Mean Everything to Nothing
Encyclopedia
Mean Everything To Nothing is the second studio album
by the Atlanta-based indie rock
band Manchester Orchestra
. It was released on April 21, 2009 through independent record label
Favorite Gentlemen Recordings and produced by Joe Chiccarelli and Dan Hannon
.
Prior to the album's release, AbsolutePunk premiered a video of "The Only One", while Spin premiered another one, for "Shake It Out", on March 24, 2009. A third video, for lead single
"I've Got Friends", was released on April 7. Mean Everything to Nothing received favorable reviews from music critics and debuted at number thirty seven on the U.S Billboard 200
and number eleven on the Billboard Rock Albums Chart.
, indicating "generally favourable reviews" based on 14 professional reviews and 8.2/10 based on 9 user votes.
Alternative Press reviewer Tim Karan awarded a maximum score of 5/5 and heaped praise on the album. He stated, "With 'Nothing, Manchester Orchestra have created what will ineveitably be regarded as one of the landmark releases of 2009, and more noticeable they've exceeded the hype that's surrounded them for nearly three years". Jason Tate, founder of AbsolutePunk.net
scored the album at 93%. He opened his review with the line, "Quick note to the rest of the albums coming out this year: The bar has just been set". He praised the album as "classic" and went on to add, "Between the crashing sounds, the subtle whispers, the vocal chants, and the emotional reaction – we have the makings of a classic. We have an album that clearly bridges the gap between mainstream and underground". IGN
praised the album as "outstanding" and gave a score of 9.0/10. Reviewer, Brian Linder wrote, "Mean Everything to Nothing is an incredibly dynamic rock trip that will have you rapt from start to finish. And while Hull's lyrical inclination is to leave us with more questions than answers, the one thing that's certain is that this band is about to blow up". Chris Willman of Paste Magazine also lauded the album. Awarding a score of 91%, he commented that, "The young band has learned a great secret: It’s possible to make a massive, commercial, go-for-the-gusto Rock Record while still holding on to dark idiosyncrasies and seriousness of purpose". Sputnikmusic's
Matt Wolfe gave a 4/5 rating. Although he said the album was just short of being "classic indie rock", he summarised, "Mean Everything to Nothing is an excellent record, but no better or worse than its predecessor. It’s just different". Punknews were also largely favourable in their review, rating the album at 4/5. They described the album as "Confoundingly consistent and vividly varied, Mean Everything to Nothing easily surpasses Manchester's previous output and provides a stark album of contrasting moods, layered fervor and modestly orchestral flow". They also commended Andy Hull
for his maturing songwriting. "It remains an exciting and considerably accomplished effort. This only being the sophomore try and Hull barely drinking age, it's a little unnerving to think what they could even conceive later on". Rockfeedback
journalist Liane Escorza described the album as one, "to play loud and proud, classically melding extreme textures across its dynamics, lyrics and melodies." She awarded 4 stars out of 5 and added, "Mean Everything To Nothing is a true work of bravery". Other positive reviews included British
publications, Kerrang!
and NME
, who awarded scores of 4/5 and 7/10 respectively. Some reviews were less favourable, particularly Pitchfork Media
. Scoring the album at 5.2, Eric Harvey gave a mixed review. Both praising and criticizing Hull's lyrical themes. "For a kid barely able to legally drink, Hull's got the exhaustion of middle age. And that's the thing that both defines Manchester Orchestra at this point, as well as what stops them from being great. When they're satisfied with rocking the fuck out, they do it exceedingly well, but when they try to acquire the adult answers, they'd do well to chill out and enjoy being young". Q Magazine were also more critical, awarding 2 stars out of 5. They bemoaned, "Their second album is suitably heavy on post-adolescent angst but, for all frontman Andy Hull's best efforts, singularly lacking its own voice.
released by the band Manchester Orchestra
, available on April 18, 2009 at select indie record stores as an exclusive release for Record Store Day
. The limited edition EP came free with a purchase of Mean Everything To Nothing. Tracks 1 and 3 were done with Joe Chiccarelli while tracking Mean Everything To Nothing. Track 2 was done by Matt Mallpass and track 4 by Robert Mcdowell.
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 the Atlanta-based indie rock
Indie 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...
band Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...
. It was released on April 21, 2009 through independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Favorite Gentlemen Recordings and produced by Joe Chiccarelli and Dan Hannon
Dan Hannon
Dan Hannon is a Producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. Dan just recently finished production of the "Simple Math" LP, to be released May 10, 2011, for Sony/Favorite Gentlemen artist Manchester Orchestra...
.
Prior to the album's release, AbsolutePunk premiered a video of "The Only One", while Spin premiered another one, for "Shake It Out", on March 24, 2009. A third video, for lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
"I've Got Friends", was released on April 7. Mean Everything to Nothing received favorable reviews from music critics and debuted at number thirty seven on the U.S Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and number eleven on the Billboard Rock Albums Chart.
Reception
Mean Everything to Nothing was warmly received by critics. It currently holds an aggregated score of 70 on MetacriticMetacritic
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,...
, indicating "generally favourable reviews" based on 14 professional reviews and 8.2/10 based on 9 user votes.
Alternative Press reviewer Tim Karan awarded a maximum score of 5/5 and heaped praise on the album. He stated, "With 'Nothing, Manchester Orchestra have created what will ineveitably be regarded as one of the landmark releases of 2009, and more noticeable they've exceeded the hype that's surrounded them for nearly three years". Jason Tate, founder of AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk is a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate . The website mainly focuses on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it has been known to feature artists who have eventually achieved crossover success, including Fall...
scored the album at 93%. He opened his review with the line, "Quick note to the rest of the albums coming out this year: The bar has just been set". He praised the album as "classic" and went on to add, "Between the crashing sounds, the subtle whispers, the vocal chants, and the emotional reaction – we have the makings of a classic. We have an album that clearly bridges the gap between mainstream and underground". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the album as "outstanding" and gave a score of 9.0/10. Reviewer, Brian Linder wrote, "Mean Everything to Nothing is an incredibly dynamic rock trip that will have you rapt from start to finish. And while Hull's lyrical inclination is to leave us with more questions than answers, the one thing that's certain is that this band is about to blow up". Chris Willman of Paste Magazine also lauded the album. Awarding a score of 91%, he commented that, "The young band has learned a great secret: It’s possible to make a massive, commercial, go-for-the-gusto Rock Record while still holding on to dark idiosyncrasies and seriousness of purpose". Sputnikmusic's
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
Matt Wolfe gave a 4/5 rating. Although he said the album was just short of being "classic indie rock", he summarised, "Mean Everything to Nothing is an excellent record, but no better or worse than its predecessor. It’s just different". Punknews were also largely favourable in their review, rating the album at 4/5. They described the album as "Confoundingly consistent and vividly varied, Mean Everything to Nothing easily surpasses Manchester's previous output and provides a stark album of contrasting moods, layered fervor and modestly orchestral flow". They also commended Andy Hull
Andy Hull
Andy Hull is an American singer, guitarist and song writer for the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. He also has a side project Right Away, Great Captain, as well as co-founder of a side project with friend and folk musician Kevin Devine by the name of Bad Books.Hull was born in Atlanta, Georgia...
for his maturing songwriting. "It remains an exciting and considerably accomplished effort. This only being the sophomore try and Hull barely drinking age, it's a little unnerving to think what they could even conceive later on". Rockfeedback
Rockfeedback
Rockfeedback.com is a London-based music website that has been online since 2000. It reviews alternative and indie music, global gigs, interviews, videos, mp3s and competitions. It was designed and maintained by Transgressive Records co-founder Toby L, who founded the site at the age of 15...
journalist Liane Escorza described the album as one, "to play loud and proud, classically melding extreme textures across its dynamics, lyrics and melodies." She awarded 4 stars out of 5 and added, "Mean Everything To Nothing is a true work of bravery". Other positive reviews included British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
publications, Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, who awarded scores of 4/5 and 7/10 respectively. Some reviews were less favourable, particularly 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...
. Scoring the album at 5.2, Eric Harvey gave a mixed review. Both praising and criticizing Hull's lyrical themes. "For a kid barely able to legally drink, Hull's got the exhaustion of middle age. And that's the thing that both defines Manchester Orchestra at this point, as well as what stops them from being great. When they're satisfied with rocking the fuck out, they do it exceedingly well, but when they try to acquire the adult answers, they'd do well to chill out and enjoy being young". Q Magazine were also more critical, awarding 2 stars out of 5. They bemoaned, "Their second album is suitably heavy on post-adolescent angst but, for all frontman Andy Hull's best efforts, singularly lacking its own voice.
Tracklisting
Personnel
The following personnel contributed to Mean Everything to Nothing:Manchester Orchestra
- Andy Hull - lead vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, keysKeyboardistA keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, lyricsLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:... - Robert Mcdowell - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals, keysKeyboardistA keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more... - Jonathan Corley - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Jeremiah Edmond - drums, percussion, art direction
- Chris Freeman - additional percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, keys, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Dan HannonDan HannonDan Hannon is a Producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. Dan just recently finished production of the "Simple Math" LP, to be released May 10, 2011, for Sony/Favorite Gentlemen artist Manchester Orchestra...
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, keys - Oliver Kraus - celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello.... - Erica Froman - handclaps, vocals
- Mary Alice Hull - handclaps, vocals
Production
- Joe Chiccarelli - producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Dan HannonDan HannonDan Hannon is a Producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. Dan just recently finished production of the "Simple Math" LP, to be released May 10, 2011, for Sony/Favorite Gentlemen artist Manchester Orchestra...
- co-producer, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Ted Jensen - masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Brad Fisher - assistant engineer
- Brian Manley - design layoutDesignDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
, artworkCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
, photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - James Minchin - additional photography
Fourteen Years of Excellence EP
Fourteen Years Of Excellence is the fourth EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
released by the band Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...
, available on April 18, 2009 at select indie record stores as an exclusive release for Record Store Day
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music...
. The limited edition EP came free with a purchase of Mean Everything To Nothing. Tracks 1 and 3 were done with Joe Chiccarelli while tracking Mean Everything To Nothing. Track 2 was done by Matt Mallpass and track 4 by Robert Mcdowell.