All Creatures Will Make Merry
| All Creatures Will Make Merry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Meursault | ||||
| Released |
April 2010 (hand-printed edition) 24 May 2010 (general release) | |||
| Recorded | Dec 09-Jan 10, Stockbridge, Edinburgh | |||
| Genre | Folktronica, indie folk | |||
| Label | Song, by Toad Records | |||
| Meursault chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| BBC | favourable[1] |
| Bearded | favourable[2] |
| Clash |   [3] |
| Drowned In Sound | [4] |
| The Line Of Best Fit | favourable[5] |
| The List | [6] |
| Mojo | |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.9/10)[7] |
| The Skinny | [8] |
All Creatures Will Make Merry is the second studio album by Scottish indie folk band Meursault, released on 24 May 2010. A limited edition, hand-printed version of the album was released in April 2010. Songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Neil Pennycook states that "the main theme of the record is one of contentment – what people are willing to do to obtain it, hold on to it, and what we stand to lose or gain if we try."[9]
Background and recording
Following the critical acclaim of the band's debut album, Pissing On Bonfires / Kissing With Tongues, a newly extended version of Meursault recorded All Creatures Will Make Merry in the winter of 2009, in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. Songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Neil Pennycook states that "playing with a full live band helped shape this record considerably," and praised the contributions of both Phillip Quirie and Pete Harvey: "[they] opened up a huge range of possibilities with these songs."[10]
Pennycook states that his production was influenced by The Microphones and Mount Eerie.[10]
Content
According to songwriter Neil Pennycook, "the themes and motivation behind All Creatures Will Make Merry come from completely different place than those on Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues. I feel a certain duty to myself in terms of my own expectations for this album, other than that I couldn't imagine making an album to someone else's supposed criteria, that is my idea of hell."[11]
Track listing
All songs written by Neil Pennycook, performed by Meursault.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Payday" | 1:00 |
| 2. | "Crank Resolutions" | 4:44 |
| 3. | "All Creatures Will Make Merry… Under Pain of Death" | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Weather" | 4:22 |
| 5. | "One Day This'll All Be Fields" | 3:29 |
| 6. | "What You Don't Have" | 5:16 |
| 7. | "Another" | 4:42 |
| 8. | "New Ruin" | 4:30 |
| 9. | "Sleet" | 4:50 |
| 10. | "Song for Martin Kippenberger" | 6:51 |
| 11. | "A Fair Exchange" | 1:52 |
Personnel
Meursault
- Chris Bryant
- Fraser Calder
- Peter Harvey
- Calum MacLeod
- Neil Pennycook
- Philip Quirie
- Gavin Tarling
Production and design
- Neil Pennycook - recording
- Brothers Grimm - artwork
References
- ↑ BBC review
- ↑ Bearded Magazine review
- ↑ Clash Magazine review
- ↑ Drowned In Sound review
- ↑ The Line Of Best Fit review
- ↑ The List review
- ↑ Pitchfork Media review
- ↑ The Skinny review
- ↑ Pennycook, Neil (31 March 2010). "Meursault's All Creatures Will Make Merry: Track-By-Track". The Skinny.
- 1 2 Brown, Ally (5 April 2010). "Meursault: Escape from Auld Reekie". The Skinny.
- ↑ McMeeken, Euan (9 February 2010). "The Steinberg Principle Interview #12: Meursault". The Steinberg Principle.