Haunted Cities

Haunted Cities is the second studio album by the American punk rock/hip hop band Transplants. It was released on June 21, 2005 via LaSalle Records/Atlantic Records, and sold close to 34,000 copies in its first week and came in at #28 on the US Billboard 200,[1] #72 on the UK Albums Chart,[2] #140 on the Top 200 Albums France.[3]

Haunted Cities
Studio album by
Transplants
ReleasedJune 21, 2005 (2005-06-21)
Recorded2004–2005
Studio
Genre
Length40:06
Label
Producer
Transplants chronology
Transplants
(2002)		 Haunted Cities
(2005)		 In a Warzone
(2013)
Singles from Haunted Cities
  1. "Gangsters and Thugs"
    Released: May 23, 2005
  2. "What I Can't Describe"
    Released: 2005
  3. "Crash and Burn"
    Released: August 29, 2005
Screwed and chopped version cover

Production

Audio production of the record was handled by Tim Armstrong and Dave Carlock. Rancid's Matt Freeman, The Slackers' Vic Ruggiero, Cypress Hill's B-Real and Sen Dog, Dilated Peoples' Rakaa, and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. made their appearances on the album as additional musicians and vocalists. Houston-based rapper Paul Wall made screwed and chopped version of the album, released months later the same year.

Background

The album spawned three singles: "Gangsters and Thugs", "What I Can't Describe" and "Crash and Burn". Its lead single, "Gangsters and Thugs", peaked at #25 on the US Alternative Songs[4] and #35 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] It also included two bonus tracks: "Red Dawn", which was previously released as B-side of CD formatted "Gangsters and Thugs" single and was added later on as the thirteenth track on the Japanese version of Haunted Cities, and "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7", which was dropped as non-album promotional single and was added later as the thirteenth track on its Best Buy edition.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic55/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
E! OnlineB+[8]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[9]

Haunted Cities was met with "mixed or averages" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 55 based on 11 reviews.[6]

In a review for AllMusic, Johnny Loftus noted how the album "suffers lyrically", while going on to say, "the whole package ends up having this strangely alluring glimmer. It's like discovering California Babylon after being lost in suburbia."[7] E! Online explained: "Haunted Cities has more of a street-smarts vibe and is actually more listenable. Despite some song titles that foreshadow darker themes, this musical locale is more inviting than intimidating."[8]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Not Today" (featuring Sen Dog)
2:41
2."Apocalypse Now"
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • T. Barker
3:16
3."Gangsters and Thugs"
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • T. Barker
3:54
4."What I Can't Describe" (featuring Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.)
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • P. Devoux
  • T. Barker
4:02
5."Doomsday"
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • T. Barker
3:49
6."Killafornia" (featuring B-Real)
3:47
7."American Guns"
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • T. Barker
2:38
8."Madness"
3:09
9."Hit the Fence"
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • T. Barker
2:12
10."Pay Any Price"
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • T. Barker
1:57
11."I Want It All"
  • T. Armstrong
  • R. Aston
  • T. Barker
3:56
12."Crash and Burn" (featuring Rakaa Iriscience)
4:45
Total length:40:06
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Red Dawn"3:52
BestBuy bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7"3:58

Personnel

Charts

References
  1. "Transplants Haunted Cities Chart History". Billboard 200.
  2. "haunted-cities | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company.
  3. Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.com - Transplants - Haunted Cities". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  4. "Transplants Gangsters & Thugs Chart History". Alternative Songs.
  5. "gangsters-and-thugs | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company.
  6. "Critic Reviews for Haunted Cities - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  7. Loftus, Johnny. "Haunted Cities - Transplants". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  8. "E! Online Review". E! Online. Archived from the original on January 15, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  9. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: transplants". Robert Christgau. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 284.
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