The Golden Age of Not Even Trying
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| The Golden Age of Not Even Trying | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 January 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 2016-2017 | |||
| Studio | Dean St. Studios[1][2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:10 | |||
| Label | Infectious Music Ltd., BMG | |||
| Producer | Charlie Russell, Alex Mountford, Sam Matlock[1][2] | |||
| Dead! chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Golden Age of Not Even Trying | ||||
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The Golden Age of Not Even Trying is the first and only studio album by English punk rock band Dead!, released on 26 January 2018 under Infectious Music Ltd. and BMG. It was produced by Charlie Russell and mixed by Thomas Mitchener.[1][2] The group announced their split on 5 June 2018, cancelling their summer tour dates and announcing that their final show would be their sold-out show on 5 October at The Underworld in London, England.[5]
Two singles were released to promote the album prior to release, with accompanying music videos: "Enough Enough Enough", and "Up for Ran$om". The band also released a music video for the title track on 6 October 2017. The promotional single "You're so Cheap", a song from the album originally released in 2016, was released on 16 April 2018 along with two B-sides.
Background
After releasing several singles and an EP since 2013, the album was recorded live at Dean St. Studios in London, England.[6]
Release
The album was released on 26 January 2018 and peaked at 11 on the UK's Rock & Metal Albums chart, reached at least 9 on the iTunes UK Rock Albums chart.[7]
The Golden Age of Not Even Trying is the band's only studio album. The group split up in June of 2018 for unknown reasons, posting a brief message thanking their fans, cancelling their summer 2018 tour dates, and announcing their sold-out Underworld show in London as their last. [5] Several members continued their music careers separately, namely the Matlock brothers. Sam Matlock formed WARGASM with model and photographer Milkie Way after the latter had photographed Dead! performing live.[8] Louis Matlock began releasing music as Clarence & the Modern Life.[9]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AlbumoftheYear | 70/100 |
| Rate Your Music | 3.29/5 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| All Things Loud | 9/10[10] |
| Clash | 7/10[11] |
| Hardbeat | 8.5/10[4] |
| The Music |  [3] |
| NARC. |  [12] |
| The Student Playlist | 7/10[13] |
The Golden Age of Not Even Trying has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from music critics, receiving no less than a 7/10 from large publications.
Clash's Shannon Cotton likened the band to groups like Creeper and Black Foxxes, describing the album as "surfing strands of straight up rock ’n’ roll, punchy pop punk and, at times, gripping heavy metal as typically emphatic lyrics weave their way around slicing guitar riffs and bolshy drums".[11] A staff writer at The Music said about the album, "These songs show quite clearly the keen ear these four Brits have for arena-ready choruses and hooks. ...From one listen of this album, it is so clear that Dead! didn’t stop working on these songs till they got what they exactly wanted as the effect from these twelve songs is instant and visceral and lasting", and compared it to some of My Chemical Romance's earlier output.
As of February 2024, the album currently holds a 70/100 score from users on aggregate music review website AlbumoftheYear, and 3.29/5 on Rate Your Music.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Dead!, with lyrics by Alex Mountford and Sam Matlock
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Boys † The Boys" | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Enough Enough Enough" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "The Golden Age of Not Even Trying" | 2:55 |
| 4. | "Jessica" | 3:06 |
| 5. | "Off White Paint" | 3:32 |
| 6. | "You're so Cheap" | 3:27 |
| 7. | "Petrol & Anaesthetic" | 2:55 |
| 8. | "Up for Ran$om" | 3:36 |
| 9. | "W9" | 3:26 |
| 10. | "A Conversation with Concrete" | 3:20 |
| 11. | "Any Port" | 3:13 |
| 12. | "Youth Screams & Fades" | 3:54 |
| Total length: | 40:10 | |
Personnel
Dead!
- Alex Mountford – lead vocals
- Sam Matlock – lead & rhythm guitar
- Louis Matlock – lead & rhythm guitar
- Sam Chappell – bass guitar
Additional musicians
- Stephen North - drums (session musician)
Production
- Charlie Russell – producer
- Thomas Mitchener – mix engineer
Charts
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 34 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[15] | 22 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[16] | 11 |
References
- ^ a b c "The Golden Age Of Not Even Trying by Dead!". Genius. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ a b c "Dead! (2) – The Golden Age Of Not Even Trying". Discogs. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ a b Staff writer (26 Jan 2018). "Album Review: Dead! - 'The Golden Age Of Not Even Trying'". The Music (magazine). Retrieved 20 Feb 2024.
- ^ a b c emilyobsidian (4 Feb 2018). "Album Review: Dead! – The Golden Age Of Not Even Trying". Hardbeat. Retrieved 20 Feb 2024.
- ^ a b Moore, Sam (5 June 2018). "Dead! announce split". NME. NME Networks. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Moody, Melissa (2 February 2018). "Dead! shows why The Golden Age of Not Even Trying is now". River Online. Kingston University London. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Mountford, Alex. "alexanderisalive on Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ MacMillan, Jamie (26 August 2021). "Wargasm: "Everyone takes themselves so seriously in the rock scene" | Upset". web.archive.org. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Ward, Billy. "Clarence & The Modern Life sets the pace with celestial debut single 'Modern Life'". dmy.co. DMY. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Parker, Jack (28 Jan 2018). "DEAD! TRY THEIR HARDEST AND SUCCEED ON THE GOLDEN AGE OF NOT EVEN TRYING". All Things Loud. Retrieved 20 Feb 2024.
- ^ a b Cotton, Shannon (21 Jan 2018). "Dead! – The Golden Age Of Not Even Trying". Clash. Retrieved 20 Feb 2024.
- ^ Doyle, Laura. "ALBUM REVIEW: DEAD! – The Golden Age of Not Even Trying | NARC. | Reliably Informed | Music and Creative Arts News for Newcastle and the North East". narcmagazine.com. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Corbett, Rebecca (4 February 2018). "REVIEW: Dead! - 'The Golden Age Of Not Even Trying' (Infectious)". The Student Playlist. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "{{{artist}}} | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 20 Feb 2024.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 Feb 2024.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 Feb 2024.
External links
- The Golden Age of Not Even Trying at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
- "Enough Enough Enough" music video at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
- "Up for Ran$om" music video at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
- "The Golden Age of Not Even Trying" (song) music video at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)