Without Feathers is the second album by Montreal indie rock band the Stills. It was released May 9, 2006 by Vice Records. The album was produced by Gus Van Go.
| Without Feathers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 9, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2005–2006 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 43:36 (US) 46:25 (UK) | |||
| Label | Vice | |||
| Producer | Gus Van Go | |||
| The Stills chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 65/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| NME | 8/10[3] |
| Pitchfork | 6.7/10[4] |
| Prefix Magazine | [5] |
| Rocklouder | [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
Emily Haines from fellow indie band Metric appeared on "Baby Blues," while Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene and Sam Roberts were featured on the track "Oh Shoplifter".[8]
The album debuted at No. 6 on the Top Heatseekers chart, but failed to hit the Billboard 200. In Canada, the album did not fare well on the charts. It premiered at No. 51 before moving out of the Top 100 the following week. The album was later released in the UK in 2007 by Drowned in Sound Recordings, including two new tracks.
Without Feathers featured a major personnel change; with the departure of original lead guitarist Greg Paquet, drummer Dave Hamelin moved to guitar and sang lead vocals on the majority of the album's tracks. It was also the first Stills album to feature keyboardist Liam O'Neil as a full-time member, and was the debut for drummer Julien Blais.
The album also marked a big change in sound, from the 1980s-influenced post-punk revivalism of their debut to a happier, more rootsy Americana-oriented approach, which Pitchfork termed "cheerful and heartfelt".[9][10]
Track listing
editUS/Canada edition
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In the Beginning" | Hamelin | 5:45 |
| 2. | "The Mountain" | Hamelin, O'Neil | 3:57 |
| 3. | "She's Walking Out" | Hamelin, O'Neil | 3:09 |
| 4. | "Helicopters" | Fletcher | 4:26 |
| 5. | "In the End" | Hamelin, O'Neil | 3:45 |
| 6. | "Oh Shoplifter" | Hamelin | 3:23 |
| 7. | "Interlude" | Fletcher, O'Neil | 1:08 |
| 8. | "Halo the Harpoons" | Corbeil, Fletcher | 3:44 |
| 9. | "It Takes Time" | Hamelin | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Destroyer" | Hamelin | 3:11 |
| 11. | "Baby Blues" | Hamelin | 3:32 |
| 12. | "The House We Live In" | Hamelin, O'Neil | 3:25 |
UK edition
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In the Beginning" | Hamelin | 5:44 |
| 2. | "Destroyer" | Hamelin | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Helicopters" | Fletcher | 4:23 |
| 4. | "The House We Live In" | Hamelin, O'Neil | 3:26 |
| 5. | "It Takes Time" | Hamelin | 4:11 |
| 6. | "Monsoon" | Fletcher, Hamelin | 3:38 |
| 7. | "She's Walking Out" | Hamelin, O'Neil | 3:11 |
| 8. | "Oh Shoplifter" | Hamelin | 3:22 |
| 9. | "Outro" | Fletcher, O'Neil | 1:10 |
| 10. | "Halo the Harpoons" | Corbeil, Fletcher | 3:42 |
| 11. | "Baby Blues" | Hamelin | 3:34 |
| 12. | "Retour à Vega" | Faucon, Fletcher, Hamelin, Trenton | 2:57 |
| 13. | "The Mountain" | Hamelin, O'Neil | 3:56 |
Personnel
edit
|
|
References
edit- ^ "Without Feathers by The Stills". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ NME.COM. "The Stills – NME.COM". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "The Stills: Without Feathers Album Review – Pitchfork". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Album Review: The Stills – Without Feathers". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "404 // Page Not Found – Rocklouder". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ "The Stills Soar 'Without Feathers'". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "The Stills: Without Feathers Album Review - Pitchfork". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "The Stills: Oceans Will Rise Album Review - Pitchfork". Retrieved 5 October 2016.