A Brief History of Love

A Brief History of Love is the debut album from British electronic rock duo the Big Pink. The album was released on 14 September 2009 on 4AD. The Big Pink signed with 4AD in February 2009,[1] and won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act.[2] The band were also named as "one of the most likely breakout acts of 2009" by the BBC.[3] Prior to the album's release, the band issued three singles: "Too Young to Love"/"Crystal Visions" on the House Anxiety label in October 2008, "Velvet" on 4AD in April 2009, and the non-album track "Stop the World" in June 2009. "Dominos", the album's first proper single and the band's fourth single overall, preceded the album on 7 September.

A Brief History of Love
Studio album by
the Big Pink
Released14 September 2009 (2009-09-14)
RecordedElectric Lady Studios, New York
GenreIndie rock, noise pop
Length48:09
LanguageEnglish
Label4AD (CAD 2916)
ProducerRobbie Furze, Milo Cordell
The Big Pink chronology
A Brief History of Love
(2009)		 Future This
(2012)
Singles from A Brief History of Love
  1. "Dominos"
    Released: 7 September 2009
  2. "Velvet"
    Released: 15 February 2010
  3. "Tonight"
    Released: 26 April 2010

Milo Cordell stated that the band produced the album themselves at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, and Rich Costey mixed the album[4] (with the exception of "Velvet", which was mixed by Alan Moulder). Cordell also told BBC 6 Music how A Brief History of Love came to be the title for the release: "Every song is a love song to some degree, about every different aspect of love... The good, the bad, the boring, the exciting, the dreams, the nightmares, the whole thing, and I guess that's what encompasses the whole album, and we have a song called 'A Brief History of Love' so it's apt."[5]

In addition to the singles "Dominos" and "Velvet", the album features re-recorded versions of previously released tracks "Too Young to Love", "Crystal Visions" and "Countbackwards from Ten". A Brief History of Love charted on the UK Albums Chart at #56,[6] and "Dominos" charted on the UK Singles Chart at #27.[6] A reissue of "Velvet" in February 2010 charted at #149.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
BBCPositive[9]
The Daily Telegraph[10]
Drowned in Sound(7/10)[11]
Gigwise[12]
The Guardian[13]
NME(8/10)[14]
Pitchfork(8.2/10)[15]
Q[16]
Rolling Stone[17]

Critical reception to A Brief History of Love was generally positive. The Daily Telegraph awarded the album 5 out of 5 stars, and said the album "shapes up as something of a modern masterpiece."[10] Gigwise awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, and wrote: "It's a testament to the notion of not judging a book by its cover then that The Pink's debut LP is a heavy and gallon deep adventure into a murky darkness which sees stadium pop choruses do battle with industrial noise and an almost constant whirr of feedback."[12] Contact Music described the album as "reminiscent of the best bits of the '90s indie scene but with the added depth of synths and the wall of guitar 'noise'. A Brief History of Love is a brilliantly bold debut that would be an asset to any record collection - it will draw you in further with every listen."[18] The duo was picked as one of Beyond Race magazine's "50 Emerging Artists", resulting in a spot in the magazine's #11 issue as well as a lengthy Q&A on their website.[19]

In August 2009, "Velvet" was included on Pitchfork Media's Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s list, voted in at #500.[20] On Pitchfork's end-of-the-year Top 100 Tracks of 2009 list, "Velvet" was voted at #42,[21] while "Dominos" was voted in at #18.[22] A Brief History of Love was voted as the seventh best album of 2009 on NME's 50 Best Albums of 2009 list.[23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Crystal Visions" 5:48
2."Too Young to Love" 4:09
3."Dominos" 3:46
4."Love in Vain"Cordell, Furze, William Rees4:08
5."At War with the Sun" 4:11
6."Velvet" 4:12
7."Golden Pendulum" 4:37
8."Frisk" 4:42
9."A Brief History of Love"Cordell, Furze, Daniel O'Sullivan4:53
10."Tonight" 3:35
11."Countbackwards from Ten" 4:08
iTunes-only bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Stop the World"3:46
13."Dominos" (Rustie Remix)3:22
Japan-only bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Stop the World" 3:46
13."Lovesong" (The Cure cover)Smith, Gallup, O'Donnell, Thompson, Williams5:52
14."Velvet" (Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid Remix) 4:01
Limited edition bonus 12" single (etched/one-sided pink-and-black-coloured vinyl; comes with vinyl LP #CAD D 2916)
No.TitleLength
1."Velvet" (BDG Remix by Gang Gang Dance)6:50

Release history
Country Date Label Format Catalogue #
United Kingdom 14 September 2009 4AD CD CAD 2916 CD
2LP CAD 2916
2LP/bonus 12" single (MIX 2916) CAD D 2916
Worldwide Digital download EAD 2916 A
United States 22 September 2009 CD CAD 2916 CD
20 October 2009 2LP CAD 2916
Japan 14 October 2009 Beggars Japan/Hostess Entertainment CD (three bonus tracks) CAD 2916 CDJ/BGJ-10008

Accolades
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
NME UK Best 50 Albums of the Year 2009 #7[23]
Spin US The 40 Best Albums of the Year 2009 #25[24]

Credits

Musicians
  • All music and vocals by Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell.
  1. "Crystal Visions"
    • Joanne Apps: backing vocals
    • Joe Scotcher: backing vocals
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
    • Richard "Dickie" Landry: saxophone feedback
  2. "Too Young to Love"
    • Joanne Apps: backing vocals
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Al O'Connell: bass
  3. "Dominos"
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
  4. "Love in Vain"
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
    • William Rees: guitar
    • Richard "Dickie" Landry: saxophone
  5. "At War with the Sun"
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
  6. "Velvet"
    • Lauren Jones: vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
  7. "Golden Pendulum"
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
  8. "Frisk"
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
  9. "A Brief History of Love"
    • Joanne Robertson: vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums, piano
    • Daniel O'Sullivan: keyboards, guitar
  10. "Tonight"
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
  11. "Countbackwards from Ten"
    • Valentine Fillol-Cordier: backing vocals
    • Akiko Matsuura: drums
    • Jamie Reynolds: vibes

Production
  • Produced by The Big Pink at The Big Pink and Electric Lady Studios, New York.
  • "Dominos" co-produced by The Big Pink and Paul Epworth at Miloco Studios, London.
  • Additional production on "Tonight" by Jimmy Robertson.
  • Mixed by Rich Costey at Electric Lady Studios.
  • "Velvet" mixed by Alan Moulder at Assault and Battery Studios, London.
  • Engineered by Jimmy Robertson.
  • Design by Chris Bigg at v23.
  • Crystal Visions photography by Chris Bigg. Ladies photography by Marc Atkin.[25] Portrait by Mick Rock, 2009.
  • Art direction by The Big Pink.
  • "Velvet" (BDG Remix) 12" vinyl etching design by Will Bankhead.

Credits for bonus tracks
  • "Stop the World"
    • Produced by Paul Epworth and The Big Pink.
    • Engineered by Mark Rankin.
    • Mixed by Rich Costey.
    • Recorded at The Big Pink and Miloco Garden.
    • Mixed at Electric Lady Studios.
  • "Lovesong"
    • First appeared on The Cure tribute album Pictures of You: A Tribute to Godlike Geniuses The Cure, made available with 25 February 2009 issue of NME.[26]
    • Produced and recorded by The Big Pink.

References
  1. "4AD - Three New Signings Announced". 4AD. 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  2. "The Big Pink win Philip Hall Radar Award". NME. 25 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  3. "The BBC Names 2009's Most Likely Breakout Acts". Stereogum. 9 January 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  4. Jones, Damian (29 April 2009). "Newsbeat - Music - The Big Pink slam indie cool tag". BBC. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  5. "Details of The Big Pink's debut album". 4AD. 6 July 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  6. "The Official Charts Company - Big Pink". Official Charts. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  7. "A Brief History of Love by The Big Pink". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  8. Sendra, Tim. "Review: A Brief History of Love". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  9. Thomas, Lou (9 September 2009). "Review: A Brief History of Love". BBC. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  10. Perry, Andrew (11 September 2009). "Review: A Brief History of Love". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  11. Gourlay, Dom (15 September 2009). "Review: A Brief History of Love". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  12. Renshaw, David (13 August 2009). "Review: A Brief History of Love". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  13. "Review: A Brief History of Love". The Guardian. London. 6 September 2009. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  14. Brailey, Louise (14 September 2009). "Review: A Brief History of Love". NME. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  15. Cohen, Ian (17 September 2009). "Album review: A Brief History of Love". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  16. Q. September 2009. p. 107. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. Eliscu, Jenny. "Review: A Brief History of Love". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 19 October 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  18. "The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love Album Review". contactmusic.com. 18 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  19. "The Dig @ Terminal 5". Beyond Race Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  20. "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201". Pitchfork. 21 August 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  21. "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 100 Tracks of 2009". Pitchfork. p. 6. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  22. "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 100 Tracks of 2009". Pitchfork. p. 9. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  23. "50 Best Albums of 2009". NME. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  24. "The 40 Best Albums of 2009: THE BIG PINK". Spin. January 2010. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  25. "The Big Pink - Brief History". brightestyoungthings.
  26. "4AD Journal: The Big Pink Cover The Cure". 4AD. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
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