''Cruel Guards'' is the third studio album by Australian

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band,

The Panics The Panics are an indie rock band originally from Perth, Western Australia, and currently based in Melbourne, Victoria. History 2000–2006: Band formation and LittleBigMan Records The band started out while Jae Laffer (then known by his actu ...

. It was released on 13 October 2007 by

Dew Process Dew Process is an Australian independent record label, based in Brisbane, Queensland, founded and owned by Australian music industry figure Paul Piticco. Operational The label operates in two primary areas: traditional development of Australi ...

. The album debuted and peaked at number 18 on the ARIA Charts and was certified gold in 2008. The album was

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

's feature album for the week of 8 October 2007. At the

J Awards of 2007 The J Award of 2007 is the third annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station i ...

, the album won Australian Album of the Year. Drew Wootton said "It was amazing to win that award. We celebrated for days with the Triple J staff and then just fell over." At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2008 The 22nd annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) took place on 19 October 2008. The nominees for all categories were announced on 10 September, while the winners of ...

, the album won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album while

Scott Horscroft Scott Horscroft (born 27 October 1977) is an Australian music producer/sound engineer, the owner of The Grove Studios and the former General Manager of A&R for EMI Music Australia. Career In 1999 Horscroft completed a Bachelor's Degree of ...

was nominated for

ARIA Award for Producer of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Producer of the Year, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by t ...

and Engineer the Year.

Reception

Adam Greenberg from ''AllMusic'' said "Frontman Jae Laffer gives a husky delivery that swoons just a bit here and there over the top of a layer of guitar and drums, an occasional bit of keyboard inflection, and depending on the song, a bit of classic Motown-style strings." Greenberg continued "The band tells their stories, touching on the grey areas of pop, alluding to U2 in the rhythm guitar for a moment in 'Live Without'. They touch on darker beach songs in 'Confess', they evoke contemporary

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

recordings in 'Sundowner' with an almost weary, dim delivery but a grandiose chorus movement. The album defies a clear definition other than 'adult contemporary' but it's attractive, it's catchy, and it's exploratory all at once. Definitely worth a spin or two."

Track listing

; Standard Edition All tracks written by Jae Laffer, Paul Otway, Drew Wootton, Myles Wootton and Julian Grigor. # "Get Us Home" – 4:16 # "Ruins" – 3:42 # "Creaks" – 4:02 # " Don't Fight It" – 5:01 # "Feeling is Gone" – 3:23 # "Cruel Guards" – 5:15 # "Live Without" – 4:17 # "Something in the Garden" – 4:57 # "Confess" – 3:49 # "Sundowner" – 5:18 # "My Best Mistake" (iTunes bonus track) – 3:13 # "In Your Head" (iTunes bonus track) – 4:02 # "Cash" (iTunes bonus track) – 4:15 # "

Kid You're a Dreamer "Kid You're a Dreamer" is a song written and recorded by Australian band, The Panics. It was released in February 2003 as the lead single from the band's debut studio album, ''A House on a Street in a Town I'm From''. It was recorded at Kingdom St ...

" (iTunes bonus track) – 3:20 Bonus EP Limited copies of the CD included a bonus EP of covers called ''Join the Dots''. # "Lazyitis" ( Mark Day, Paul Davis, Paul Ryder, Gary Whelan,

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John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

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) - 3:56 # "

One Too Many Mornings "One Too Many Mornings" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his third studio album '' The Times They Are a-Changin in 1964. The chords and vocal melody are in some places very similar to the song " The Times They Are A-Changin'". "One Too Many ...

" (

) – 2:28 # " Factory Girl" (

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

) – 2:31 # " Who By Fire" (

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

) – 3:04 # "

Just Like a Woman "Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan first released on his seventh studio album, ''Blonde on Blonde'' on June 20, 1966. It was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. A shorter edit was released as a sin ...

" (Dylan) – 4:47

Personnel

The Panics * Jae Laffer – vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica * Myles Wootton – drums, percussion, vocals, orchestral arrangements * Jules Douglas – guitar, piano, vocals, hammond organ * Drew Wootton – guitar * Paul Otway – bass, vocals Additional musicians * Naomi Radom – strings * Simon Ferenci – trumpet

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2007 albums The Panics albums Dew Process albums ARIA Award-winning albums