Penny the Dreadful

Penny the Dreadful is the debut studio album from the American rock band Those Mockingbirds.

Penny the Dreadful
Studio album by
Those Mockingbirds
Released1 July 2014
GenreGrunge rock, alternative rock
Length33:35
LabelSelf-released
ProducerDean Baltulonis
Those Mockingbirds chronology
Fa Sol La
(2011)		 Penny the Dreadful
(2014)

Content

The ten-track album was self-released on compact disc and digital download, on 1 July 2014. The band moved to New Hampshire for a month for recording, which was made by Dean Baltulonis at the Wild Arctic in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with the exception of "Loose Leather," which was recorded at Treehouse in Jersey City, New Jersey, and "I Feel Like I Died" at Sleeping In Sanity Studios. It was mixed by Howard Willing at The Bear's Lair in Los Angeles, California, and mastered by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Mastering in Los Angeles.[1] Daniel DeJesus from Rasputina plays the cello for the acoustic song "I Feel Like I Died."[2]

Penny The Dreadful is a more grittier than their previous releases.[3] In an interview with The Aquarian Weekly, Adam Bird recalls the concept of making a record about a "relationship that this girl named Penny had with the devil. She ended up becoming far more powerful than him, and that's why she's Penny The Dreadful. This was the first project we went into all together." Kevin Walters noted "when it comes to writing, nothing is sacred, and this was the first time we had done that."[1] The record release party was at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, New Jersey.[1]

A teaser video for the first single from the album entitled "A Ballad from Hell" was released in August 2013. "How to Rob a Bank," the second single from the album, was released in October 2013. A music video for the single was released the same month, and the video, which was directed by John Komar, won the MTVU Freshman competition.[4] It also received heavy rotation from the radio station WRAT, and was included on The Village Voice's annual Pazz and Jop ballot.[5][6]

Reception

A review by Speak Into My Good Eye says Penny the Dreadful is "a rock and roll record that achieves a pretty impressive combination between leveraging the sounds that have launched several big-name bands to commercial success and not pandering, musically or lyrically, to the lowest common denominator."[3] fakewalls writes that the album features "ten tracks that easily veer from soft, lush coffee shop atmospheres to grandiose stadium-like altitudes." It notes the opening track "A Ballad from Hell" "slowly slithers out of the gate with twangy guitars and Adam playing the role of a sidewalk preacher, proclaiming "Maybe we're both going to hell" to those within earshot." For the songs "Destroy My Love" and "S.A.L.T.," fakewalls notes "Tory Daines deliver[s] sonorous and sultry harmonies on her violin while "Model Myself" has Adam declaring "I won't model myself after you" backed by melodic guitars from Jonathan Gianino." The review ends with saying on Penny the Dreadful, "Those Mockingbirds have unveiled something that celebrates the band's journey so far."[7]

Tris McCall writes "if you like hard rock, if you kinda miss grunge, if you've got a soft spot for MCR, if you're an eensy-weensy bit steampunk, if you've got a deal with the Devil going or if you're itching to sign one, Penny the Dreadful is an album worth engaging with."[8]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."A Ballad from Hell"2:28
2."How to Rob a Bank"2:55
3."Teenage Fantasies"3:37
4."Loose Leather"3:17
5."Destroy My Love"3:43
6."S.A.L.T."4:05
7."Bodies on the Road"3:12
8."The Reckoning"3:35
9."Model Myself"3:42
10."I Feel Like I Died"3:01
Total length:33:35

Personnel
  • Adam Bird – vocals and guitar
  • Tory Anne Daines – vocals, keys and violin
  • Jonathan Gianino – guitar
  • Rob Fitzgerald – bass and vocals
  • Kevin Walters – drums and vocals

References
Citations
  1. Shields 2014.
  2. Pryor 2014.
  3. Appio 2014.
  4. MTVU Staff 2014.
  5. Appio 2015.
  6. Pryor 2015.
  7. fakewalls Staff 2014.
  8. McCall 2014.
Bibliography
  • Appio, Jim (1 July 2014), "Album Review: Those Mockingbirds – Penny The Dreadful", Speak Into My Good Eye, retrieved 28 March 2019
  • Appio, Jim (23 October 2015), "Those Mockingbirds Are Back (They Never Left) and Playing Wonder Bar (Acoustically) on 10/24, Maxwell's Tavern (Electrically) on 10/30", CoolDad Music, retrieved 28 March 2019
  • fakewalls Staff (3 June 2014), "Album Reviews: Those Mockingbirds, 7 Seconds, Cursed Words, Coy Kids", fakewalls, archived from the original on 4 March 2016
  • McCall, Tris (24 September 2014), "'Penny the Dreadful,' Those Mockingbirds: CD review", Institute for Nonprofit News, retrieved 30 March 2019
  • MTVU Staff (3 January 2014), "Those Mockingbirds Win The Freshmen", MTVU, archived from the original on 28 November 2014
  • Pryor, Terrance (24 July 2014), "Interview: Those Mockingbirds", fakewalls, archived from the original on 28 June 2014
  • Pryor, Terrance (17 February 2015), "Those Mockingbirds embark on mini-tour this week", AXS, retrieved 28 March 2019
  • Shields, Maria (9 July 2014), "An Interview with Those Mockingbirds: Flying Away", The Aquarian Weekly, retrieved 28 March 2019
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