A City by the Light Divided: Difference between revisions

A City by the Light Divided
A City by the Light Divided
Studio album by Thursday
Released	May 2, 2006
Recorded	October 2005 – February 2006
Studio	Tarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, New York
Genre	Post-hardcore
Length	45:56
Label	Island
Producer	Dave Fridmann
Thursday chronology
Singles from A City by the Light Divided
	"Counting 5-4-3-2-1"; Released: April 18, 2006;

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A City by the Light Divided is the fourth studio album by Thursday, released by Island Records on May 2, 2006.

Background

Following a number of issues regarding promotion and lack of communication with independent label Victory Records,^[1] Thursday announced they had signed to major label Island Records in May 2002.^[2] With the signing being made official in September,^[3] the group began working on material for their third album in November.^[4] Starting in January 2003,^[5] recording sessions lasted six months.^[6] War All the Time was released in September.^[7] Following its release, keyboardist Andrew Everding, who had performed on the album, became a full-time member of the band. The group subsequently embarked on an exhaustive touring schedule^[8] with performances in the UK, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.^[9] As a result of this touring, personal problems between members began to occur,^[8] but by July they were aiming to record in the next few months.^[10]

Production

In September, early demos leaked,^[10] and later that month the group started pre-production,^[10] done with Tim Gilles.^[11] Recording took place at Tarbox Road Studios, in Cassadaga, New York with producer Dave Fridmann^[11] Amanda Tannen of Stellastarr and Mary Fridmann of Bass Piggy provided additional vocals on "We Will Overcome".^[11] In mid-February, recording was finished and the album was in the process of being mixed^[10] by Fridmann. Tom Coyne mastered the album at Sterling sound, in New York City.^[11]

Release

On February 5, 2006, A City by the Light Divided was announced for release in May.^[12] In mid-February, the group were working on ideas for a music video for "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" with production companies Refused TV and Artificial Army.^[10] The song was made available for streaming on February 28.^[13] From mid March to the beginning of April, the band went on the first leg of the Shirts for a Cure tour, with support from Minus the Bear, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, and We're All Broken.^[14] On March 29, "At This Velocity" was made available for streaming via Alternative Press.^[15] For most of April, the band went on the 2006 edition of the Taste of Chaos tour.^[16] However, on April 13, Rickly became ill, resulting in the band dropping off the tour.^[17] On April 18, A City by the Light Divided was made available for streaming via the band's Myspace profile,^[18] and "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" was released to radio.^[19]

From late April to late May, the band went on the second leg of the Shirts for a Cure tour, with support from Minus the Bear, mewithoutYou and We're All Broken.^[14] A City by the Light Divided was released on May 2 through Island Records.^[14] The UK version of the album, which was released through Hassle Records, included the bonus track "Even the Sand Is Made of Seashells".^[20] In May and June, the group went on a UK tour.^[10] In the summer, the band went on the 2006 edition of Warped Tour.^[13] In October and November, the group went on the 2006 international edition of the Taste of Chaos tour, visiting New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.^[21] In between dates on this tour, the band went on a co-headlining tour with Rise Against.^[22] In January and February 2007, the band went on a tour of the U.S. with support from Fear Before the March of Flames, Murder by Death and Heavy Heavy Low Low.^[23]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100 ^[24]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[25]
Alternative Press	^[26]
The A.V. Club	B+ ^[27]
Entertainment Weekly	A− ^[28]
NME	7/10 ^[24]
Now	^[24]
PopMatters	^[29]
Robert Christgau	C+ ^[30]
Rolling Stone	^[31]
Stylus Magazine	A− ^[32]

Critical response

The album so far has a score of 75 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".^[24] AbsolutePunk gave it a score of 90% and said that " just like the Buffalo Bills, it’s not about how you start the game, but about how strong you can comeback and finish, and A City By The Light Divided exemplifies this very well."^[33] Blender gave it a score of four stars out of five and called it "A widescreen goth-punk stunner."^[24] Billboard gave it a positive review and called it "A quality album."^[24] Some reviews are average or mixed: Uncut gave it three stars out of five and said, "A sprinkle of Flaming Lips fairy-dust may be just what the genre needs to slip its genre straitjacket."^[24] Melodic.net also gave it a score of three stars out of five and said it was "not a superb album but it's a helluva lot better than War All the Time."^[34]

Commercial performance

It reached #20 on the Billboard 200.^[35] A month after its release, the album had sold over 81,000 copies.^[36] By July, it had sold 90,000 copies.^[37] By April 2007, it had sold 132,000 copies.^[38]

Track listing

All music by Thursday, all lyrics by Geoff Rickly.^[11]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (Of Control)"	4:41
2.	"Counting 5-4-3-2-1"	3:19
3.	"Sugar in the Sacrament"	5:12
4.	"At This Velocity"	2:58
5.	"We Will Overcome"	3:39
6.	"Arc-Lamps, Signal Flares, a Shower of White (The Light)"	2:32
7.	"Running from the Rain"	4:00
8.	"Telegraph Avenue Kiss"	3:35
9.	"The Lovesong Writer"	5:18
10.	"Into the Blinding Light"	3:48
11.	"Autumn Leaves Revisited"	6:56
Total length:		45:56

Bonus tracks

Japanese, UK, iTunes bonus track
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Even the Sand Is Made of Seashells"	4:10

Japanese bonus track
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Running from the Rain" (Dave Fridmann remix)	4:05

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.^[11]

Thursday

Geoff Rickly – lead vocals
Tom Keeley – lead guitar
Steve Pedulla – rhythm guitar
Tim Payne – bass guitar
Tucker Rule – drums
Andrew Everding – keyboards

Additional musicians

Amanda Tannen – additional vocals on "We Will Overcome"
Mary Fridmann – additional vocals on "We Will Overcome"

Production

Dave Fridmann – producer, mixing, engineer
Tom Coyne – mastering
Tim Gilles – pre-production
Melissa Cross – vocal coach
Louis Marino – art direction, illustration, design
Ken Schless – Photography

Charts

Chart performance for *A City by the Light Divided*
Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[39]	63
UK Albums (OCC)	112
US Billboard 200	20

References

Citations

^ Heisel, Scott (May 22, 2002). "Thursday exposes Victory / officially announces Island signing!". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
^ "Thursday to Island/Def Jam". Kludge. May 29, 2002. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
^ "Thursday on Island Def Jam". Kludge. September 9, 2002. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
^ "News". Thursday. 2002. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
^ "Thursday in the Studio". Kludge. January 29, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
^ "Thursday's 'War' Rages On Island". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 1, 2003. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
^ Loftus, Johnny. "War All the Time - Thursday | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Loftus, Johnny. "Thursday | Biography & History". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on June 24, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
^
- UK: Beth, Jo (August 1, 2003). "Thursday tour October". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Archived from the original on November 5, 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- Japan, New Zealand and Australia: Wiederhorn, Jon (January 15, 2004). "Thursday Enlist Marine Combat Videographer For New Video". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "News". Thursday. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-04-28. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f A City by the Light Divided (Booklet). Thursday. Hassle Records. 2006. HOFF014CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Roth, Kaj (February 5, 2006). "New Thursday Album Out In May". Melodic. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Thursday post first single off new album". Alternative Press. February 28, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Thursday set album title, release date; tour w/Minus The Bear". Alternative Press. February 6, 2006. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
^ "AP Exclusive: Thursday debut new song on AltPress.com!". Alternative Press. March 29, 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
^ "Taste Of Chaos confirms date-by-date band lineups". Alternative Press. January 13, 2006. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
^ "Geoff Rickly falls ill; Thursday drop off Taste Of Chaos". Alternative Press. April 13, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
^ "Thursday streaming new album; Geoff Rickly recovering". Alternative Press. April 18, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
^ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
^ A City by the Light Divided (Sleeve). Thursday. Hassle Records. 2006. HOFF014CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, Underoath, Saosin on TOC Int'l". Alternative Press. June 26, 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
^ "More Rise Against/Thursday co-headlining dates announced". Alternative Press. July 27, 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
^ "Thursday touring with Fear Before, Murder By Death in '07". Alternative Press. December 4, 2006. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Critic reviews at Metacritic
^ Allmusic review
^ Alternative Press review
^ Ryan, Kyle (May 17, 2006). "Review: Thursday / Taking Back Sunday · Music Review". The A.V. Club. The Onion, Inc. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
^ "Entertainment Weekly review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
^ PopMatters review
^ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-02-14. Retrieved 2013-05-06.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ Stylus Magazine review Archived October 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ AbsolutePunk review
^ Melodic.net review Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
^ A City by the Light Divided - Thursday : Awards : Allmusic
^ Kohli, Rohan (June 8, 2006). "Soundscan Results: Week Ending June 4th, 2006". absolutepunk.net. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
^ Billboard 2006, p. 28
^ Wippsson, Johan (April 3, 2007). "Thursday Parts Ways With Island". Melodic. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 280.

Sources

"Major Moves". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 29. Prometheus Global Media. July 22, 2006. ISSN 0006-2510.

[PNstatement-1] Heisel, Scott (May 22, 2002). "Thursday exposes Victory / officially announces Island signing!". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2018.

[2] "Thursday to Island/Def Jam". Kludge. May 29, 2002. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

[3] "Thursday on Island Def Jam". Kludge. September 9, 2002. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

[FCNews-4] "News". Thursday. 2002. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2018.

[5] "Thursday in the Studio". Kludge. January 29, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

[Billrages-6] "Thursday's 'War' Rages On Island". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 1, 2003. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

[7] Loftus, Johnny. "War All the Time - Thursday | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved February 6, 2018.

[AMbio-8] Loftus, Johnny. "Thursday | Biography & History". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on June 24, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

[9] 
UK: Beth, Jo (August 1, 2003). "Thursday tour October". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Archived from the original on November 5, 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2018.

Japan, New Zealand and Australia: Wiederhorn, Jon (January 15, 2004). "Thursday Enlist Marine Combat Videographer For New Video". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

[10] UK: Beth, Jo (August 1, 2003). "Thursday tour October". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Archived from the original on November 5, 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2018.

[11] Japan, New Zealand and Australia: Wiederhorn, Jon (January 15, 2004). "Thursday Enlist Marine Combat Videographer For New Video". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.

[ThursdayNews-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "News". Thursday. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-04-28. Retrieved February 8, 2018.

[CityBooklet-11] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f A City by the Light Divided (Booklet). Thursday. Hassle Records. 2006. HOFF014CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[12] Roth, Kaj (February 5, 2006). "New Thursday Album Out In May". Melodic. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.

[AltPCountingstream-13] "Thursday post first single off new album". Alternative Press. February 28, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2016.

[AltPannounce-14] "Thursday set album title, release date; tour w/Minus The Bear". Alternative Press. February 6, 2006. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.

[15] "AP Exclusive: Thursday debut new song on AltPress.com!". Alternative Press. March 29, 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2016.

[16] "Taste Of Chaos confirms date-by-date band lineups". Alternative Press. January 13, 2006. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.

[17] "Geoff Rickly falls ill; Thursday drop off Taste Of Chaos". Alternative Press. April 13, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2016.

[18] "Thursday streaming new album; Geoff Rickly recovering". Alternative Press. April 18, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2016.

[FMQB-19] "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.

[Citysleeve-20] A City by the Light Divided (Sleeve). Thursday. Hassle Records. 2006. HOFF014CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[21] "Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, Underoath, Saosin on TOC Int'l". Alternative Press. June 26, 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.

[22] "More Rise Against/Thursday co-headlining dates announced". Alternative Press. July 27, 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.

[23] "Thursday touring with Fear Before, Murder By Death in '07". Alternative Press. December 4, 2006. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.

[meta-24] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Critic reviews at Metacritic

[25] Allmusic review

[26] Alternative Press review

[AVreview-27] Ryan, Kyle (May 17, 2006). "Review: Thursday / Taking Back Sunday · Music Review". The A.V. Club. The Onion, Inc. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2018.

[28] "Entertainment Weekly review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2013-05-06.

[29] PopMatters review

[30] Robert Christgau Consumer Guide

[31] "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-02-14. Retrieved 2013-05-06.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[32] Stylus Magazine review Archived October 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[33] AbsolutePunk review

[34] Melodic.net review Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[35] A City by the Light Divided - Thursday : Awards : Allmusic

[36] Kohli, Rohan (June 8, 2006). "Soundscan Results: Week Ending June 4th, 2006". absolutepunk.net. Retrieved February 12, 2016.

[37] Billboard 2006, p. 28

[38] Wippsson, Johan (April 3, 2007). "Thursday Parts Ways With Island". Melodic. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.

[39] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 280.

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v t e Thursday
Andrew Everding Bill Henderson Tom Keeley Tim Payne Steve Pedulla Geoff Rickly Tucker Rule
Studio albums	Waiting Full Collapse War All the Time A City by the Light Divided Common Existence No Devolución
Compilation albums	Kill the House Lights
Extended plays	Five Stories Falling Thursday / Envy
Singles	"Understanding in a Car Crash" "Signals Over the Air" "Counting 5-4-3-2-1"
Related articles	Discography United Nations No Devotion L.S. Dunes