"Giddy Stratospheres" was a 7" only release by Sheffield band The Long Blondes

The Long Blondes

The Long Blondes were a five-piece English indie rock band formed in Sheffield, United Kingdom in 2003 by Dorian Cox , Reenie Hollis , Emma Chaplin , Kate Jackson and Screech Louder .After several critically...

. It was released on November 29, 2004, on Angular Records. The single was accompanied by two B-sides, "Polly" and "Darts". The single was re-released in 2007 and was the third major label single from their debut album, Someone to Drive You Home

Someone to Drive You Home

Someone To Drive You Home is the debut album by The Long Blondes. It was released on November 6, 2006. It received widespread critical praise and was placed 7th in the NMEs best 50 albums of 2006 list and features in many other best of lists for 2006.The predominant theme of the album is...

. The single peaked at number 37 on the UK singles chart. Both versions were very well received by critics.

Music and structure

"Giddy Stratospheres" is a fast-tempo song, at 136bpm, and in the key of B major

B major

In music theory, B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps....

 for the verses. For the chorus, it switches to a slightly faster tempo (142bmp) and changes to a key of E-flat major. Its style combines post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

, indie pop

Indie pop

Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

 and disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

. The main chord pattern

Chord progression

A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...

 of the verse alternates between G sharp minor and B major triads

Triad (music)

In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:* the Root...

, the chorus switching to A-flat major, F minor and C minor.

The song is in a standard verse-chorus form, with a modulating

Modulation (music)

In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...

 bridge

Bridge (music)

In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...

 before and after each chorus. The song features indie rock instrumentation, using a call-and-answer motif between the bass and guitar, described by Drowned In Sound

Drowned in Sound

DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...

as "the oldest trick in the book".

Reception

Upon both of its releases, "Giddy Stratospheres" received positive reviews from music critics. On its initial release in 2004, Drowned in Sound

Drowned in Sound

DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...

were critical of its lo-fidelity recording but remarked it was "well worth pushing through the initial barrier of the recording quality to get at the song underneath."

In its 2006 review of Someone to Drive You Home, The Observer

The Observer

The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

gave the song a positive review, writing that "'Giddy Stratospheres' sees Jackson dispatch acid sentiments about a 'boring' love rival in an accent that could cut glass." These sentiments were echoed by Fraser McAlpine from BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 who gave the song a 4-stars review describing "shards of guitar and shrieks so sharp they could have someone's eye out. "

A review by Yahoo was mixed, saying that the song stretched Jackson's voice "to its grating limits" but praised lyricist Dorian, describe his narrative-led song writing "as compelling as anything on (Arctic Monkeys') Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not".

2004 track listing

All lyrics written by Dorian Cox, music by The Long Blondes.

• 7"

1. Side A "Giddy Stratospheres"
2. Side B "Polly"
3. Side B "Darts"

2007 track listing

All lyrics written by Dorian Cox, music by The Long Blondes.

• CD

1. Track 1 "Giddy Stratospheres"
2. Track 2 "All Bar One Girls"

• 7"

1. Side A "Giddy Stratospheres"
2. Side B "I'm Coping"

• 7"

1. Side A "Giddy Stratospheres"
2. Side B "Never to Be Repeated"