist Michael McKeegan. The band signed with major label A&M Records in 1992, for which they released four albums, most notably Troublegum in 1994 and Infernal Love in 1995. Ewing's departure in early 1996 preceded the arrivals of his replacement Graham Hopkins, and Martin McCarrick on cello and guitar. Neil Cooper replaced Hopkins on drums in 2002. Following the departure of McCarrick in 2004, the band have remained a stable three-piece since.

Beverly Hills (song) 2005 single by Weezer

"Beverly Hills" is a song by American rock band Weezer. It is the first single from the band's fifth album, Make Believe. "Beverly Hills" was released to US radio on March 28, 2005. The song features Stephanie Eitel of Agent Sparks on the chorus on backup vocals, performing the "gimme, gimme" hook.

Beni (singer) Musical artist

Beni Arashiro is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni.

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 1979 song by ABBA

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! " is a song by Swedish band ABBA. It was recorded in August 1979 in order to help promote their North American and European tour of that year, and was released on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album as the brand new track.

Mobile (band) Canadian band

Mobile were a Canadian alternative rock band from Montreal initially composed of Mathieu Joly (vocals), Christian Brais (guitar), Pierre-Marc Hamelin (drums), Dominic Viola (bass) and Frank Williamson (guitar). Their debut album, Tomorrow Starts Today, was released in 2006. The band was nominated for two Juno Awards in 2007 and went on to win the award for "New Group of the Year". Hamelin left the band and was replaced by Martin Lavallée.

Chris Singleton is a singer/songwriter from Wicklow, Ireland. Based in London, he has released two solo albums to date: Twisted City and Lady Gasoline. He currently fronts glam rock band Five Grand Stereo.

Matt Wertz American singer-songwriter (born 1979)

Matthew Stewart Wertz is an American singer-songwriter. Originally from Liberty, Missouri, as of 2014 he lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

<i>MTV: TRL Christmas</i> 2001 compilation album by Various Artists

MTV: TRL Christmas is a Christmas compilation album released by the record labels Atlantic and Lava. Released on October 30, 2001, it features singers who were promoted on the music television series Total Request Live. The album consists of sixteen songs, including covers of Christmas standards and carols, as well as original music. Music critics identified several musical genres, such as pop punk and bubblegum pop, throughout the album. Several tracks from MTV: TRL Christmas had been featured on the artists' previous projects.

<i>The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits</i> 2006 greatest hits album by Girls Aloud

The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album of British girl group Girls Aloud. It was first released in the United Kingdom through a limited edition on 23 October 2006, while the standard version was released on 30 October 2006. The Sound of Girls Aloud features twelve of the group's singles, two of which reached number one in the UK. The album features three new tracks, with "Something Kinda Ooooh" and "I Think We're Alone Now" being released as singles and peaking inside the top five on the UK Singles Chart.

Something Kinda Ooooh 2006 single by Girls Aloud

"Something Kinda Ooooh" is a song by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their first greatest hits collection The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits (2006). The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. Inspired by 1980s pop and George Michael, "Something Kinda Ooooh" was released as a single in October 2006. It returned Girls Aloud to the top three of the UK Singles Chart for the first time in two years. It also made Girls Aloud the first British act to debut in the top five on the chart based on legal download sales alone.

Peter Bjorn and John Swedish indie pop/rock band

Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie pop/rock band formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén, Björn Yttling and John Eriksson, known in his solo work as Hortlax Cobra. Yttling also worked as producer for the band's first four albums.

Secondhand Serenade American rock band

Secondhand Serenade is an American rock band, led by vocalist, pianist and guitarist John Vesely. Vesely has released four studio albums to date under the name Secondhand Serenade. The name can also refer to John Vesely alone. His debut album used multitrack recording to create the sound of a band using technology, while his second album took a different path, using a proper band and synthesizers to establish a more accomplished sound.

Eleanor McEvoy Irish singer-songwriter (born 1967)

Eleanor McEvoy is an Irish singer-songwriter. She composed the song "Only a Woman's Heart", title track of A Woman's Heart, the best-selling Irish album in Irish history.

<i>Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur</i> Compilation album by various artists

Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a compilation album of various artists covering songs of John Lennon to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur. The album and campaign is part of Amnesty International's global "Make Some Noise" project.

Gimme More 2007 single by Britney Spears

"Gimme More" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, Blackout (2007). It was released on August 31, 2007, by Jive Records, as the lead single from the album. "Gimme More" was recorded in 2006 during Spears' second pregnancy and was one of the first solo productions by Danja. The song opens with an intro in which Spears utters the phrase "It's Britney, bitch". Musically, "Gimme More" is a song with element from dance-pop, electropop, EDM and pop with breathy vocals. The track closes with a speak-sing outro by Danja.

Kill Casino is an English rock band, featuring Karen Luan on lead vocals and bass, Chris Ryan on guitar and Paul-Luc Gifford on drums.

<i>Come to Life</i> 2009 studio album by Natalie Imbruglia

Come to Life is the fourth studio album released by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia. It became the first album to be released on her self-funded label, Malabar Records.

<i>Punk Rawk Christmas</i> 2009 studio album by MxPx

Punk Rawk Christmas is the eleventh studio album by American rock band MxPx released on December 1, 2009. The album contains 10 tracks originally recorded and released each year from 1998 to 2008 and sent to MxPx's fan club members as CD singles and later as digital downloads. The album contains some previously released holiday music as well as four previously unreleased tracks that were collected following fan requests to release the material in a collection.

<i>Lady Gasoline</i> 2010 studio album by Chris Singleton and The Distractions

Lady Gasoline is the second studio album from Dublin-born musician Chris Singleton and his backing band The Distractions, released in 2010

Canterbury (band) English rock band

Canterbury were an English rock band, formed in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 2005. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Mike Sparks, bassist and vocalist Luke Prebble, guitarist James Pipe and drummer Chris Velissarides.

References

  1. "Chris Singleton - Twisted City | Album Reviews". 17 September 2006.