| What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 20, 2015 (2015-01-20) | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, folk rock, indie folk | |||
| Length | 52:57 | |||
| Label | Capitol (US), Rough Trade (Europe) | |||
| Producer | Tucker Martine | |||
| The Decemberists chronology | ||||
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| Singles from What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World | ||||
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What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World is the seventh studio album from The Decemberists, released on January 20, 2015. The album's title comes from a line in the song "12/17/12", a reference to the date of Barack Obama's speech in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and lead singer Colin Meloy's conflicting feelings about the shooting and his happy personal life.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.2/10[2] |
| Metacritic | 77/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The A.V. Club | B[5] |
| Chicago Tribune | [6] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| Los Angeles Times | [9] |
| Mojo | [10] |
| Pitchfork | 5.6/10[11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| Spin | 7/10[13] |
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World received mostly positive reviews. It currently has a metascore of 77 from Metacritic.[3] The Boston Globe described the album as one of the band's "most enjoyable and lively efforts in recent memory",[14] The New York Times noted that What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World "strikes a note of pop concision and maturity, building on what worked on ‘The King Is Dead.’ Lyrically, there are fewer thistles and minarets and palanquins—and, musically, less digressive excess—than once made up the Decemberists’ trademark style."[15] Jeremy D. Larson of Pitchfork was a detractor, bemoaning the album as "overlong and under-ambitious", though appreciating that listeners "start to see Meloy himself more than ever". Larson also wrote highly of "Make You Better", stating, "The band has never lacked the musical bona fides to write a great anthem."[11]
The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its release, selling around 50,000 copies in the United States in its first week. It also debuted at No. 2 on Billboard'sTop Rock Albums,[16] and No. 1 on the Folk Albums chart.[17] The album has sold 123,000 copies in the United States as of October 2015.[18]
All songs written by Colin Meloy.[19]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Singer Addresses His Audience" | 4:42 |
| 2. | "Cavalry Captain" | 3:17 |
| 3. | "Philomena" | 3:04 |
| 4. | "Make You Better" | 5:07 |
| 5. | "Lake Song" | 5:52 |
| 6. | "Till the Water's All Long Gone" | 5:01 |
| 7. | "The Wrong Year" | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Carolina Low" | 3:24 |
| 9. | "Better Not Wake the Baby" | 1:44 |
| 10. | "Anti-Summersong" | 2:12 |
| 11. | "Easy Come, Easy Go" | 2:22 |
| 12. | "Mistral" | 3:54 |
| 13. | "12/17/12" | 3:03 |
| 14. | "A Beginning Song" | 5:22 |
| Total length: | 52:57 | |
According to the liner notesofWhat a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.
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