Wreckorder

Last updated

Wreckorder
Fran Healy - Wreckorder.jpg
Studio album by
Released4 October 2010
Recorded2009–2010
StudioHaus Studios and Hobo Sound [1]
Genre Rock, soft rock
Length33:58
Label Wreckord Label
Producer Emery Dobyns, Fran Healy
Singles from Wreckorder
  1. "Holiday"
    Released: 17 September 2010 [2]
  2. "Buttercups"
    Released: 4 October 2010 [3]
  3. "Sing Me to Sleep"
    Released: 7 January 2011 [4]
  4. "Fly in the Ointment"
    Released: 21 February 2011 [5]

Wreckorder is the debut solo album from Travis frontman, Fran Healy. The album was released on 4 October 2010, [6] on Healy's private label, WreckordLabel. [7] The album was recorded in late 2009 in Berlin and New York City, before being completed in Vermont in early 2010. [8] [9] It was produced by Emery Dobyns, with contributions from Paul McCartney, Neko Case and Noah and the Whale's Tom Hobden. [10] The album is available in standard and deluxe editions, [6] and debuted at number 76 on the UK Albums Chart.

Contents

Background

The cover for the album was photographed by Tim Barber. In an interview for his official website, Healy claimed that "I wanted a portrait of what I looked like at that very second. I wanted to show that I was no longer the little boy that appeared on the inside sleeve of The Man Who . I did think about other images, but they just didn't feel right. This one looked particularly cool." [11]

As a thank you for his work on the album, Healy honoured Paul McCartney by becoming a vegetarian. "My wife and I were sitting at the table, thinking of a way to thank Paul, and I suggested becoming a vegetarian. As our son is already a vegetarian, all it required was jumping onto the same boat. When I met Paul at one of his gigs in Berlin, I told him and he was visibly flabbergasted. Three days later the FedEx man delivered three Linda McCartney cookbooks." [8] [9]

In August 2010, Healy announced that the first single from the album would be "Buttercups". [12] In an interview for Spin magazine, Healy revealed: "'Buttercups' was written about an experience in my art school days, when my then girlfriend turned her nose up at flowers I had picked for her. I couldn't afford fancy roses, so I thought that hand-picked flowers would be more romantic. She didn't think so. That relationship didn't last long." [13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 66/100 [14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [15]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
antiMusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
BBC Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Decoy MusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [19]
Filter 83% [20]
Glide MagazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [21]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [22]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [23]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [24]

Wreckorder received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 13 reviews. [14]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."In the Morning"2:53
2."Anything"4:14
3."Sing Me to Sleep" (featuring Neko Case)3:59
4."Fly in the Ointment"3:13
5."As It Comes"2:45
6."Buttercups"3:56
7."Shadow Boxing"4:35
8."Holiday"3:42
9."Rocking Chair"3:06
10."Moonshine"2:35
Deluxe edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Sierra Leone"3:11
Super deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Sierra Leone"3:11
12."The Making of Wreckorder" (Video) 
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Sierra Leone"3:11
12."As It Comes" (Demo)2:56
13."Zebra"3:23
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Sierra Leone"3:11
12."Buttercups" (Instrumental)3:56
13."Robot (Skit for Comedy Show)"2:29

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