''The English Riviera'' is the third studio album by English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music group formed in 1999. As of 2021, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbenga ...

, released on 8 April 2011 by

Because Music Because Music is an independent record label with headquarters in Paris and London. Because Music SAS is the main label, with Because Music Ltd handling the British artist roster. Because Music was founded in 2005 by former president of Virgin F ...

. Following the release of their second studio album, '' Nights Out'' (2008), founding member Gabriel Stebbing left the band (on this album,

Olugbenga Adelekan Olugbenga Adelekan, also known as Olugbenga, is a Nigerian-born music producer. Olugbenga performs as a solo artist and as the bass player of the Mercury Music Prize Award-nominated band Metronomy. Biography Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olugbenga m ...

had joined on bass and Anna Prior had joined on drums). However, Stebbing recorded the bass parts on the album prior to his departure. The album was nominated for the 2011

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

Singles

"She Wants" was released as the lead single from the album on 26 January 2011. The promo video (directed in Jul & Mat) takes place during a house party with the action being played out in reverse in one continuous take. The bandmembers are absent although pictures of the group's faces can be seen throughout the video. At one point a QR code is mounted on a wall, providing an interactive feature that allows fans to access the Metronomy website after being scanned. "The Look" was released as the second single on 11 March 2011. The video, directed by Lorenzo Fonda, depicts the band performing the song in a white room alongside

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animated sequences featuring seagulls. The band scenes were filmed in London while the animation was produced in Los Angeles. Frontman Joseph Mount is seen playing a Yamaha Electone EX-2 organ. The song is played over the end titles of the 2013

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...

film ''

I'm So Excited! ''I'm So Excited!'' is a 2013 Spanish comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, and Raúl Arévalo. Its original Spanish title, ''Los amantes pasajeros'', has the double meani ...

'' The third single, "The Bay", was released on 10 June 2011. The video, directed by David Wilson, intersperses bird's-eye views of

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

(known as the English Riviera) and the band performing the song at various places in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

where the video was shot. "Everything Goes My Way" was released on 17 October 2011 as the album's fourth and final single. The video features the band along with guest vocalist Roxanne Clifford having a stroll in a nature reserve surrounded by deer.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' placed the album at number two on its list of the "Top 50 Albums of 2011", while ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' and '' Q'' listed the album at numbers three and seventeen, respectively. Mike Williams of ''NME'' wrote, "With this, his third full-length album, Joe Mount has transformed his Metronomy project from a jaunty, brilliant, yet ultimately niche electro outfit into one of the most expansive and visionary pop bands in the country".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The English Riviera''.

Metronomy

* Joseph Mount – vocals ; drums ; guitar ; Juno-60 ; percussion ; handclaps ;

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

;

Moog Source The Moog Source is a monophonic Z80 microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1981 to 1985. The Source was Moog's first synthesizer to offer patch memory storage. The design was also the first (and only) Moog sy ...

;

Solina String Ensemble The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United States ...

; bass guitar ; talk box,

Yamaha CS-80 The Yamaha CS-80 is an analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony, with two independent synthesizer layers per voice each with its own set of front panel controls, in addition to a number of hardwired preset voice set ...

; Wurlitzer 200A ; congas,

EDP Wasp Electronic Dream Plant (EDP) was a small British synthesizer manufacturer, active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the time their products were not particularly successful commercially. In later years products like the "WASP" became prized ...

; Moog modular ; Yamaha CS-50 ; clavinet,

Yamaha CS2x Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization esta ...

; arrangement * Oscar Cash – guitar ; saxophone ; handclaps ; Siel Orchestra ; Juno-60 * Anna Prior – backing vocals ; drums ; vocals, handclaps *

– bass guitar, handclaps

Additional musicians

* Harriet Wheeler – violin * Gabriel Stebbing – bass guitar ; handclaps ; guitar solo * Roxanne Clifford – vocals * Ash Workman – handclaps * Marion Cassan – vocals * Nicole Elizabeth – backing vocals

Technical

* Ash Workman – engineering, mixing * Jedidiah Allcock – engineering assistance * Jamie Bell – engineering assistance * Julien Noudin – engineering assistance * Nilesh – mastering * Joseph Mount – production

Artwork

* John Gorham – cover image * Grégoire Alexandre – photography * Joseph Mount – art direction * Aaron Larney – design layout

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In 2012, the album was certified 2× Gold by the

Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...

(IMPALA), denoting sales in excess of 150,000 copies across Europe.

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English Riviera, The 2011 albums Because Music albums Metronomy albums