''Maroon'' is the second studio album by American band

the Webb Brothers The Webb Brothers are an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, who formed in 1998. History The Webb Brothers are Christiaan, Justin, and James Webb, sons of the songwriter Jimmy Webb and Patsy Sullivan, a cover-girl model. They are grandso ...

, released through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

on June 1, 2000. It was produced by

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths, The Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album ''Viva Hate'' following the spl ...

. The singles "Summer People" and "I Can't Believe You're Gone" reached numbers 115 and 69 respectively in the UK, while the album reached number 105 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

Critical reception

Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Daniel Browne commented that the album is "full of soaring choruses and orchestral backdrops that might as well have been inspired by Tunesmith, Webb the Elder's giant treatise on the art of song", judging their "subject matter" to be "the lifestyle of carefree (and careless) swingers, and they capture it in spare, acidic lyrics that are almost the opposite of their father's grandiloquence". Browne acclaimed the album's "eclecticism, along with the jaded, wasted character of the lyrics", comparing it to

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

's '' Poses'' (2001), "another breakthrough album by a second-generation songwriter". Keith Phipps of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' felt that while the Webb Brothers' "perspective remains dour throughout" the album, it "comes cloaked in songs so instantly ingratiating that it's not hard to overlook the sadness just below the surface", opining that ''Maroon'' "captures a band with no shortage of methods for converting misery into melody". Phipps also complimented

's "crisp production

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

gives the Webbs a solid base for their ambitious, eclectic songwriting". In a glance at the band's career, ''

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

'' called the album the "knockout left-hook to the chin" after the "right-cross to the heart" that was the band's debut, ''Beyond the Biosphere'' (1999). Brian Garrity of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' summarized ''Maroon'' as a "smart collection of California-style orchestral-pop fused with

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

sensibilities" and a "loose chronicle of the brothers' time spent playing in the Chicago music scene of the mid-1990s" that is "steeped in a weary decadence". ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' felt similarly, describing the record as a "piano-driven waltz with the ghosts of drugs, alcohol, and loneliness, variously evocative of Elvis Costello,

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

, and even

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

, with melodic/harmonic roots in

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

". An overview in ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'' found the album to be an "introspective and kaleidoscopic collection of irresistibly textured pop symphonies".

Track listing

Charts

References

{{reflist 2000 albums Albums produced by Stephen Street Atlantic Records albums Orchestral pop albums The Webb Brothers albums