''Keep Me on Your Side'' is the second studio album by

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

band

Goodnight Nurse Goodnight Nurse was a New Zealand pop punk band formed in Auckland in 2001. The group originally began as a trio, but later changed to a four-piece prior to the release of their second album. It consisted of lead vocalist Joel Little, guitaris ...

, released on 7 April 2008. The album was the follow-up to their successful debut album, '' Always and Never''. It peaked at number five on New Zealand's

RIANZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

chart. The album has produced three singles to date. "The Night" was released in Australia and

on 4 February 2008, with a music video for the song released on 24 February 2008. The second single from the album was "I Need This", it released on 5 May 2008. The third single "Serpent Queen Pt. 2" was released on 'free-to-download' on New Zealand's iTunes, which accelerated the album's success.

Production

The album was recorded in Melbourne, Australia around August 2007. It was produced by Lindsay Gravina, well known for his work with bands such as

The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...

Shihad Shihad are a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988. The band consists of founders Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar ...

and

Thirsty Merc Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 by Rai Thistlethwayte, Phil Stack (bass guitar), Karl Robertson (drums), and Matthew Baker (guitar). In 2004, Baker was replaced by Sean Carey, who was, in turn, replaced by Matt Sm ...

. A total of 40 songs were originally demoed by the group, with only 12 making it into the final cut to be recorded for the album. ''Keep Me on Your Side'' was mastered in New York by respected recording engineer

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 T ...

, who is best known for his work with

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

' 2003

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

winning album ''

Come Away with Me ''Come Away with Me'' is the debut studio album by American recording artist Norah Jones, released on February 26, 2002, by Blue Note Records. Recording sessions took place at Sorcerer Sound Studio in New York City and Allaire Studios in Shoka ...

'', Simple Plan and is also signed up to do Metallica's upcoming 9th studio album.

Reception

''Keep Me on Your Side'' gained fairly positive reviews, though did not achieve the critical acclaim of its predecessor '' Always and Never''. Reviewer Chris Schulz gave the album a 3 out of 5 star rating for national news website

Stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff was founded in 20 ...

. Complimenting a variety of aspects of the album, including lead single " The Night" - stating it "has a danceable stomp reminiscent of Bloc Party's Flux". He also went on to give mention to the "hard-hitting anthem" "Drift Away", saying it is sure to become a "live favourite". Compliments were also cited for the "serious" side of the album, as "Hard to Watch You Go" gained praise with its "real conviction" as "they come across like latter-day Blink 182". Schulz goes on to say the album is "let down by a couple of tracks that sound like Goodnight Nurse are fighting for inclusion on the next soundtrack for Grey's Anatomy - "Lay With Me" and "I Need This" especially." Overall they were seen as "aiming admirably high on an impressive second effort". Music News website The Edge FM rated the new album as the "best work from Goodnight Nurse so far", saying it was "so different... from their previous album" and how it is "amazing and exciting". Also they went on to say it was full of "pretty much mind-blowing songs", with "other fantastic singles to come" after "The Night". A review also posted on the site labelled the second album from GNN as "catchy" and of a "high standard". Stating "the album opens with dark but catchy "Serpent Queen Part 2"" and that it doesn't slow down from there as "it's an album that starts awesome and finishes just as strong". The album's cover, illustrated by Barny Bewick, won the 2008 Vodafone New Zealand Music Award for Best Album Cover.

Track listing

# "Serpent Queen Pt. 2" - 2:53 # " The Night" - 3:06 # "Details" - 2:59 # "Hard to Watch You Go" - 3:40 # "Lay With Me" - 3:03 # "I Need This" - 3:33 # "Jesse" - 3:23 # "Drift Away" - 2:59 # "This is it" - 3:13 # "Drown" - 3:06 # "Say Your Goodbyes" - 2:56 # "Take it All" - 2:53 # "Take Me Away" - 3:26 ( iTunes bonus track)

Production

Reception

Track listing

Charts

Album

Singles

References