The Tyranny of Distance is the second album by the Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are an American rock band formed in 1999 in Washington, D.C. and currently recording for Matador Records. They have released six full-length studio albums and have toured internationally...

, released in 2001 by Lookout! Records

Lookout! Records

-History:Larry Livermore and David Hayes formed the label in 1987. From the start, Lookout released punk rock records, but over time expanded its scope to include various types of pop rock, reggae fusion, acoustic rock, pop punk, and indie rock...

. It was the group's first album as a full band, as their previous album tej leo(?), Rx / pharmacists

Tej leo(?), Rx / pharmacists

tej leo, Rx / pharmacists is the debut album by the Washington, D.C. rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, released in 1999 by Gern Blandsten Records. Though considered the band's first album, it is actually a solo effort by Ted Leo with some contributions by Jodi V.B. of The Secret Stars...

had been a solo effort by singer/guitarist Ted Leo. The album's title comes from a lyric in the Split Enz

Split Enz

Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...

 song "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," which the band later covered twice: first as a Leo solo on the EP

Extended 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...

 Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead

Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead

Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead is an EP released in 2003 by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, although it mostly comprises Ted Leo's solo work. The title track is carried over from the band's previous album, Hearts of Oak, as is "The High Party"...

in 2003, and again as a full band on 2005's Sharkbite Sessions

Sharkbite Sessions

During their late 2004 tour promoting the Shake the Sheets album, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists stopped over at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA. There, the band -- along with Ryan Massey of Communiqué -- recorded full-band versions of two songs featured on 2003's Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead EP...

.

Reception

Online music magazine

Online magazine

An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...

 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...

placed The Tyranny of Distance at number 120 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.

Track listing

1. "Biomusicology" – 4:18
2. "Parallel or Together?" – 4:56
3. "Under the Hedge" – 3:20
4. "Dial Up" – 4:04
5. "Timorous Me" – 4:34
6. "Stove by a Whale" – 7:59
7. "The Great Communicator" – 3:16
8. "Squeaky Fingers" – 3:37
9. "M¥ Vien iLin" – 2:43
10. "The Gold Finch and the Red Oak Tree" – 1:54
11. "St. John the Divine" – 6:39
12. "You Could Die (Or This Might End)" – 1:30