& Then Boom

& Then Boom
Studio album by Iglu & Hartly
Released November 29, 2008
Recorded 2007
Genre Power pop, pop, hip hop
Label Mercury
Singles from Bangerz
  1. "In This City"
    Released: September 14, 2008
  2. "Violent and Young"
    Released: December 4, 2008

& Then Boom is the debut studio album by American new wave band Iglu & Hartly. It was released on September 29, 2008.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 42/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
DIY 1/10[3]
Drowned in Sound 0/10[4]
Entertainment.ie [5]
The Guardian [6]
Hot Press 3/5[7]
NME 2/10[8]
musicOMH [9]
The Observer [10]
Q [11]

Reviews of & Then Boom upon release were mixed upon release. As of March 2015, the album holds an aggregated score of a 42 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews", based on six sources.[1] Allmusic journalist Anthony Tognazzini described & Then Boom as "fizzy, fun retro-glam-electro-pop from beginning to end", also noting the variety of the sounds on the record.[2] There were three-star reviews from the Hot Press and Q, with the former's Edwin McFee calling it a "guilty pleasure"[7] and latter calling it a "kitchen-sink hybrid" that "works remarkably well".[11] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave the album a similar score, praising it as "crisp electro-rock with a big hook in every tune, and lyrics that present them as a bunch of civic-minded young fellows."[6]

However, in a more varied review of The Guardian's sister paper The Observer, Craig McLean opined that "On the one hand, it's riotously good fun; on the other, it's a bit naff."[10] Shaun Newport, writing for musicOMH, called it a "frustration and disappointment" to listen to, saying that the group "sound nice, look nice but you’d be pressed to find any substance." However, he did give them credit for "absolutely signif[ying] the beginning of the end of our love affair with the ’80s. It was cool, then it was pop and now it has shamelessly gone too far. Thank goodness we always have time to learn from our mistakes."[9]

There were extremely negative reviews that questioned if BBC Radio 1's promotion of Iglu & Hartly was a joke, as well as criticized the record's cheap and unprofessional-sounding production and songwriting. It got a zero-out-of-ten review from David Renshaw of Drowned in Sound, calling it "the worst album of [2008]."[4] Racheal Crowther, a critic for DIY, rated it a one out of ten, writing that the tracks were "so similar it feels like listening to one really long song rather than an album."[3] In a two-out-of-ten review from NME, Rick Martin called it "an abomination of a debut album, informed by all the most disgusting musical faux pas of the past 20 years."[8]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Iglu & Hartly

No. Title Length
1. "Believe"   3:49
2. "Violent and Young"   4:23
3. "Tomorrow"   3:38
4. "Build"   4:15
5. "DayGlo"   2:58
6. "In This City"   4:05
7. "People"   3:46
8. "Whatever We Like"   4:42
9. "We'll See"   4:09
10. "Out There"   3:57
11. "Jump Out of Your Car"   4:46

Personnel

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "And Then Boom – Iglu & Hartly". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Tognazzini, Anthony. "And Then Boom – Iglu & Hartly". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Crowther, Racheal (October 1, 2008). "Iglu & Hartly - & Then Boom". DIY. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Renshaw, David (September 29, 2008). "Album Review: Iglu & Hartly – & Then Boom". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  5. Murphy, Lauren (October 2, 2008). "Iglu & Hartly – & Then Boom". entertainment.ie. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Sullivan, Caroline (October 2, 2008). "Pop review: Iglu & Hartly, And Then Boom". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  7. 7.0 7.1 McFee, Edwin (October 21, 2008). "& Then Boom". Hot Press. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Martin, Rick (September 17, 2008). "Iglu & Hartly". NME. Inspire. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Newport, Shaun (September 29, 2008). "Iglu & Hartley – & Then Boom". musicOMH. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  10. 10.0 10.1 McLean, Craig (September 14, 2008). "Pop review: Iglu and Hartly, & Then Boom". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Q. November 2008, p. 117.