''Mean Everything to Nothing'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

-based

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, 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 mu ...

band

Manchester Orchestra Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta formed in 2004. The group is composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Prince and drummer Tim Very. Former drummer Jer ...

. It was released on April 21, 2009 through independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings and produced by

Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

and

Dan Hannon Dan Hannon is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. He has produced, co-produced, co-written, and performed on albums that have sold over 4.5 million copies, that have been streamed over one billion time ...

. Prior to the album's release,

AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...

premiered a video of "The Only One", while ''

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 ...

'' 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 upon release and debuted at number thirty seven on the U.S ''Billboard'' 200 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

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, indicating "generally favourable reviews" based on 14 professional reviews and 8.2/10 based on 9 user votes. Jason Tate, founder of '' AbsolutePunk.net'' highly recommended the album. 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". ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' 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". Chris Willman of ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

'' 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". 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 John Andrew Hull (born November 7, 1986) is an American singer, musician and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. He also has a side project, Right Away ...

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". Other positive reviews included British publications, ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', who awarded scores of 4/5 and 7/10 respectively. Some reviews were less favourable, particularly ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

''. 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 ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. '' ...

'' 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.

Media appearances

"I Can Feel a Hot One" was used in an episode of the American television series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

''. "Shake It Out" was used as the theme song for the 2010

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

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Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

''.

Track listings

Personnel

The following personnel contributed to ''Mean Everything to Nothing'':

Manchester Orchestra

*Andy Hull –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

*Robert Mcdowell –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Jonathan Corley –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

*Jeremiah Edmond –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

*Chris Freeman – additional percussion, keys, backing vocals

Additional musicians

–

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, keys *Oliver Kraus –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

*Erica Froman –

handclaps A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...

, vocals *Mary Alice Hull – handclaps, vocals

Production

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, mixing *

–

co-producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working Independent film, independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordina ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

lane Johnson David Lane Johnson (born May 8, 1990) is an American football offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles fourth overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ok ...

– Additional Vocal

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering *Lowell Reynolds – assistant engineer *Brad Fisher – assistant engineer *Brian Manley –

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

layout,

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

*James Minchin – additional photography

''Fourteen Years of Excellence'' EP

''Fourteen Years of Excellence'' is the fourth EP released by the band

, available on April 18, 2009Release info
/ref> at select indie record stores as an exclusive release for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

. 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.

Track listing

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 albums Manchester Orchestra albums Albums produced by Joe Chiccarelli