The View | ||
| Allmusic Biography : The View -- a Scottish quartet comprised of bassist Kieran Webster, lead guitarist Pete Reilly, lead singer Kyle Falconer, and drummer Steve Morrison -- came together in the bands native Dundee (near Scotlands east coast) in 2005, before any of the bandmates had entered their early twenties. Prior to storming the U.K. with their energetic, scruffy ska-punk and throwback rock, the young bandmates cut their teeth as a cover band. But as of 2007, when they made their heralded U.S. debut at a concert in New York City, those days were far behind them. One year before the Views American debut, the band had signed with 1965 Records, a label distributed by Columbia and run by James Endeacott (who had worked with similar red-hot acts, from the Strokes to the Libertines). Buzz began to build around the bands promise and peaked with the international release of 2007s Hats Off to the Buskers, a confident debut album that topped the U.K. charts and spawned the hit singles "Superstar Tradesman" and "Wasted Little DJs." The bands influences were easy to note -- the Clash, Oasis, and the Libertines, among others -- but the Views lyrics remained slightly more mysterious, a product of Falconers brogue and affinity for Scottishisms. The Views sophomore release, Which Bitch?, arrived nearly two years later, featuring an ambitious sound that found critical approval but failed to generate the sales of its predecessor, as it dropped quickly from the U.K. album charts after its February 2009 release. Two years later, the View returned with Bread and Circuses, produced by Youth. In 2012, the View delivered its fourth studio album, Cheeky for a Reason, featuring the single "How Long." The collection Seven Year Setlist -- so called due to all the tracks being live favorites -- was released in mid-2013. In 2015, the View announced they were back in the studio, this time with the Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. and Gus Oberg (the Strokes Angles) handling production duties. The resulting album, Ropewalk, was slated for release in June of that year, but was delayed until September, due to lead singer Falconers difficulties with an ongoing illness. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 7 Title: Hats Off to the Buskers Released: 2007-01-22 Tracks: 14 Duration: 40:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Comin Down (02:57) 2 Superstar Tradesman (03:13) 3 Same Jeans (03:34) 4 Dont Tell Me (03:22) 5 Skag Trendy (03:00) 6 The Don (03:09) 7 Face for the Radio (03:18) 8 Wasted Little DJs (03:57) 9 Grans for Tea (02:33) 10 Dance Into the Night (03:05) 11 Claudia (02:40) 12 Street Lights (02:57) 13 Wasteland (02:26) 14 Typical Time (00:35) |
| Hats Off to the Buskers : Allmusic album Review : For all those who found the Arctic Monkeys too brash and bratty, or the Libertines too messy and dangerous, the View and their 2007 debut Hats Off to the Buskers should be welcome. Cheerful and cute where the Monkeys and Libertines were all coiled nervous tension, the View are polite, well-scrubbed and eager to please, offering up their tunes with vigor but no venom. Given that this is bright classicist Brit-pop -- all ringing guitars and la-la-las, performed as if punk never happened -- it doesnt really hurt that the group lacks bark orbite, but it sure gives Hats Off to the Buskers a prefabricated feeling. Its a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy, and since the raw elements of the original material -- Monkeys/Libertines via Blur/Oasis via the Jam/the Clash via the Kinks/the Who -- are still appealing, the View are hard to hate, but theyre not energetic enough or craftsmanlike enough to be all that attractive on their own terms; after all, theyre hardly playing on their own terms, theyre using a rule book thats been passed on from generation to generation. And since they lack the audible passion of the Arctic Monkeys -- who, even as detractors of the over-hyped debut must admit, do have a kinetic kick to their records -- or the audacity of, say, Supergrass, they are perfectly easy to file and forget after their perfectly pleasant, utterly unmemorable debut is finished. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 7 Title: Which Bitch? Released: 2009-01-30 Tracks: 14 Duration: 57:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Typical Time 2 (01:36) 2 5Rebbeccas (03:50) 3 One Off Pretender (03:29) 4 Unexpected (03:39) 5 Temptation Dice (03:47) 6 Glass Smash (04:20) 7 Distant Doubloon (04:36) 8 Jimmys Crazy Conspiracy (03:47) 9 Covers (03:23) 10 Double Yellow Lines (04:09) 11 Shock Horror (04:07) 12 Realisation (03:41) 13 Give Back the Sun (05:54) 14 Gem of a Bird (06:37) |
| Which Bitch? : Allmusic album Review : The View counteract any charges that theyre too prim or polite -- better still, too normal -- by getting weirdly ambitious on Which Bitch?, the 2009 sequel to their Mercury-prize nominated 2007 debut, Hats Off to the Buskers. The record skips into view with a sprightly piano-and-harmonica ditty called "Typical Time 2," and its deliberate, self-conscious quirkiness is a better indication of where the heart of their sophomore effort lies than "5Rebbeccas," the blast of Libertines-styled punk romanticism that follows. The View still follow the path carved out by Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, along with the brothers Gallagher, but where their hero worship was a bit too pat on Hats Off to the Buskers, its all part of a messy pastiche of serious British rock of the last 25 years: they bounce beguilingly on "Temptation Dice," roll along on a tense minor-key on "Glass Smash," shuffle down to the music hall on "Jimmys Crazy Conspiracy," allude to XTCs "Ten Feet Tall" on "Realization," and thread in echoey 80s post-punk guitars to act as a counterpoint to the 90s dad-rock guitar roar. Its enough ambition and attitude to suggest that the View are serious about being taken seriously, which is the appeal of Which Bitch? and also its Achilles heel: it all sounds good enough of the surface but dig a little deeper and theres not much there, just overly stylized recycling and fuzzy songs. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 7 Title: Bread and Circuses Released: 2011-03-14 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Grace (03:39) 2 Underneath the Light (04:17) 3 Tragic Magic (04:02) 4 Girl (03:58) 5 Life (04:01) 6 Friend (03:41) 7 Beautiful (04:03) 8 Blondie (03:37) 9 Sunday (04:38) 10 Walls (03:19) 11 Happy (04:12) 12 Best Lasts Forever (06:47) |
 | Album: 4 of 7 Title: Cheeky for a Reason Released: 2012-07-06 Tracks: 12 Duration: 41:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 How Long (02:54) 2 AB (We Need Treatment) (03:08) 3 Hold on Now (04:25) 4 Anfield Row (03:45) 5 Bullet (03:04) 6 Bunker (Solid Ground) (03:40) 7 The Clock (04:38) 8 Piano Interlude (00:11) 9 Hole in the Bed (03:45) 10 Sour Little Sweetie (03:41) 11 Lean on My World (03:36) 12 Tacky Tattoo (04:35) |
| Cheeky for a Reason : Allmusic album Review : Scottish indie rock outfit the Views 2012 album Cheeky for a Reason is a slightly more mature outing that still builds upon the rambunctious pop/rock of the bands previous work. With lead singer Kyle Falconers Highland brogue spearheading the bands mischievous, playful plug-and-play sound, the View have always had a youthful exuberance that was hard to ignore even when the songs werent quite the most original or memorable things youve ever heard. On Cheeky for a Reason, its as if the band, which was a Mercury Prize nominee in 2009, finally tapped into the creative wellspring that often guides the best guitar-based rock bands on a search for the perfect pop song. Sidestepping some of their earlier, more experimental leanings and honing the bar band anthems of 2011s Bread & Circuses, the View deliver a catchy, hook-oriented batch of melodic rock that sticks with you, drawing you back for repeated listens. Tracks like the leadoff "How Long" and the sparkling "AB (We Need Treatment)" zip along with a power pop gallop and feature melodies that grab your ears with a glitter rock insistence. Elsewhere, cuts like the romantic "Bunker (Solid Ground)" and the brooding, spaghetti Western guitar-led "The Clock" have a 70s Fleetwood Mac vibe. Ultimately, by the time you get to the rousing and romantically giddy alt-rock anthem "Lean on My World," its clear that the View have more than a few reasons to justify their cheekiness on what is their best album yet. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 7 Title: The Clock Released: 2012-09-16 Tracks: 5 Duration: 18:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 The Clock (Radio Edit) (03:51) 2 Modern Approach (Tpot Mix) (03:51) 3 Standing, Waiting On My Own (From Sarm Studios) (02:58) 4 How Long (Gifted Live Session) (03:09) 5 The Clock (04:38) |
 | Album: 6 of 7 Title: Seven Year Setlist Released: 2013 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:18:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Kill Kyle (02:52) 2 Grace (03:39) 3 Wasted Little DJs (03:57) 4 Rebbeccas (03:50) 5 How Long (02:54) 6 The Don (03:09) 7 Skag Trendy (03:01) 8 Realisation (03:41) 9 Face for the Radio (03:19) 10 Tacky Tattoo (03:29) 11 The Clock (04:39) 12 Standard (03:24) 13 Underneath the Lights (04:17) 14 Tragic Magic (04:00) 15 Same Jeans (03:35) 16 Dirty Magazine (04:01) 17 Superstar Tradesman (03:14) 18 Sunday (04:38) 19 Shock Horror (04:07) 20 Distant Doubloon (04:39) 21 Standard (original album mix) (03:51) |
 | Album: 7 of 7 Title: Ropewalk Released: 2015-09-04 Tracks: 10 Duration: 35:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Under the Rug (03:36) 2 Marriage (03:31) 3 Living (03:14) 4 Talk About Two (03:31) 5 Psychotic (03:37) 6 Cracks (02:59) 7 Tenement Light (03:38) 8 House of Queue’s (04:06) 9 Penny (03:19) 10 Voodoo Doll (03:33) |
| Ropewalk : Allmusic album Review : The Views fifth full-length studio album, 2015s Ropewalk, features more of the Scottish outfits exuberant and lyrical post-punk sound. Produced by the Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr., Ropewalk also includes production from Swedish-born engineer Gus Oberg (the Strokes, Moby, the Postelles) and mixing from Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot, the Strokes). The album follows up the bands well-received 2012 effort, Cheeky for a Reason, which reached number one on the U.K. independent albums chart. As with that album, Ropewalk finds the View further maturing into a tight, sophisticated outfit, capable of balancing the punk energy of their early work with a more nuanced sense of song craftsmanship. Once again, lead singer/songwriter Kyle Falconer, with his cherubic Scottish brogue, remains the focal point. While he sounds as youthfully energetic as ever, at age 28, his lyrics reveal a growing self-awareness shaped by the concerns of adulthood from having kids, to getting married, to letting to go of certain recreational substances. On "Psychotic," he sings, "That stuff you call your savior is really killing you." And its not just Falconers lyrics that have deepened, his impassioned croon is well-served by the bands inclination toward driving, classicist pop/rock thats equal parts Fleetwood Mac and Arctic Monkeys. Perhaps not surprisingly, you can also hear a lot of the raw melodicism and frenetic creativity of producer Hammonds work with the Strokes here. While there are certainly some recognizable production choices to note -- dry percussion pushed up in the mix, just a hint of church-like reverb on the vocals -- to Hammond and Obergs credit, they seem to have done little to mess with the straightforward nature of the Views sound. Its vintage-inspired but not retro, and works perfectly with groups 70s-style cuts like "Penny" and "Voodoo Doll," which bring to mind a mix of the Faces and ELO. Similarly, tracks like the moody "Under the Rug" and the swooningly infectious "Living" have a crisp, tactile quality that sticks with you. | ||