Euphoric Heartbreak

Euphoric Heartbreak (stylized as EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\) is the second studio album by Scottish rock group Glasvegas, which was released on 4 April 2011 by Columbia Records. It reached No.10 in the UK and No.1 in Sweden. The album was written, demoed and tracked by James Allan in a luxury beach house in Santa Monica, California before full production and final recording took place in London and Glasgow. The album was produced by Flood[13] and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer. The song "The World is Yours" features on EA Sports' FIFA 12. As of July 2014, the album had sold 30,400 units in the UK, which is ten per cent of the sales of their platinum-selling debut album.[14]

EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\
Studio album by
Glasvegas
Released4 April 2011 (2011-04-04)
Recorded2010–11; Santa Monica, California, United States
GenreIndie rock[1]
Length49:44
LabelColumbia
ProducerFlood, James Allan
Glasvegas chronology
A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss)
(2008)		 EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\
(2011)		 Later...When the TV Turns to Static
(2013)
Singles from Euphoric Heartbreak
  1. "Euphoria, Take My Hand"
    Released: 28 March 2011
  2. "Shine Like Stars"
    Released: 27 June 2011 (promo only)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic58/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
BBC Music(positive)[4]
Clash(9/10)[5]
The Daily Telegraph[6]
Drowned in Sound(7/10)[7]
The Evening Standard[8]
The Guardian[9]
NME(9/10)[10]
Pitchfork Media(4.1/10)[11]
The Scotsman[12]

Pre-release

After recording was finished Glasvegas opened 2011 with an 8 date tour of Scotland which took the band to places in Scotland that are normally missed out by touring bands. The tour took in Kirkwall, Wick, Forres, Oban, Dunoon, Troon, Hawick and Dunfermline. The band announced these intimate dates to ensure that Scotland would be the first to hear the new music. The tour received positive critical reviews with Simon Price of The Independent on Sunday quoting that "Glasvegas are still – and we desperately need this right now – a band to believe in".[15] The band also announced a showcase tour planned around smaller venues in March 2011 with several dates selling out within hours of going on sale followed by an academy size tour planned for April/May 2011 to promote the new album.

Columbia Records were extremely pleased with the quality of songs delivered by the band and the fact it was a marked departure from the debut album. The marketing campaign kicked off alongside the tour in January 2011 with a free track giveaway and the track chosen was the second track on the album "The World Is Yours".[16] However the band wanted something more substantial than just a free giveaway and the label eventually agreed to creating an "Album Trailer Movie"[17] as well.

Release and reception

Glasvegas's second album Euphoric Heartbreak was released on 4 April 2011 reaching No.10 in the UK and No.1 in Sweden. The album polarised opinion, some reviews criticised the band for being too bold and that the album was too big a departure from their debut whilst others praised this move forward and the high quality songwriting the album contained. Initial reviews of the album were generally positive with the Daily Record declaring it "the album of the year!"[18] NME gave the album 9/10, and wrote that; "Turning pain into joy is the stuff that dreams are made of for an album as thrillingly ambitious as it is enigmatic".[19] Clash magazine praised the band for delivering a more accomplished sound by reassuringly admitting "pioneers they remain".[5] The BBC declared the album "a triumph" despite all the upheaval with the band in 2010.[4]

However, the album garnered negative opinions such as Pitchfork, who felt the album was "too bombastic and that it simply numbs you with 50 minutes of novocaine for the soul."[11] While PopMatters gave the album 5/10 and said that the "album smears together into one gigantic well-produced stadium anthem, shining like the night sky while remaining just as inert".[20] The Guardian awarded the album 3/5 but felt "they were still waiting on an undeniable triumph from Glasvegas"[9] Furthermore, The Independent gave the album 2/5, saying it was "insubstantial" and that "as with bad acting, it's not persuasive enough to make one care."[21]

On 16 September 2011 it was announced that the band's song "The World Is Yours" (the second listed track) from Euphoric Heartbreak would be featured on the soundtrack in EA Sports football game, FIFA 12.[22]

A free download of "The World Is Yours" was made available on Glasvegas' official website on 16 January 2011. It was also revealed that the opening track "Pain Pain, Never Again" is a spoken word piece, and likewise the final track "Change" features James Allan's mother performing a small spoken word piece. According to James Allan, the forward and backward slashes contained in the album title represent "the ascent, the crest of a wave, and then the crash."[13] I Feel Wrong (Homosexuality Pt:1) and Stronger Than Dirt (Homosexuality Pt:2) were also key tracks on the album.

Singles

The band released their first official single from the album, "Euphoria, Take My Hand" on 28 March 2011. The single included two exclusive b-sides: "Georgia, Walk With Me" and "7 AM Eternally".

Artwork

The USA release of the album features a photo of Allan's mother on the cover instead of Marilyn Monroe.

Track listing

All tracks are written by James Allan

No.TitleLength
1."Pain Pain, Never Again"2:59
2."The World Is Yours"4:53
3."You"4:29
4."Shine Like Stars"3:36
5."Whatever Hurts You Through the Night"4:38
6."Stronger Than Dirt (Homosexuality Pt. 2)"3:46
7."Dream Dream Dreaming"5:17
8."I Feel Wrong (Homosexuality Pt. 1)"5:08
9."Euphoria, Take My Hand"4:33
10."Lots Sometimes"7:11
11."Change"3:13
Bonus tracks
iTunes edition
No.TitleLength
12."Euphoria, Take My Hand (Santa Monica Demo)"5:51

Personnel
  • James Allan – vocals, drums[23]
  • Rab Allan – guitars
  • Paul Donaghue – bass

Note: While drummer Jonna Löfgren is listed as a member of the band, Glasvegas recorded the album as a trio prior to her joining[24] with drums credited to Echo, which was a pseudonym for James Allan.[23]

Chart performance
Country Peak
position		 Certification Sales
Sweden 1
United Kingdom 10
Norway 26
Ireland 41
Switzerland 41
Finland 48
Belgium 98
Spain 100

References
  1. Murray, Robin (9 September 2009). "Glasvegas Singer Missing". Clash. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  2. "Euphoric Heartbreak". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  3. "Euphoric Heartbreak – Glasvegas – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  4. Denney, Alex. "Review of Glasvegas – EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\". BBC Music. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  5. TC (4 April 2011). "Glasvegas – EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\". Clash. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  6. McCormick, Neil (1 April 2011). "Glasvegas: Euphoric Heartbreak, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  7. Ashman, Neil (4 April 2011). "Album Review: Glasvegas – EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  8. "CDs of the week: Kat B and Glasvegas". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  9. Hann, Michael (30 March 2011). "Glasvegas: Euphoric Heartbreak – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  10. Chester, Tim (1 April 2011). "Album Review: Glasvegas – EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK (Columbia)". NME. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  11. Cohen, Ian (11 April 2011). "Glasvegas: EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\ Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  12. "Album review: Glasvegas, Euphoric /// Heartbreak". The Scotsman. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  13. "Glasvegas Ready With Second Album". Music Snobbery. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  14. Forde, Eamonn (9 July 2014). "From Robin Thicke to Mariah and Mick: five blockbuster albums that bombed". The Guardian.
  15. "Glasvegas, Concert Hall, Troon". The Independent. London. 16 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  16. "The World Is Yours Free Giveaway". Universal Music Publishing. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  17. James Allan/UMPG (31 January 2011). "Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\ Album Trailer". Retrieved 31 January 2011 – via YouTube.
  18. McMonagle, Mickey (20 February 2011). "Track by Track Guide". Daily Record. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  19. MacKay, Emily (1 April 2011). "NME Review: Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\". NME. London. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  20. Langhoff, Josh (14 April 2011). "Glasvegas EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\ Review". PopMatters. United States. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  21. Gill, Andy (31 March 2013). "Glasvegas EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\ Review". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 3 April 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  22. "FIFA 12 – FULL SOUNDTRACK REVEALED". EA Sports. London & Los Angeles. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  23. McMonagle, Mickey (2 December 2012). "Scots rockers Glasvegas on their new album and why they chose to record it in their home town". Daily Record. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  24. "Glasvegas Interview". RTÉ. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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