Famous First Words (Viva Brother album)

Famous First Words is the debut studio album by English rock band Viva Brother, released on 1 August 2011 on Geffen Records in the United Kingdom. Preceded by the singles "Darling Buds of May", "Still Here" and "New Year's Day", the album was produced and mixed by Stephen Street, who had previously worked with acts such as Blur and The Smiths.

Famous First Words
Studio album by
Viva Brother
Released1 August 2011
Recorded2011
StudioAngelic Studio (Brackley, Northamptonshire) and Sofa Sound Studios (London)[1]
GenreBritpop revival
LabelGeffen
ProducerStephen Street
Viva Brother chronology
Famous First Words
(2011)		 II
(2017)
Singles from Staring at the Stars from the Gutter
  1. "Darling Buds of May"
    Released: November 2010
  2. "Still Here"
    Released: March 2011
  3. "New Year's Day"
    Released: May 2011

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic34/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Clash5/10[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Independent[6]
The Irish Times[7]
Mojo[8]
musicOMH[9]
NME5/10[10]
The Observer[11]
Pitchfork2.9/10.0[12]

The album was panned by critics upon release, with reviewers criticising the lack of original content and the clumsiness with which the band attempted to emulate popular acts of the 1990s. On Metacritic, the album received a score of 34/100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[2] Alexis Petridis of the Guardian likened the band to a tragicomedy and remarked that "Viva Brother haven't got a new idea in their heads – as every song fades out, you somehow imagine the theme music from TFI Friday fading in".[5] Martin Headon of musicOMH praised certain aspects of the album, but noted that overall it was clichéd, had "few arresting melodies" and lacked courage.[9] Similarly, Hari Ashurst of Pitchfork lamented the "chugging guitar and infant grade lyrics", ultimately judging the album to be "pretty brainless stuff, the special kind that makes you feel somehow stupider for having listened".[12] John Meagher of the Irish Independent wrote that Viva Brother "might just be responsible for the most uninspired, downright awful British album of the year".[13]

NME's Emily Mackay gave the album a more moderate score of 5/10, commenting positively on "New Year's Day" and "Darling Buds of May", but going on to criticise the rest of the songs, saying, "there’s no lyrical content here with lasting weight or worth much comment at all..." The review ultimately described the album as "disappointing [and] formulaic".[10]

Famous First Words is considered by the British press as the first Britpop revival album. Many reviewers pointed out that while Viva Brother attempted to be a lad rock act, they ended up only producing dad rock.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Viva Brother.

No.TitleLength
1."New Year's Day"3:22
2."Still Here"4:03
3."David"3:12
4."High Street Low Lives"3:02
5."Electric Daydream"3:46
6."Darling Buds of May"3:15
7."Otherside"3:40
8."Fly by Nights"2:50
9."False Alarm"3:49
10."Time Machine"3:17
Total length:34:16
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Shoot Like Lightning"2:49

References
  1. "Viva Brother - Famous First Words". Discogs. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  2. http://www.metacritic.com/music/famous-first-words/viva-brother
  3. https://www.allmusic.com/album/famous-first-words-mw0002181032
  4. http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/viva-brother-famous-first-words
  5. Petridis, Alexis. "Viva Brother: Famous First Words - review". The Guardian, 28 July 2011. Retrieved on 28 July 2011.
  6. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-viva-brother-famous-first-words-geffen-2327663.html
  7. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/album-reviews/viva-brother-1.612444
  8. http://www.metacritic.com/music/famous-first-words/viva-brother/critic-reviews
  9. Headon, Martin. "Viva Brother - Famous First Words Archived 2011-08-05 at the Wayback Machine". musicOMH, 28 July 2011. Retrieved on 28 July 2011.
  10. Mackay, Emily (26 July 2011). "Album Review: Viva Brother - 'Famous First Words'". NME. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  11. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jul/31/viva-brother-famous-first-words-review
  12. Ashurst, Hari. "Viva Brother - Famous First Words". Pitchfork, 29 July 2011. Retrieved on 29 July 2011.
  13. Meagher, John. "Viva Brother - Famous First Words". Irish Independent, 29 July 2011. Retrieved on 29 July 2011.
  14. Martin, Clive (19 June 2012). "Viva Brother Reincarnated As Lovelife". Vice. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.



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