Baby Darling Doll Face Honey

Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
Studio album by Band of Skulls
Released 7 April 2009
Recorded Courtyard Studios, Oxfordshire
Length 47:52
Label Shangri-La
Producer Ian Davenport
Band of Skulls chronology

Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
(2009)
Sweet Sour
(2012)
Singles from Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
  1. "I Know What I Am"
    Released: 6 March 2009
  2. "Blood"
    Released: May 2009
  3. "Patterns"
    Released: July 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 71/100 link
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link

Baby Darling Doll Face Honey is the debut album by English rock band Band of Skulls. It was released on 7 April 2009 in England and 28 July 2009 in America. The artwork is based on paintings by bass player/vocalist Emma Richardson.[1]

Baby Darling Doll Face Honey was produced, recorded and mixed by Ian Davenport, (Supergrass, Badly Drawn Boy), and recorded at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire and mixed at the House of Blues studio in Los Angeles.[2]

The special edition of this CD available at Best Buy includes a live version of the song "I Know What I Am" and an acoustic version of the song "Fires". The vinyl release includes the additional track "Hollywood Bowl", placed at the end of Side 1 after "Patterns".

The first single "I Know What I Am" was released as the single of the week in Canada. The album's first track "Light of the Morning", was featured in a television ad for the 2011 Ford Mustang.

The song "I Know What I Am" features in the music game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and as a downloadable track for Rock Band through the Rock Band Network, while the song "Patterns" features in the driving simulator Gran Turismo 5.

The album debuted belatedly on the UK Indie Chart on 27 February 2010 at position 50.[3]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Light of the Morning"   2:44
2. "Death by Diamonds and Pearls"   3:12
3. "I Know What I Am"   3:18
4. "Fires"   4:06
5. "Honest"   3:39
6. "Patterns"   3:38
7. "Hollywood Bowl"   3:57
8. "Bomb"   2:53
9. "Impossible"   4:50
10. "Blood"   4:14
11. "Dull Gold Heart"   5:11
12. "Cold Fame"   6:11
Bonus Track Deluxe Edition
No. Title Length
13. "I Know What I Am (Live)"   3:12
14. "Fires (Acoustic)"   4:26

Reception

Critical reception to Baby Darling Doll Face Honey has been generally positive. In the UK Classic Rock gave the album a 9 out of 10 review, stating that "the entire collection crackles with an urgency and authenticity that's as rare as it is desirable." The website PopMatters gave the album a 6 out of 10, stating that the album was "a mish-mash of three or four styles, recalling as many different artists, with songs written by all three band members and sung by two of them. If that sentence was dizzying to read, imagining hearing the album. It’s as if every cast member of Friends got to write and direct a different scene in a single episode. It’s as if every third letter on this page were a different color. It’s just, shall we say, a bit jarring." They go on to refer to the song, "Impossible" as a mix of U2, Coldplay and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.[4]

Personnel

References

  1. "Band bio"
  2. "Discogs entry" Listing of the album on Discog's.com detailing recording (Accessed 5 August 2014).
  3. "Official UK Indie Charts for the week ending 27 February 2010". ChartsPlus (Liverpool: UKChartsPlus) (444): 15.
  4. C.L. Chafin 28 July 2009. "Band of Skulls: Baby Darling Doll Face Honey < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.