Serena Maneesh is the debut self-titled album by Serena Maneesh

Serena Maneesh

Serena-Maneesh is an alternative rock band from Oslo, Norway.- Significance of the Name:...

. The album was partly recorded in Steve Albini

Steve Albini

Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...

's respected Electrical Audio Recordings studio in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 as well as in various facilities in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

. Contributors to the album include Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...

, Martin Bisi

Martin bisi

Martin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter.He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Angels of Light and Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning song Rockit,In 1979, Martin Bisi...

 (who worked with Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

 and Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

) and co-producer Daniel Smith of Danielson Famile

Danielson Famile

Danielson is an American Rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates...

.

The album yielded two singles: "Drain Cosmetics

Drain Cosmetics

"Drain Cosmetics" is the first enhanced single by Norwegian band Serena Maneesh.- ECD Track listing :# Drain Cosmetics – 3:41# Drain Cosmetics # Don't Come Down Here...

" in June 2006, and "Sapphire Eyes" in October 2006. "Beehiver II" is an alternative version of the song "Beehiver," first released on the band's 2002 EP Fixxations

Fixxations

Fixxations is the debut EP by Norwegian band Serena Maneesh. The songs were composed by Emil Nikolaisen, Lina Holmström and Håvard Krogedal.-Track listing:# Drive Me Home The Lonely Nights – 3:16# Blues Like Beehive – 3:23...

. An alternate version of "Saphire Eyes," subtitled Serena-Maneesh Refix, was released as a digital single, as a B-side on the "Drain Cosmetics" single, and on the split single with American band Blood on the Wall

Blood On The Wall

Blood on the Wall is a lo-fi, Brooklyn-based indie rock band, influenced by bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pavement, Pixies, and Sonic Youth. Band members include siblings Courtney and Brad Shanks and drummer Miggy Littleton...

.

Reception

Critical reception to the album was positive. 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...

 graded the album 8.6 out of 10 and rated the album as one of the Top 50 Albums of 2005. Norway's national newspaper Dagbladet

Dagbladet

Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....

rated it Norwegian Album of the Year, and Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars out of 5.

Track listing

All tracks written by Emil Nikolaisen

Emil Nikolaisen

Emil Nikolaisen is a musician and producer from Norway. He is frontman, bandleader, songwriter, guitarist & singer of the well-known Norwegian alternative rock band Serena-Maneesh....

.

1. "Drain Cosmetics" – 3:41
2. "Selina's Melodie Fountain" – 5:39
3. "Un-Deux" – 1:56
4. "Candlelighted" – 6:36
5. "Beehiver II" – 4:44
6. "Her Name Is Suicide" – 3:44
7. "Sapphire Eyes" – 7:09
8. "Don't Come Down Here" – 7:20
9. "Chorale Lick" – 3:16
10. "Simplicity" – 1:56
11. "Your Blood in Mine" – 12:09

Vinyl-only bonus tracks

12. "Untitled #1"
13. "Untitled #2"

Personnel

• Emil Nikolaisen: vocals, guitar, bass, samples, organ, vibes, drums, piano, harmonium, mellotron, mandolin
• Anders Møller: percussion
• David Wallumrød: organ
• Anders Salomon Lidal: flute, analog synth
• Sondre Tristan Midttun: guitar
• Lina Holmström: vocals
• Eivind Schou: violin
• Hilma Nikolaisen: vocals
• Håvard Krogedal: cello, organ
• Harald Frøland: guitar
• Sufjan Stevens: flute, marimba
• Inge Svege: harmonica
• Hilde Bialach: cello
• Samuel Durling: Indian vibes
• Dag Stiberg: sax
• Daniel Smith: backing vocals
• Asle Eikrem: tamburin

Production

• Christian Engfelt: mixing
• Marius Bodin: mixing
• Morten Lund: mastering
• Ingar Hunskaar: pre-mastering
• Tommy Akerholdt: drums, co-arranger
• Björn Engelmann: mastering
• Martin Bisi: samples, mixing
• Espen Høydalsvik: percussion, engineer
• Greg Norman: sound engineer

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue #
Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	29 August 2005	HoneyMilk Records	CD	HONEY020
	20 December 2005	Hype City Recordings	2LP	HCR-011
North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...	9 May 2006	Playlouder Recordings PlayLouder Playlouder is a digital music and media company. It is a music site which provides news, reviews, and other related content. It also claims to be the world's first Music Service Provider or MSP — a broadband, Internet Service Provider that bundles access to music content with broadband... /Beggars Group Beggars Group Beggars Group is a British record company that owns or distributes several other labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, and XL Recordings...	CD	PLAYR4CD
	23 May 2006		2LP	PLAYR4LP
United Kingdom 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...	26 June 2006		CD	PLAYR4CD
			2LP	PLAYR4LP

External links

• Serena Maneesh@HoneyMilk Artist page (domestic label)
• Serena Maneesh website