''Secrets of the Witching Hour'' is the second album of the British indie band,
The Crimea, released on 30 April 2007 as a free download on the band's website. The song "Loop A Loop" appeared in an advertisement for
Trident Gum
Trident is a brand of sugar-free chewing gum. It was originally introduced by American Chicle shortly before it was bought by Warner-Lambert in 1962, but did not reach the UK until 2007 when it was introduced by its then-owner Cadbury Schweppes ...
.
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Background and release
The Crimea were dropped by
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
in 2006 after the band's debut album, ''
Tragedy Rocks'', sold 35,000 copies worldwide.
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The band decided to self-finance their second album, titled ''Secrets of the Witching Hour'', and make it available to download for free from its website. The album was released on 30 April 2007, almost two weeks before its original projected release date.
Within the first 24 hours, the album was downloaded more than 5,000 times. Starting on June 4, a CD version was offered for sale on a mail-order basis from the band's website.
Critical reception
In a review of the album for ''
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 ...
'', Jess Colman wrote: "Although slightly ruined by the frequent and unnecessary Americanised monologues, the record’s Technicolor fusion of dark, sombre tunes and vibrant, upbeat tracks proudly pushes aside any doubts."
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Francis Jones of ''
Hot Press
''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
History
''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...
'' said that on this album, "The Crimea manage to fashion epic tales from everyday material, intimate scenarios instilled with the heroic bombast of Greek myth, or a sense of tragedy befitting the Bard."
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Andrew Iliff of
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
remarked that "the Crimea pick up the swooning where they left off" on ''Tragedy Rocks''. Iliff added that "MacManus' indiscriminate pop culture fetishism is undiminished, littering his lyrics with movie titles and cultural landmarks."
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Track listing
# "All Conquering"
# "The 48A Waiting Steps"
# "Raining Planets"
# "Man"
# "Bombay Sapphire Coma"
# "Don't Close Your Eyes on Me"
# "Loop a Loop"
# "Light Brigade"
# "Several Thousand Years of Talking Nonsense"
# "Requiem Aeternam"
# "Weird"
References
External links
Official download page
{{Authority control
The Crimea (band) albums
2007 albums
Albums free for download by copyright owner