Stir the Blood

Stir the Blood
Studio album by
the Bravery
ReleasedDecember 1, 2009
Recorded2009
Studio
  • Dreamland (West Hurley, New York)
  • Rusty Bronson's Pleasure Cave (New York City)
  • DNA Downtown (New York City)
  • Clinton (New York City)
  • The Joint (London)
Genre
Length35:26
LabelIsland
Producer
The Bravery chronology
The Sun and the Moon Complete
(2008) 		Stir the Blood
(2009)
Singles from Stir the Blood
  1. "Slow Poison"
    Released: September 13, 2009
  2. "I Am Your Skin"
    Released: November 6, 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic57/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Alternative Press[3]
Blare[4]
NME6/10[5]
Pitchfork2.3/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Spin[8]

Stir the Blood is the third studio album by American rock band the Bravery, released on December 1, 2009, by Island Records. It features the singles "Slow Poison" and "I Am Your Skin".[9]

Production

[edit]

To record the album, the band headed to Upstate New York and into the woods. The group set up shop for Stir the Blood at Dreamland Recording, a recording facility in an abandoned 1800s church which, years earlier, housed the Pixies for an unnamed project and the B-52's as they recorded "Love Shack". There, as most of the band came in and out, Endicott stayed in a neighboring house for several months as he helmed the producer's desk for the new record, alongside John Hill. Songs like "Slow Poison", "She's So Bendable", "I Am Your Skin" and "Hatef--k" came about as Endicott picked through riffs recorded here and there from the band's tour in support of 2007's The Sun and the Moon. Endicott claims "there is a dark tone to this album" and that "there's an angry undertone to it". "I was pretty pissed off when I wrote a lot of the songs", says Endicott. He also claims that while the lyrics, which also focus on "intimacy", may be dark, the music stays upbeat.[10]

Album art

[edit]

The cover of the album features a detail from "Carrion Call" by British artist Polly Morgan.

Singles

[edit]

The first single released, "Slow Poison", has reached numbers 24 and 40 on the US alternative songs and rock songs charts.

The second single, "I Am Your Skin", was released in November 2009 on iTunes.

A music video for the song "Hatef--k" was released in October 2009.

A music video for the song "Slow Poison" was released in November 2009.

A music video for the song "Sugar Pill" was also released in November 2009.

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written and composed by Sam Endicott, except where noted.

  1. "Adored" – 3:42
  2. "Song for Jacob" – 3:23
  3. "Slow Poison" – 3:31
  4. "Hatef--k" – 2:55
  5. "I Am Your Skin" – 3:01
  6. "She's So Bendable" (M. Hindert) – 2:21
  7. "The Spectator" – 3:50
  8. "I Have Seen the Future" – 3:15
  9. "Red Hands and White Knuckles" – 3:21
  10. "Jack-O'-Lantern Man" – 2:50
  11. "Sugar Pill" – 3:17

Best Buy bonus tracks

[edit]
  2. "Slow Poison" (Villains Remix)
  3. "Slow Poison" (Drop the Lime Remix)
  4. "Slow Poison" (Of Montreal Remix)

iTunes bonus tracks

[edit]
  2. "Slow Poison" (Lego My Echo Remix)
  3. "Slow Poison" (Roy G and the Biv Remix)

Personnel

[edit]
  • Sam Endicott – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Michael Zakarin – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • John Conway – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Mike Hindert – bass, backing vocals
  • Anthony Burulcich – drums, backing vocals

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Stir the Blood
Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[11] 135
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[12] 19
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[13] 30

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Stir The Blood by The Bravery". Metacritic. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ Zalesi, Annie (January 2010). "File Under: Neo-New Wave". Alternative Press. No. 258. p. 92. ISSN 1065-1667.
  4. ^ Rankin, Dan (November 30, 2009). "Album Reviews – 30/11/09". Blare. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  5. ^ Robinson, Martin (December 8, 2009). "Album review: The Bravery 'Stir The Blood' (Island)". NME. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  6. ^ Hogan, Marc (November 30, 2009). "The Bravery: Stir the Blood". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Dolan, Jon (December 1, 2009). "Stir The Blood : The Bravery". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 7, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Anderson, Stacey (November 20, 2009). "The Bravery, 'Stir The Blood' (Island)". Spin. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "The Bravery – Stir the Blood". TheBravery.com. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  10. ^ Lash, Jolie (October 7, 2009). "The Bravery Head Into the Woods to 'Stir the Blood'". Spinner UK. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  11. ^ "Billboard 200 – Week of December 19, 2009". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  12. ^ "Top Alternative Albums – Week of December 19, 2009". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Week of December 19, 2009". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
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