''Music for Tourists'' is an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

album by

Chris Garneau Chris Garneau (born November 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Since releasing his debut album, '' Music for Tourists'', Garneau has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Europe, and Asia. Garneau cites Jeff ...

. It was released in the year of 2007 on January 23 on the

Absolutely Kosher Absolutely may refer to: * ''Absolutely'' (Boxer album), the second rock music album recorded by the band Boxer * ''Absolutely'' (Madness album), the 1980 second album from the British ska band Madness * ''Absolutely'' (ABC album), a comprehensi ...

record label.

Recording

After playing in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

for some time, Garneau was recommended to record company

by Jamie Stewart, whose band

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

was on that label. According to Garneau the album took around two years to record before it was released, as producer

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed ...

was very busy and there was a lot of downtime during recording.

Release

The album was released on January 23, 2007 and failed to chart in the US. The release was followed by a tour that visited most of the UK and the US in 2007, as well as a few locations in France in 2008. Garneau said that he chose the 'cartoon-esque' cover art instead of a photo of himself because he wanted to keep it "kind of light".

Critical reception

The response by critics was generally negative. Mark Hogan of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

was particularly critical, calling the lyrics of "Black & Blue" 'just terrible'.

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

' Joe Tacopino agreed, calling the album "lyrically atrocious". Matt Thompson of

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

also criticised the lyrics, but concluded that the album wasn't bad.

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 ...

's Marisa Brown called it a "cumbersome affair", giving it a rating of 2.5 out of 5.

Track listing

# "Castle-Time" – 3:58 # "Relief" – 3:45 # "Black & Blue" – 5:32 # "Saturday" – 2:21 # "So Far" – 4:23 # "First Place!!!" – 4:14 # "Hymn" – 1:40 # "Baby's Romance" – 4:37 # "Not Nice" – 5:31 # "Blue Suede Shoes" – 3:09 # "We Don't Try" – 3:41 # "Sad News" – 6:01 # "Halloween" – 4:52 # "

Between the Bars "Between the Bars" is the fourth track of Elliott Smith's 1997 album ''Either/Or''. It is written as a short ballad in the key of G Minor. Possibly Smith's most popular song, it is one of three tracks from ''Either/Or'' that was used in the so ...

" (

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 ...

cover) – 3:05

References

External links

Chris Garneau's official website
{{Authority control Chris Garneau albums Absolutely Kosher Records albums 2007 debut albums