In Ghost Colours
Encyclopedia
In Ghost Colours is the second studio album
by Australian band Cut Copy
. It is composed of 15 tracks in total, including a re-recorded version of the single "Hearts on Fire
". The album was originally planned as an Australian release for 2007, but was delayed until 2008 to accommodate a simultaneous international debut of the recording.
The album was produced in New York by Tim Goldsworthy
, although the band's US label Interscope initially suggested they work with Timbaland
.
gig with the synths and bleeps of house
and electronica
, along with the ever-present 80s influence and now, even a dash of 60s psychedelia
thrown in for good measure." Lead vocalist Dan Whitford has gone on the record as saying that the sound of In Ghost Colours is the closest the band have come to the sound they're after:
Pitchfork Media in its reviews stated: "If the pastichey Bright Like Neon Love
felt more like an opportunistic patchwork quilt of other people's sounds and ideas, the hugely enjoyable In Ghost Colours feels light, confident, and unencumbered by the dictates of fashion."
In Ghost Colours marked the band's debut to the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
, reaching number-one on 30 March 2008. The album also marked the band's debut to the Billboard album charts where it peaked at 167 on its week of release.
Critical response to In Ghost Colours was very positive. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
score of 79, based on 17 reviews.
Giving the album a 8.8 out of 10, Pitchfork Media
's Mark Pytlik found the album enjoyable and praised the album's cheerfulness, writing "It's a hard record not to love." The website also gave In Ghost Colours a "Best New Music" designation and named it the fourth greatest record of 2008. Allmusic's K. Ross Hoffman also praised the album, writing "To be sure, In Ghost Colours is a triumph of craftsmanship rather than vision -- a synthesis and refinement of existing sounds rather than anything dramatically new and original -- but it is an unalloyed triumph nonetheless, and one of the finest albums of its kind."
In a less positive review, Slant' s Dave Hughes criticized the album for being unfocused. In another mixed review, Entertainment Weekly
s Youyoung Lee called the album "uneven", writing "...for every pump-your-fist gem like 'Hearts on Fire,' there's a lifeless cut like the clanky 'Silver Thoughts,' which feels like a sonic hangover."
The UK release of the album features an additional bonus track, "Cold Youth".
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Australian band Cut Copy
Cut Copy
Cut Copy are an Australian electronic band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford on vocals, keyboard and guitar. Other members are Tim Hoey on guitar and sampler, Ben Browning on bass guitar and Mitchell Scott on drums. Their second album, In Ghost Colours peaked at number-one on the ARIA Albums Chart in...
. It is composed of 15 tracks in total, including a re-recorded version of the single "Hearts on Fire
Hearts On Fire (Cut Copy song)
"Hearts on Fire" is the first single by Cut Copy taken from the band's second album In Ghost Colours. A re-edited version of the song was released on the 5 July 2008.-Track listing:# "Hearts on Fire" - 4:52# "Hearts on Fire" - 5:39...
". The album was originally planned as an Australian release for 2007, but was delayed until 2008 to accommodate a simultaneous international debut of the recording.
The album was produced in New York by Tim Goldsworthy
Tim Goldsworthy
Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist, living and working in New York City since 1999.Originally a musician/producer for UNKLE, Goldsworthy co-founded James Lavelle's Mo' Wax label...
, although the band's US label Interscope initially suggested they work with Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
.
Structure and style
The album's sound has been mostly singled out for its positive, uptempo melodies, and its juxtaposition of numerous styles. The Australian website FasterLouder called In Ghost Colours "an album that draws together the sweaty live energy of an indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
gig with the synths and bleeps of house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, along with the ever-present 80s influence and now, even a dash of 60s psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
thrown in for good measure." Lead vocalist Dan Whitford has gone on the record as saying that the sound of In Ghost Colours is the closest the band have come to the sound they're after:
The album is a lot more realised than the first one. I think all of us, when we think of the first one, we agree we sort of got half way there. But on the new one we got a lot closer to the sort of sounds we're after. There are some different aspects to it - more layered, more dynamic, as well as some more loud, dance-y sections to it. And with the guitar there were many-layered sections as well. It got the real highs and lows, the real floaty bits, which I think is sort of a secret to our sound, with a lot of segues so that it just sort of flows together. And I think it's a lot more, kind of... complete.
Pitchfork Media in its reviews stated: "If the pastichey Bright Like Neon Love
Bright Like Neon Love
Bright Like Neon Love is the debut album by Australian band Cut Copy. It was released in Australia on 5 April 2004 and in the United States on 18 May 2004.-Track listing:All tracks written by Dan Whitford-Reception:...
felt more like an opportunistic patchwork quilt of other people's sounds and ideas, the hugely enjoyable In Ghost Colours feels light, confident, and unencumbered by the dictates of fashion."
Release and reception
In Ghost Colours was released in Australia on 22 March 2008, in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2008 and in the United States on 8 April 2008.In Ghost Colours marked the band's debut to the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, reaching number-one on 30 March 2008. The album also marked the band's debut to the Billboard album charts where it peaked at 167 on its week of release.
Critical response to In Ghost Colours was very positive. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 79, based on 17 reviews.
Giving the album a 8.8 out of 10, Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Mark Pytlik found the album enjoyable and praised the album's cheerfulness, writing "It's a hard record not to love." The website also gave In Ghost Colours a "Best New Music" designation and named it the fourth greatest record of 2008. Allmusic's K. Ross Hoffman also praised the album, writing "To be sure, In Ghost Colours is a triumph of craftsmanship rather than vision -- a synthesis and refinement of existing sounds rather than anything dramatically new and original -- but it is an unalloyed triumph nonetheless, and one of the finest albums of its kind."
In a less positive review, Slant
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Youyoung Lee called the album "uneven", writing "...for every pump-your-fist gem like 'Hearts on Fire,' there's a lifeless cut like the clanky 'Silver Thoughts,' which feels like a sonic hangover."
Charts
| Charts (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1 |
| Finland | 32 |
| USA | 167 |
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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:... |
UK | 50 Best Albums of the Year | 2008 | #3 |
| The Times The Times The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International... |
UK | 100 Best Albums of the Year | 2008 | #2 |
| Pitchfork Media Pitchfork Media Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock... |
USA | 50 Best Albums of the Year | 2008 | #4 |
| Pitchfork Media Pitchfork Media Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock... |
USA | The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s | 2009 | #61 |
| Montreal Mirror Montreal Mirror Montreal Mirror is a free English language alternative newsweekly based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with a circulation of 70,000, and reaches a quarter of a million readers per week. It is published by Communications Gratte-Ciel Ltée.... |
Québec, Canada (MONTRÉAL) | 50 Best Albums of the Year | 2008 | — |
Track listing
- "Feel the Love" – 4:28
- "Out There on the Ice" – 4:58
- "Lights & MusicLights & Music"Lights & Music" is the second single by Cut Copy taken from the band's second album In Ghost Colours. It is their most successful single to date, peaking at #64 in the Australian ARIA Charts...
" – 4:37 - "We Fight for Diamonds" – 1:02
- "Unforgettable Season" – 3:13
- "Midnight Runner" – 2:33
- "So Haunted" – 4:27
- "Voices in Quartz" – 1:21
- "Hearts on FireHearts On Fire (Cut Copy song)"Hearts on Fire" is the first single by Cut Copy taken from the band's second album In Ghost Colours. A re-edited version of the song was released on the 5 July 2008.-Track listing:# "Hearts on Fire" - 4:52# "Hearts on Fire" - 5:39...
" – 4:53 - "Far Away" – 4:56
- "Silver Thoughts" – 0:29
- "Strangers in the Wind" – 4:44
- "Visions" – 1:10
- "Nobody Lost, Nobody Found" – 4:39
- "Eternity One Night Only" – 3:06
The UK release of the album features an additional bonus track, "Cold Youth".
Cut Copy
- Dan Whitford – vocals, keyboard, guitar
- Tim Hoey – guitar, sampler
- Ben Browning – bass
- Mitchell Scott – drums
Additional personnel
- Warwick Baker - Cover Photo
- Eric Broucek - Assistant
- Tony Espie - Printing Engineer
- Tim Goldsworthy - Mixing, Producer
- Tim Hoey - Mixing
- Dan Whitford - Mixing
- Chris Woodstra - Producer