So Much for the City
So Much for the City is the debut album of the Irish indie/pop band The Thrills. It was released in May 2003 and quickly became the number one in the Republic of Ireland where it spent 61 weeks in the top 75,[12] and also won 'Album of the Year' at the national music awards. It was also very successful in UK, debuting at #3, remaining in the charts for 25 weeks,[13] and gave them some attention in Europe, with the single "Big Sur" reaching #17 in the UK,[13] which remains as their highest charted position in that country to date.
| So Much for the City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]()  | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 27, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | October 2002 – March 2003 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, post-punk revival | |||
| Length | 46:24 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Tony Hoffer | |||
| The Thrills chronology | ||||
  | ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| Metacritic | 72/100[1] | 
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating | 
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] | 
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Pitchfork | 6.9/10[7] | 
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | B+[10] | 
| The Village Voice | C[11] | 
In an interview, lead singer Conor Deasy explained the band's inspiration for the song material:
Those songs are our ways of picking us up because we were kind of miserable. We were dropped by our label. And the towns are put [in the songs] as a way of escapism, as opposed to documenting little tales about what happened when we went there. When we put in a title like "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)," it would literally pick us up a bit.[14]
The album was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Prize but lost to Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner.[15]
Legacy
    
The album was included in the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]
The song "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" was named by Q Magazine at number 550 on their list of the 1001 best songs ever made.[17]
The song "Say It Ain't So" appeared on US President George W. Bush's iPod in 2005.[18]
Track listing
    
- "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" – 4:13
 - "Big Sur" – 3:07
 - "Don't Steal Our Sun" – 2:50
 - "Deckchairs and Cigarettes" – 4:58
 - "One Horse Town" – 3:15
 - "Old Friends, New Lovers" (feat. string arrangements by David Campbell) – 4:01
 - "Say It Ain't So" – 2:44
 - "Hollywood Kids" – 5:33
 - "Just Travelling Through" – 3:21
 - "Your Love Is Like Las Vegas" – 2:23
 - "'Til the Tide Creeps In" / "Plans" (hidden track) – 10:06
 
Singles
    
- "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" (November 11, 2002)
 - "One Horse Town" (March 10, 2003)
 - "Big Sur" (June 9, 2003)
 - "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" (re-issue) (August 25, 2003)
 - "Don't Steal Our Sun" (November 24, 2003)
 
Charts
    
Weekly charts
  | 
Year-end charts
 
  | 
References
    
- "Reviews for So Much For The City by The Thrills". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - Lhote, Morgane. "So Much for the City – The Thrills". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - Brunner, Rob (15 August 2003). "Rating the contenders for Britain's top music prize". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - Peschek, David (27 June 2003). "The Thrills: So Much for the City". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - "Album: The Thrills". The Independent. 27 June 2003. Archived from the original on 30 June 2003. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - Hilburn, Robert (26 October 2003). "When Irish eyes are California dreamin'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - Petrusich, Amanda (21 July 2003). "The Thrills: So Much for the City". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - "The Thrills: So Much for the City". Q (204): 112. July 2003.
 - Hoard, Christian (27 November 2003). "The Thrills: So Much For The City". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - Wood, Mikael (December 2003). "The Thrills: So Much for the City". Spin. 19 (12): 131–33. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - Christgau, Robert (25 May 2004). "Consumer Guide: Anti-Gravitational Boots". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
 - The Thrills - So Much For The City - Music Charts
 - "The Thrills". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
 - "Interview: Conor Deasy of The Thrills". Livedaily.com. 19 May 2004. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
 - "Rocklist.net...Mercury/Nationwide Music Prize Nominations And Winners". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
 - Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
 - "Rocklist.net... Q - 1001 Best Ever Songs". Q Magazine.
 - Bumiller, Elisabeth (11 April 2005). "White House Letter:President Bush's iPod". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
 - "Dutchcharts.nl – The Thrills – So Much for the City" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "Lescharts.com – The Thrills – So Much for the City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Thrills". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "Italiancharts.com – The Thrills – So Much for the City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "Norwegiancharts.com – The Thrills – So Much for the City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "Swedishcharts.com – The Thrills – So Much for the City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 - "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
 
.jpg.webp)