Open Season (British Sea Power album)
Encyclopedia
Open Season is the second album from the Brighton
-based English band, British Sea Power
. It was released on 4 April 2005 to positive reviews. It showcased a more accessible, mainstream sound and reached #13 in the UK album charts. Almost all of the songs featured on the album were recorded with Mads Bjerke, who had previously worked with the band on their 2002 album, The Decline of British Sea Power
and also with Primal Scream
, Girls Aloud
and Spiritualized
, and mixed by Bill Price, with the exceptions of "Please Stand Up" and "North Hanging Rock", which were produced and mixed by Graham Sutton
and engineered by Phill Brown. "Oh Larsen B" was recorded by George Apsion and Tariq Zaid Al-Nasrawi. Two singles were picked from it: "It Ended on an Oily Stage
" (UK #18) and "Please Stand Up
" (UK #34).
If the CD is rewound 2:31 before the first track, an organ
version of the song "How Will I Ever Find My Way Home?" is found.
The lyrics and title of "Oh Larsen B" refer to the Antarctic Peninsula
ice shelf
Larsen B
, which collapsed in 2002, a few years before the release of the album.
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
-based English band, British Sea Power
British Sea Power
British Sea Power are an indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal in Cumbria. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live...
. It was released on 4 April 2005 to positive reviews. It showcased a more accessible, mainstream sound and reached #13 in the UK album charts. Almost all of the songs featured on the album were recorded with Mads Bjerke, who had previously worked with the band on their 2002 album, The Decline of British Sea Power
The Decline of British Sea Power
The Decline of British Sea Power is the debut album from British Sea Power. "The Lonely", "Carrion" and "Remember Me" were all released as singles from the album, as well as older recordings of "Fear of Drowning" and "Remember Me", which differ from the versions on this album...
and also with Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
, Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
and Spiritualized
Spiritualized
Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
, and mixed by Bill Price, with the exceptions of "Please Stand Up" and "North Hanging Rock", which were produced and mixed by Graham Sutton
Graham Sutton (musician)
Graham Sutton is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer based in Hackney, UK. He is best known as the leader and key figure of seminal post-rock band Bark Psychosis, as well as being an in-demand producer for alternative rock bands since the late 1990s.-Bark Psychosis:Sutton...
and engineered by Phill Brown. "Oh Larsen B" was recorded by George Apsion and Tariq Zaid Al-Nasrawi. Two singles were picked from it: "It Ended on an Oily Stage
It Ended on an Oily Stage
"It Ended on an Oily Stage" was the first single from British Sea Power's second album Open Season. It reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart and was critically praised, with the NME giving it their Track of the Week award. It received heavy airplay from the alternative radio sector...
" (UK #18) and "Please Stand Up
Please Stand Up
"Please Stand Up" was the second single from British Sea Power's second album Open Season. It heralded a far more mainstream, pop-oriented and produced sound for the band. Despite predictions of it being a crossover hit, it failed to grab the attention of the public and was not popular with many of...
" (UK #34).
If the CD is rewound 2:31 before the first track, an organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
version of the song "How Will I Ever Find My Way Home?" is found.
The lyrics and title of "Oh Larsen B" refer to the Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....
ice shelf
Ice shelf
An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica, Greenland and Canada. The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the grounded ice that feeds it is called...
Larsen B
Larsen Ice Shelf
The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long, fringing ice shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea, extending along the east coast of Antarctic Peninsula from Cape Longing to the area just southward of Hearst Island...
, which collapsed in 2002, a few years before the release of the album.
Track listing
- "It Ended on an Oily StageIt Ended on an Oily Stage"It Ended on an Oily Stage" was the first single from British Sea Power's second album Open Season. It reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart and was critically praised, with the NME giving it their Track of the Week award. It received heavy airplay from the alternative radio sector...
" (Hamilton/Noble/Wood/Yan) – 4:23 - "Be Gone" (Yan) – 2:52
- "How Will I Ever Find My Way Home?" (HamiltonHamilton (musician)Neil Hamilton Wilkinson is the bassist and second vocalist in British Sea Power.Earlier in the band's career, he was the secondary songwriter, his brother Yan writing the majority of the tracks for their first two albums...
) – 3:11 - "Like a Honeycomb" (Yan) – 4:31
- "Please Stand UpPlease Stand Up"Please Stand Up" was the second single from British Sea Power's second album Open Season. It heralded a far more mainstream, pop-oriented and produced sound for the band. Despite predictions of it being a crossover hit, it failed to grab the attention of the public and was not popular with many of...
" (Yan) – 3:07 - "North Hanging Rock" (Yan) – 4:26
- "To Get to Sleep" (Hamilton/Noble/Wood/Yan) – 3:16
- "Victorian Ice" (Yan) – 3:26
- "Oh Larsen B" (Yan) – 5:30
- "The Land Beyond" (Hamilton) – 4:01
- "True Adventures" (Hamilton) – 7:52
Personnel
- Yan – vocals, guitar, piano, organ
- HamiltonHamilton (musician)Neil Hamilton Wilkinson is the bassist and second vocalist in British Sea Power.Earlier in the band's career, he was the secondary songwriter, his brother Yan writing the majority of the tracks for their first two albums...
– vocals, bass, guitar, piano, organ, backing vocals - NobleNoble (musician)Martin Noble is the lead guitarist with UK indie rock band British Sea Power.Born 28 January 1986 in Bury, Greater Manchester, and raised in Leeds, West Yorkshire, his first musical experience was as keyboard player in Blind, a band he formed with school friends.He joined British Sea Power after...
– guitar, piano, backing vocals, organ - WoodWood (musician)Matthew Wood born and under the is British Sea Power's drummer. He also helps design most of the artwork for the sleeves....
– drums
Additional personnel
- Abi FryAbi FryAbi Fry born is a Highlands-based violist, playing with various acts including British Sea Power, Bat For Lashes, The Flowers of Hell, Sad Season and Euchrid Eucrow....
– viola - Phil SumnerPhil SumnerPhilip James Sumner is a cornet, keyboard and guitar player for the Kendal/Brighton based rock band British Sea Power and Brighton/Stroud based rock band Actress Hands. He first emerged with British Sea Power on their September 2006 tour in which they first performed songs which would appear on...
– cornet - Graham SuttonGraham Sutton (musician)Graham Sutton is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer based in Hackney, UK. He is best known as the leader and key figure of seminal post-rock band Bark Psychosis, as well as being an in-demand producer for alternative rock bands since the late 1990s.-Bark Psychosis:Sutton...
– string arrangements and additional programming - Axl – miniature Italian greyhound
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog number | Chart Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
4 April 2005 | Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove... |
CD | RTRADCD200 | 13 |
| United Kingdom | 4 April 2005 | Rough Trade Records | LP | RTRADLP200 | |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
30 March 2005 | Toy's Factory Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in 1990 as a VAP subsidiary, based in Japan. It has since become an independent company.-Sub-Labels:* bellissima!* Carnage* Deep Blue* Idyllic* Kimi* Meme Tokyo* -Artists:*Aobozu*Armageddon*Bump of Chicken... |
CD | TFCK-87384 |