Music for Tourists

Music for Tourists
Studio album by Chris Garneau
Released 23 January 2007
Recorded 2005[1]
Genre Indie pop
Label Absolutely Kosher
Producer Duncan Sheik

Music for Tourists is an indie pop album by Chris Garneau. It was released on January 23, 2007 on the Absolutely Kosher record label.

Recording

After playing in Brooklyn for some time, Garneau was recommended to record company Absolutely Kosher by Jamie Stewart, whose band Xiu Xiu was on that label.[2] According to Garneau the album took around two years to record before it was released, as producer Duncan Sheik was very busy and there was a lot of downtime during recording.[1]

Release

The album was released on January 23, 2007 and failed to chart in the US.[2] The release was followed by a tour that visited most of the UK and the US in 2007, as well as a few locations in France in 2008.[3]

Garneau said that he chose the 'cartoon-esque' cover art instead of a photo of himself because he wanted to keep it "kind of light".[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
Pitchfork Media (2.3/10)[5]
PopMatters (4/10)[6]
Radar Online [7]
Stylus Magazine B+[8]
Tiny Mix Tapes [9]

The response by critics was generally negative. Mark Hogan of Pitchfork Media was particularly critical, calling the lyrics of "Black & Blue" 'just terrible'.[10] PopMatters' Joe Tacopino agreed, calling the album "lyrically atrocious".[11] Matt Thompson of Radar also criticised the lyrics, but concluded that the album wasn't bad.[12] Allmusic's Marisa Brown called it a "cumbersome affair", giving it a rating of 2.5 out of 5.[13]

Tracklisting

  1. "Castle-Time" – 3:58
  2. "Relief" – 3:45
  3. "Black & Blue" – 5:32
  4. "Saturday" – 2:21
  5. "So Far" – 4:23
  6. "First Place!!!" – 4:14
  7. "Hymn" – 1:40
  8. "Baby's Romance" – 4:37
  9. "Not Nice" – 5:31
  10. "Blue Suede Shoes" – 3:09
  11. "We Don't Try" – 3:41
  12. "Sad News" – 6:01
  13. "Halloween" – 4:52
  14. "Between the Bars" (Elliott Smith cover) – 3:05

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Narcissist Issue: Chris Garneau". queerty.com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Chris Garneau chart history". Billboard magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  3. ↑ "Past tours". Chris Garneau. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  4. ↑ Allmusic review
  5. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  6. ↑ PopMatters review
  7. ↑ Radar review
  8. ↑ Foley, Ryan (January 30, 2007). "Chris Garneau – Music for Tourists". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  9. ↑ Tamec. "Chris Garneau – Music for Tourists". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Chris Garneau - Music for Tourists". Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  11. ↑ "Chris Garneau - Music for Tourists". Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  12. ↑ "Chris Garneau - Music for Tourists". Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  13. ↑ Marisa Brown. "Chris Garneau - Music for Tourists". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-05-05.

External links