I Want That You Are Always Happy | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 April 2011 | |||
Genre | Indie folk, post-rock, ambient | |||
Length | 62:50 | |||
Label | Spunk | |||
Producer | Mark Myers | |||
The Middle East chronology | ||||
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Singles from I Want That You Are Always Happy | ||||
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I Want That You Are Always Happy is the debut studio album by Australian folk band The Middle East, released in Australia and New Zealand through Spunk Records on 8 April 2011. The album was recorded, mixed and co-produced by Mark Myers.[1] Only one single, "Hunger Song", was released for the album.[2] The album debuted and peaked at number 11 on the Australian Album Chart and remained on the chart for five weeks.[3]
At the J Awards of 2011, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.[4]
At the Queensland Music Awards of 2011, the album won Album of the Year.[5][6]
Writing and recording
I Want That You Are Always Happy was produced between tours in three studios over the course of 2010: Mark Myers' Townsville studio in late 2009/early 2010. Midlake's Denton Studios in March/April 2010. Mark Myers' Cairns studio, from August to November 2010. The album was recorded, mixed and co-produced by Mark Myers.[1] Mark Myers' Cairns studio was built by the band and it was where they recorded a majority of the album.[2]
The band members did consider self-producing the record however found they had a lack of experience and knowledge in production. Rohin Jones spoke about how the band was never pleased with the final product and kept restarting, which lead to them recording throughout the year: "we scrapped it and then tried it again and scrapped that and tried it again and scrapped that, so we've really pieced it together over time. And maybe that's just how we work and we haven't come to terms with it yet, but it's definitely not the best process for writing an album."[7]
Jordan Ireland was critical about the album: "With this album I don't really feel like we nailed it, we're definitely falling into a lot of categories that've been done before and I don't feel like it's anything completely original or anything like that, but that's kind of the goal that we're heading towards."[7]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
RHUM | [8] |
theAUreview | [9] |
The Brag | [10] |
The album peaked at number 11 on the Australian Album Chart.[3]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Black Death 1349" | 2:59 |
2. | "My Grandma Was Pearl Hall" | 5:31 |
3. | "As I Go To See Janey" | 4:04 |
4. | "Jesus Came To My Birthday Party" | 3:11 |
5. | "Land Of The Bloody Unknown" | 3:15 |
6. | "Very Many" | 5:32 |
7. | "Sydney To Newcastle" | 2:36 |
8. | "Mount Morgan" | 5:14 |
9. | "Months" | 4:00 |
10. | "Dan's Silverleaf" | 4:15 |
11. | "Hunger Song" | 4:21 |
12. | "Ninth Avenue Reverie" | 4:58 |
13. | "Deep Water" | 8:19 |
14. | "Mount Morgan End" | 3:13 |
Chart performance
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums Chart | 11[3] |
References
- ^ a b ""The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy" Album Information". Music.is-amazing.com. 14 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ^ a b "The Middle East announce debut album". Clixie. 16 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ a b c Steffen Hung. "The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy: Statistical charting information". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ^ "The J Award 2011". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "Past Winners 2011". Queensland Music Awards. Archived from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Photos Queensland Music Awards 2011 Winners". Music Feeds. August 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ a b Luke Grundy (17 June 2011). "Tom Waits, disillusionment and shit: The Middle East". The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Album Review: The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy". RHUM Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2011.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy (2011 LP)". theAUreview. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Album Review: The Middle East – I Want That You Are Always Happy". The Brag. 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ ""The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy": iTunes Preview". Itunes.apple.com. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.