Wikipedia

End of World

End of World is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Public Image Ltd, released on 11 August 2023 by PiL Official.

End of World
A painting of a man on horseback, with the horse balancing on a sphere, under the sun
Studio album by
Public Image Ltd
Released11 August 2023 (2023-08-11)
Recorded
Length50:42
LabelPiL Official
Producer
Public Image Ltd chronology
What the World Needs Now...
(2015) 		End of World
(2023)
Singles from End of World
  1. "Hawaii"
    Released: 9 January 2023
  2. "Penge"
    Released: 11 April 2023
  3. "Car Chase"
    Released: 22 June 2023

Recording and release

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End of World is the first studio album by Public Image Ltd following the death of lead vocalist John Lydon's wife Nora Forster and was promoted with the lead single "Hawaii", a tribute to her.[2] The full release was revealed on 11 April 2023, along with second single "Penge".[1] "Car Chase" was released on 22 June as well.[3] The band will also promote the album with a concert tour, set to begin in September.[4]

Critical reception

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According to the review aggregator Metacritic, End of World received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 from 10 critic scores.[5] At The Arts Desk, Graham Fuller rated this 4 out of 5 stars, writing that it maintains the momentum of the band's past two albums.[6] The Daily Telegraph's Andrew Perry listed this among the albums of the week and scored it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "definitely Lydon's most approachable album ever".[7] In The Irish Examiner, Ed Power gave this album 4 out of 5 stars for mixing "as raw a depiction of grief as you'll hear" on "Hawaii" with "rollicking fury" and some "riotous triumph".[8] Edwin McFee of Hot Press considered this release a 6 out of 10, noting the different stylistic shifts in the music.[9] Louder Than War's Tim Cooper wrote that "the best moments are the more musically adventurous ones" on this album and also complains that "there's a plodding, leaden feel to much of the music on these 13 songs and a plodding, leaden mood to Lydon's lyrical preoccupations, which tend towards the old-white-man variety: either complaining, usually about the evils of the modern world, the young people that live in it, wokeness; or just vacuous and silly, and occasionally inappropriate".[10] David Murphy of musicOMH scored End of World 3 out of 5 stars, opining that "Lydon sounds cracking for the most part, but the music is rather less consistent".[11] Reviewing the album, in The Observer, Phil Mongredien commented, "John Lydon and band once again veer between hit and miss, from the poignantly affecting to the particularly annoying... As with all of PiL's recent albums, End of World is frustratingly hit and miss".[12] Ben Cardew, writing for Pitchfork rated this release a 6.7 out of 10, stating that Lydon's "voice remains captivating—and, occasionally, surprisingly moving" and particularly praising "Hawaii" as "the rare PiL song since their 2009 reunion where the music lives up to the vocals' ingenuity and character".[13]

Mojo ranked this the 65th best album of 2023.[14] This was included in BrooklynVegan's listing of 33 great albums from indie/alternative legends.[15]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by John Lydon; all music is composed by Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth, John Lydon, and Bruce Smith.

  1. "Penge" – 3:04
  2. "End of the World" – 5:26
  3. "Car Chase" – 3:45
  4. "Being Stupid Again" – 4:32
  5. "Walls" – 3:20
  6. "Pretty Awful" – 4:51
  7. "Strange" – 3:32
  8. "Down On the Clown" – 4:20
  9. "Dirty Murky Delight" – 2:29
  10. "The Do That" – 2:37
  11. "L F C F" – 4:36
  12. "North West Passage" – 4:39
  13. "Hawaii" – 3:31

Japan bonus track

  2. "Punkenstein"

Personnel

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Public Image Ltd

Technical

  • Brendan Davies – mixing, engineering
  • Stefan Heger – mastering
  • George Perks – engineering assistance
  • John "Rambo" Stevens – production
  • Danny Thomas – engineering assistance
  • James Towler – production, mixing, engineering

Chart performance

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Chart performance for End of World
Chart Peak Duration (weeks)
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 54 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 5 6
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 33[19] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[20] 4 6

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "New single Penge out now & album and tour announcement". Public Image Ltd. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  2. ^ Blistein, Jon (11 April 2023). "Public Image Ltd. Announce New Album Dedicated to John Lydon's Late Wife". Paying Tribute. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. ^ Duran, Anagricel (22 June 2023). "Listen to Public Image Ltd's new single 'Car Chase'". News > Music News. NME. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. ^ Young, Alex (11 April 2023). "Public Image Ltd. Announce End of World, Their First New Album in Eight Years". Consequence. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  5. ^ "End of World by Public Image Ltd. Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  6. ^ Fuller, Graham (9 August 2023). "Album: Public Image Limited – End of World". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  7. ^ Perry, Andrew (11 August 2023). "Best albums of the week: Public Image Ltd, Fredo". Music. The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  8. ^ Power, Ed (11 August 2023). "Album review: John Lydon and Public Image Ltd impress with End Of World". Lifestyle. The Irish Examiner. ISSN 1393-9564. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  9. ^ McFee, Edwin (13 August 2023). "Album Review: Public Image Ltd, End of World". Opinion. Hot Press. ISSN 0332-0847. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  10. ^ Cook, Tim (9 August 2023). "Public Image Ltd: End Of World". Louder Than War. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  11. ^ Murphy, David (9 August 2023). "Public Image Ltd – End Of World". musicOMH. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  12. ^ Mongredien, Phil (13 August 2023). "Public Image Ltd: End of World review – a frustratingly mixed bag". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. ISSN 0029-7712. OCLC 50230244. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  13. ^ Cardew, Ben (10 August 2023). "Public Image Limited: End of World". Albums. Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  14. ^ "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2023". BrooklynVegan. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023. from the original in Mojo, issue 362 (ISSN 1351-0193
  15. ^ Pearis, Bill; Sacher, Andrew (27 December 2023). "33 great 2023 albums from indie / alternative legends". Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Public Image Ltd – End of World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  19. ^ Griffiths, George (18 August 2023). "Liam Gallagher's Knebworth 22 becomes his fifth UK Number 1 solo album". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
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