Sebastopol Rd. is an album by the English band Mega City Four, released in 1992.[3][4] It was the band's only album to be released in the United States; they supported it with a North American tour.[2][5] The album was reissued in 2013 with a Peel session, among other bonus tracks.[6]
| Sebastopol Rd. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Studio | Greenhouse Studios | |||
| Label | Big Life[1] Caroline[2] | |||
| Producer | Jessica Corcoran | |||
| Mega City Four chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album peaked at No. 41 on the UK Albums Chart.[7]
Production
editProduced by Jessica Corcoran, Sebastopol Rd. was recorded at Greenhouse Studios, in England.[8][6] It was named after the band's rehearsal space.[9]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |  [8] |
| Record Collector | [6] |
| Martin C. Strong | 6/10[1] |
Trouser Press wrote that "acoustic strums ... abound, over which the singer vents optimism, experience and, most of all, poignant disillusionment ... A rough-edged pop classic."[2] The Washington Post called the album "likable, unpretentious stuff, less stylized than is typical of most young British bands," writing that it "offers 12 bristling but tuneful songs, economical mid-tempo rockers that balance Danny Brown's and Wiz's tart guitars with the quartet's semi-sweet backing vocals."[11] The Gazette opined that "punk energy begets melodic hooks as Mega City Four grows up a bit."[12]
Legacy
editAllMusic noted: "Heard from ten years' distance, Sebastopol Rd. is at once comfortably obvious and weirdly prescient. While Wiz's high, impassioned vocals weren't emo per se—and he was always careful to sing rather than scream—there's a weird way in how the 12 songs almost predict the future without trying to."[10] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide labeled the album "a tense, taut, pop mini-masterpiece."[8] In 2013, Record Collector deemed it "an indie-pop gem with punk overtones."[6] The Rough Guide to Rock considered it "one of the 90s catchiest (pre-Britpop) discs."[13]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ticket Collector" | |
| 2. | "Scared of Cats" | |
| 3. | "Callous" | |
| 4. | "Peripheral" | |
| 5. | "Anne Bancroft" | |
| 6. | "Prague" | |
| 7. | "Clown" | |
| 8. | "Props" | |
| 9. | "What's Up" | |
| 10. | "Vague" | |
| 11. | "Stop" | |
| 12. | "Wasting My Breath" |
References
edit- ^ a b Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Canongate. p. 413.
- ^ a b c "Mega City Four". Trouser Press. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Mega City Four Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Simmonds, Jeremy (September 3, 2008). "The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches". Chicago Review Press – via Google Books.
- ^ Rosenbluth, Jean (5 June 1992). "Power Pop From Mega City Four". Los Angeles Times. p. F21.
- ^ a b c d "Sebastopol Rd - Record Collector Magazine".
- ^ "MEGA CITY FOUR | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
- ^ a b c MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 742.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. pp. 687–688.
- ^ a b "Mega City Four - Sebastopol Rd. Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (8 Apr 1992). "British Punkers For the '90s". The Washington Post. p. D7.
- ^ Lepage, Mark (23 May 1992). "MEGA CITY FOUR SEBASTOPOL RD". The Gazette. p. E9.
- ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 631.