Checkmate Savage is the debut studio album by Scottish indie rock band The Phantom Band, released on 26 January 2009 through Chemikal Underground Records to critical acclaim.[12]
| Checkmate Savage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 January 2009 | |||
| Recorded | Chem 19, Blantyre | |||
| Genre | Indie,[1] folk,[1] pop,[1] blues,[1] post-rock[1] folktronica,[2] krautrock[2] | |||
| Length | 55:01 | |||
| Label | Chemikal Underground | |||
| Producer | Paul Savage | |||
| The Phantom Band chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Drowned in Sound | (7/10)[4] |
| The Guardian | [5] |
| The List | [1] |
| Mojo | [6] |
| NME | (8/10)[7] |
| Pitchfork | (7.3/10)[8] |
| Q | [9] |
| Scotland on Sunday | [10] |
| The Times | [11] |
The album was produced by Paul Savage, formerly of The Delgados.
On 25 January 2019 Chemikal Underground released a deluxe double vinyl gatefold edition of the album to celebrate its 10th anniversary.[13]
Title
editAccording to the band, the album's title refers to: "over-population, dwindling natural resources and the yawning void within every one of us caused by society's unnatural social contracts, and mass sexual repression, means one thing: it's checkmate for the human animal."[14]
Accolades
editIn December 2009, Checkmate Savage entered The Skinny's "Scottish Albums of the Decade" list at #28.[15]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Skinny | Scotland | Scottish Albums of the Decade | 2009 | 28[15] |
The album placed at number 17 in MOJO magazine's top 50 albums of 2009.[citation needed]
In January 2010 the album was given the inaugural "Soundcheck Award" for album of 2009 by Radioeins and Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin.[16]
Track listing
edit- "The Howling" - 6:35
- "Burial Sounds" - 4:47
- "Folk Song Oblivion - 4:14
- "Crocodile" - 7:42
- "Halfhound" - 4:11
- "Left Hand Wave" - 5:40
- "Island" - 8:51
- "Throwing Bones" - 5:01
- "The Whole is on My Side" - 7:53
Personnel
edit- Duncan Marquiss – guitar, vocals, percussion, fx, artwork
- Gerry Hart – bass, vocals, percussion, fx, artwork
- Andy Wake – synthesizers, vocals, samples, percussion, fx, artwork
- Rick Anthony – guitar, vocals, percussion, fx, artwork
- Damien Tonner – drums, percussion, fx, artwork
- James SK Wān – bamboo flute
- Greg Sinclair – guitar, pedals/fx, percussion, artwork
- Paul Savage – producer
- Jamie Savage – engineer
- Kenny MacLeod – mastering
- Christopher O'Donnell – flexatone ("Throwing Bones")
- Aztext – design
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f The List review
- ^ a b Chris McCall, Chris (21 April 2016). "Emma Pollock on Record Labels and Solo Careers". The Skinny. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ Raggett, Ned. "Review: Checkmate Savage". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ^ "Drowned in Sound review". Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- ^ "The Phantom Band: Checkmate Savage". The Guardian. 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017.
- ^ [Feb. Mojo review]
- ^ [24 NME review]
- ^ Pitchfork Media review
- ^ [Feb. Q review]
- ^ Scotland on Sunday review
- ^ The Times review[dead link]
- ^ "Chemikal Underground Records - Glasgow, Scotland". Chemikal.co.uk. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
- ^ Chemikal Underground. "Checkmate Savage". Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ [1] Archived January 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b The Skinny, Dec 2009, pg 10
- ^ "Musikpreis: The Phantom Band gewinnt Soundcheck Award - Pop - Kultur - Tagesspiegel" (in German). Tagesspiegel.de. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2012.