Dead to Me (Girls Names album)

Dead to Me
Studio album by Girls Names
Released April 25, 2011
Recorded June–October 2010
Start Together Studios, Belfast
Genre Alternative rock, surf pop, noise pop
Length 28:19
Label Tough Love Records (Europe)
Slumberland Records (USA)
Producer Barrett Lahey
Girls Names
Girls Names chronology

You Should Know by Now EP
(2010)
Dead to Me
(2011)
The New Life
(2013)
Singles from Dead to Me
  1. "I Lose"
    Released: November 23, 2010
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
AU [2]
Cokemachineglow [3]
Consequence of Sound [4]
NME [5]
Pitchfork [6]
State.ie [7]
Tiny Mix Tapes [8]

Dead to Me is the debut album by Northern Irish band Girls Names. It was released on 25 April 2011 by Tough Love in Europe and Slumberland Records in the USA.

Background and recording

The songs on Dead to Me were recorded and ready to put out by October 2010 but the band had to wait until the following April for the album's release. Lead singer Cathal Cully claims this was the reason for the album's title, stating that, in the intervening time, the band had grown tired of the songs and was experimenting with a different sound, meaning that "Dead to Me literally was dead to us by the time it was committed to wax".[9]

Opening track "Lawrence" was named after Felt singer Lawrence Hayward, with Cully explaining that the song was a homage to the British band's song "All the People I Like Are Those That Are Dead" from the 1986 album Forever Breathes the Lonely Word. It was used in a 2013 advertising campaign for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

"I Lose" was written in response to San Francisco band Brilliant Colors' song "You Win", for a split 7-inch single featuring both bands.[10]

Reception

Dead to Me has received mostly positive reviews. The album currently has a 75 out of 100 on the review aggregating site Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

Track listing

All songs written by Cathal Cully.

No. Title Length
1. "Lawrence"   2:56
2. "I Could Die"   2:20
3. "When You Cry"   3:02
4. "No More Words"   2:53
5. "Nothing More to Say"   2:08
6. "I Lose"   3:45
7. "Cut Up"   2:50
8. "Bury Me"   3:20
9. "Kiss Goodbye"   2:45
10. "Séance on a Wet Afternoon"   2:59

Personnel

References

  1. Dead to me - Girls Names. All Music Guide, 10 May 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  2. Stevie Lennox. Girls Names - Dead to Me. AU. Retrieved 24 January 2013
  3. Kaylen Hann. Girls Names: Dead to Me. Cokemachineglow, 31 May 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  4. Siobhán Kane. Album Review: Girls Names – Dead to Me. Consequence of Sound, 3 May 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  5. Ash Dosanjh. Album Review: Girls Names - 'Dead To Me'. NME, 27 April 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  6. Martin Douglas. Girls Names: Dead to Me. Pitchfork, 9 May 2011, p.13. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  7. Cormac Duffy. Girls Names - Dead to Me. State.ie, 5 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013
  8. Rowan Savage. Girls Names - Dead to Me. Tiny Mix Tapes, 23 May 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  9. Girls Names Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  10. Robin Murray. Dead to Me: Girls Names. Clash, 29 April 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  11. Critic Reviews for Dead to Me. Metacritic. Retrieved 24 January 2013.