The Age of the Understatement

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This article is about the Last Shadow Puppets album. For the album's title song, see The Age of the Understatement (song).

The Age of the Understatement
The Age of the Understatement (Front Cover).png
Studio album by
The Last Shadow Puppets
Released15 April 2008 (2008-04-15)
RecordedAugust 2007[1]
Studio
Genre
Length35:10
LabelDomino
ProducerJames Ford
The Last Shadow Puppets chronology
The Age of the Understatement
(2008) 		Everything You've Come to Expect
(2016)
Singles from The Age of the Understatement
  1. "The Age of the Understatement"
    Released: 14 April 2008
  2. "Standing Next to Me"
    Released: 7 July 2008
  3. "My Mistakes Were Made for You"
    Released: 20 October 2008

The Age of the Understatement is the debut album by The Last Shadow Puppets, featuring Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Miles Kane of The Rascals and James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco. It was released on 21 April 2008 in the UK, following the release of the title track as a single in the previous week.[6] It entered the UK Album Chart at No. 1 on 27 April 2008. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize.[7]

Background and recording[]

The album was recorded in Black Box Studios, France, and RAK Studios in London, England. The duo claimed the album was influenced by the music of Scott Walker, Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson, The Electric Prunes' Mass in F Minor, and Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack.[8]

Album art[]

The album art consists of a photo of a model named Gill photographed by Sam Haskins in 1962.[9]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[11]
The Guardian4/5 stars[12]
Mojo4/5 stars[13]
NME8/10[14]
Pitchfork7.7/10[2]
Q3/5 stars[15]
Rolling Stone3/5 stars[16]
Spin3.5/5 stars[17]
Uncut4/5 stars[18]

The Age of the Understatement received largely positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 25 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[10]

Marc Hogan of Pitchfork gave the album a favorable review, stating, "The biggest difference between The Last Shadow Puppets and Turner's main gig is in the lyrics. Though less immediately noticeable than the majestic production, the change in the scale of Turner's songwriting is ultimately more profound." Hogan continues, calling the album "Turner's most impressive album-length statement yet, one that strives, musically and lyrically, for the epic grandeur of an era before GarageBand or MySpace, and avoids lapsing into pretentiousness by dint of its own headlong enthusiasm."[2]

Commercial performance[]

The album entered the UK album chart at No. 1 on its release,[19] selling 51,186 copies in the first week. It has sold around 300,000 copies in the UK as of April 2016.[20] In the US, it debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 111,[21] and No. 9 on Independent Albums.[22] It has sold 51,000 copies in the US as of March 2016.[23]

Track listing[]

All lyrics are written by Alex Turner and Miles Kane.

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."The Age of the Understatement"Kane and Turner3:07
2."Standing Next to Me"Kane with Turner2:18
3."Calm Like You"Turner2:26
4."Separate and Ever Deadly"Kane and Turner2:38
5."The Chamber"Turner with Kane2:37
6."Only the Truth"Kane and Turner2:44
7."My Mistakes Were Made for You"Turner3:04
8."Black Plant"Turner with Kane3:59
9."I Don't Like You Anymore"Kane and Turner3:05
10."In My Room"Kane and Turner2:29
11."Meeting Place"Kane and Turner3:55
12."Time Has Come Again"Turner2:22
Total length:35:10

Different versions of the album list the last two tracks in a different manner. Catalog number WIGCD208 lists track No. 11 and No. 12 as "The Meeting Place" and "Time Has Come Again" respectively while catalog number WIGCD208S lists them as "Meeting Place" and "The Time Has Come Again".

Personnel[]

The Last Shadow Puppets

Production

  • James Ford – production, mixing
  • Jimmy Robertson – engineering
  • Steve McGlaughlin – orchestra recording
  • Richard Woodcraft – mixing

Orchestrations

  • Owen Pallett – arrangement and conducting
  • London Metropolitan Orchestra – performance

Artwork

  • Sam Haskins – front cover photography
  • Deidre O' Callahan – portrait photography
  • Matthew Cooper – design
  • Jason Evans – design assistance ("with thanks")

Charts and certifications[]

Release history[]

Region Date Label Format Catalog
Japan[44] 15 April 2008 Hostess CD HSE-10065
Germany[45] 18 April 2008 Domino Records CD
United Kingdom[46] 21 April 2008 Domino Records CD WIGCD2008
LP WIGLP208
Australia[47] 21 April 2008 EMI Music Australia CD
Europe[48] 25 April 2008 CD WIGCD208
United States[49] 6 May 2008 Domino Records CD CDNO181
Brazil 25 August 2008 EMI Music Brazil CD

References[]

  1. ^ Michaels, Sean (20 February 2008). "Alex Turner ready with new side project album". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hogan, Marc (22 April 2008). "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Phares, Heather. "The Age of the Understatement – The Last Shadow Puppets". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  4. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement". FIP. May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  5. ^ Anderson, Stacey (26 March 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets". Interview. Retrieved 31 May 2018. an ambitious effort that melded '60s rock, agile strings, and baroque pop
  6. ^ Greenwood, Phoebe (20 February 2008). "Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner christens new collaboration The Last Shadow Puppets". Times Online. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  7. ^ "Home - Bearded Magazine: The Home of Independent Music". Archived from the original on 12 March 2012.
  8. ^ The Last Shadow Puppets Yahoo Music Interview. 31 March 2016 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ "Five Girls (1962)". Photography. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Reviews for The Age of the Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  11. ^ Divola, Barry (9 May 2008). "The Age of the Understatement". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  12. ^ Petridis, Alexis (18 April 2008). "The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  13. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement". Mojo (174): 100. May 2008.
  14. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement". NME. 18 April 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  15. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement". Q (262): 125. May 2008.
  16. ^ Rosen, Jody (15 May 2008). "The Age of the Understatement : The Last Shadow Puppets". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  17. ^ Wood, Mikael (May 2008). "Cue the Strings". Spin. 24 (5): 100. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  18. ^ Moody, Paul (16 April 2008). "The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Uncut. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  19. ^ Sexton, Paul (28 April 2008). "Last Shadow Puppets, Madonna Lead U.K. Charts". Billboard.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Jones, Alan (8 April 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Everything You've Come To Expect tops the Official Albums Chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  21. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. 25 May 2008.
  22. ^ "Independent Albums". Billboard. 25 May 2008.
  23. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016.
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  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement" (in French). Hung Medien.
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  30. ^ "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment Charts.
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  34. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  35. ^ "Last Shadow Puppets | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  36. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  37. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
  38. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  39. ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
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  42. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2008". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  43. ^ "British album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – The Age of the Understatement". British Phonographic Industry.
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  45. ^ "The Age of the Understatement". Amazon.de. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
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  49. ^ "The Age of the Understatement". Domino USA. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
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