The Age of the Understatement

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
Studio album by The Last Shadow Puppets
Released 15 April 2008 (2008-04-15)
Recorded August 2007[1]
Studio
Genre
Length 35:10
Label Domino
Producer James 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 their eponymous single in the previous week.[2] It entered the UK Album Chart at No. 1 on 27 April 2008. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize.[3]

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.[4]

Album art

The album art consists of a photo of a model named Gill photographed by Sam Haskins in 1962.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
The Guardian[9]
Mojo[10]
NME8/10[11]
Pitchfork Media7.7/10[12]
Q[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Spin[15]
Uncut[16]

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".[6]

Marc Hogan of Pitchfork Media 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."[12]

Commercial performance

The album entered the UK album chart at No. 1 on its release,[17] selling 51,186 copies in the first week. It has sold around 300,000 copies in the UK as of April 2016.[18] In the US, it debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 111,[19] and No. 9 on Independent Albums.[20] iIt has sold 51,000 copies in the US as of March 2016.[21]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Alex Turner and Miles Kane[22]. 

No. Title Length
1. "The Age of the Understatement"   3:07
2. "Standing Next to Me"   2:18
3. "Calm Like You"   2:26
4. "Separate and Ever Deadly"   2:38
5. "The Chamber"   2:37
6. "Only the Truth"   2:44
7. "My Mistakes Were Made for You"   3:04
8. "Black Plant"   3:59
9. "I Don't Like You Anymore"   3:05
10. "In My Room"   2:29
11. "Meeting Place"   3:55
12. "The Time Has Come Again"   2:22
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
Additional personnel
  • Owen Pallett – conductor
  • London Metropolitan Orchestra – strings
Production
  • James Ford – production, mixing
  • Richard Woodcraft – mixing
  • Jimmy Robertson – engineering
  • Steve McGlaughlin – strings recordings
  • Matthew Cooper – artwork, design
  • Sam Haskins – front cover photography
  • Deidre O' Callahan – portrait photography
  • Geoff Barradale – management
  • Ian McAndrew – management

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 30
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 39
Canadian Albums Chart 65
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 23
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[27] 12
French Albums (SNEP)[28] 18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 42
Italian Albums (FIMI)[30] 56
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] 23
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 66
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 34
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 1
US Billboard 200[35] 111
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[36] 9
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[37] 16

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Platinum 300,000[18]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
Konk by The Kooks		 UK Album Chart number-one album
27 April 2008 – 4 May 2008 		Succeeded by
Hard Candy by Madonna

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
Japan[39] 15 April 2008 Hostess CD HSE-10065
Germany[40] 18 April 2008 Domino Records CD
United Kingdom[41] 21 April 2008 Domino Records CD WIGCD2008
LP WIGLP208
Australia[42] 21 April 2008 EMI Music Australia CD
Europe[43] 25 April 2008 CD WIGCD208
United States[44] 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 2008-02-25.
  2. ↑ Greenwood, Phoebe (20 February 2008). "Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner christens new collaboration The Last Shadow Puppets". Times Online. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  3. ↑ "Home - Bearded Magazine: The Home of Independent Music".
  4. ↑ The Last Shadow Puppets Yahoo Music Interview. 31 March 2016 – via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "Five Girls (1962)". Photography. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  6. 1 2 "Reviews for The Age of the Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  7. ↑ Phares, Heather. "The Age of the Understatement – The Last Shadow Puppets". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Divola, Barry (9 May 2008). "The Age of the Understatement". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (18 April 2008). "The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement". Mojo (174): 100. May 2008.
  11. ↑ "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age Of The Understatement". NME. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  12. 1 2 "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement". Pitchfork Media. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement". Q (262): 125. May 2008.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ Wood, Mikael (May 2008). "Cue the Strings". Spin. 24 (5): 100. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  16. ↑ Moody, Paul. "The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Uncut. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Sexton, Paul (April 28, 2008). "Last Shadow Puppets, Madonna Lead U.K. Charts". Billboard.
  18. 1 2 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. (subscription required (help)).
  19. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard. May 25, 2008.
  20. ↑ "Independent Albums". Billboard. May 25, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Age Of The Understatement". Discogs. Zink Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  23. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement" (in French). Hung Medien.
  26. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  27. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  28. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  29. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  30. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  31. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  32. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  33. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement". Hung Medien.
  34. ↑ "Last Shadow Puppets | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  35. ↑ "The Last Shadow Puppets – Chart history" Billboard 200 for The Last Shadow Puppets.
  36. ↑ "The Last Shadow Puppets – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for The Last Shadow Puppets.
  37. ↑ "The Last Shadow Puppets – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for The Last Shadow Puppets.
  38. ↑ "British album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – The Age of the Understatement". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Age of the Understatement in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  39. ↑ "The Age of the Understatement". EIL.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  40. ↑ "The Age of the Understatement". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  41. ↑ "The Age of the Understatement". Domino UK. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  42. ↑ "The Age of the Understatement". Herald Sun HiT. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  43. ↑ "The Age of the Understatement". Amazon.fr. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  44. ↑ "The Age of the Understatement". Domino USA. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
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