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Pala (album)

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Pala
Studio album by
Released16 May 2011
Genre
Length44:00
LabelXL
Producer
Friendly Fires chronology
Friendly Fires
(2008)
Pala
(2011)
Inflorescent
(2019)
Singles from Pala
  1. "Live Those Days Tonight"
    Released: 23 March 2011
  2. "Hawaiian Air"
    Released: 25 July 2011[2]
  3. "Blue Cassette"
    Released: 5 December 2011
  4. "Hurting"
    Released: 27 February 2012

Pala is the second album from British alternative dance band Friendly Fires. It was released in the UK on 16 May 2011, and charted at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart.[3] The album name comes from Aldous Huxley's final novel Island, which tells the story of a journalist shipwrecked on the fictional island of Pala, which supports a utopian society.[4][5][6] The scarlet macaw photograph was chosen from the private collection of Norwegian fashion photographer Sølve Sundsbø.[4]

Singles

[edit]
  • "Live Those Days Tonight" is the first single taken from the album. The track received its first play on Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 on 22 March 2011. The band performed the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,[7] and it was released to the US iTunes Store[8] the next day. In the UK, it was released on 16 May 2011, the same day as the album, and charted at number 80 on the UK singles chart.
  • "Hawaiian Air" was the second single taken from the album. The music video was shot in southern Spain in May 2011.[9] It reached No. 92 in the UK, and appeared on the soundtrack of the 2012 racing video game Forza Horizon alongside "Hurting".
  • "Blue Cassette" was released as the third single on 2 December 2011, along with the Tiga Remix of the single.
  • "Hurting" was announced as the next single by Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1 on 3 August 2011 with the release date confirmed as 10 October 2011.[10] Remixes of the single were released on 27 February 2012. It appeared on the soundtrack of 2012 racing video game Forza Horizon alongside "Hawaiian Air".

Track listing

[edit]

Taken from the album booklet:

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Live Those Days Tonight"
5:02
2."Blue Cassette"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
  • Macfarlane
  • Epworth*
3:32
3."Running Away"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
3:02
4."Hawaiian Air"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
Macfarlane4:12
5."Hurting"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
  • Macfarlane
  • Epworth*
  • Zane*
5:03
6."Pala"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
  • Macfarlane
  • Zane*
4:01
7."Show Me Lights"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
  • Epworth
  • Friendly Fires
3:36
8."True Love"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
  • Macfarlane
  • Zane*
3:15
9."Pull Me Back to Earth"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
Macfarlane3:30
10."Chimes"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
  • Epworth
  • Friendly Fires
4:37
11."Helpless"
  • Gibson
  • Macfarlane
  • Savidge
Macfarlane4:30
iTunes Store bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Strangelove"Martin Gore4:38
Amazon bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Stay Here (with Azari & III)"4:38
US bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Hurting" (Tensnake Remix)4:49
13."Blue Cassette" (Tiga Remix)5:26
14."Hawaiian Air" (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)5:31
15."Hurting" (Benoit & Sergio Remix)7:13
16."Live Those Days Tonight" (Tim Green Main Mix)8:50
Japan bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Strangelove"Martin Gore4:38
13."Hold On" 5:06
14."Stay Here" 5:55
Japan tour limited edition bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Live Those Days Tonight" (Live in LA) 4:51
2."Hawaiian Air" (Live in LA) 4:26
3."Skeleton Boy" (Live in LA) 3:51
4."Jump in the Pool" (Live in LA) 3:55
5."Paris" (Live in LA) 4:02
6."Kiss of Life" (Live in LA) 7:34
7."The Edge of Glory" (Live at Maida Vale Studios)Lady Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Paul Blair3:16
8."Live Those Days Tonight" (Lone Remix) 6:28
9."Hawaiian Air" (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix) 5:32
10."Hurting" (Benoit & Sergio Remix) 7:16
11."Blue Cassette" (Tiga Remix) 5:27

(*) additional production

Notes
  • "Live Those Days Tonight" contains a sample of "Albondigas" by Badonday (Toby Tobias and Dave Garnish).
  • "Hurting" contains a sample of "Lissoms" by Toro y Moi.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
BBC(very favourable)[13]
Clash[14]
Drowned in Sound(8/10)[15]
Evening Standard[16]
The Guardian[17]
The Independent[18]
Metro[19]
MusicOMH[20]
NME8/10[21]
Pitchfork Media7.4/10[22]
TMR[23]
Q
Slant Magazine[24]

The album received a score of 73 on Metacritic (based on 22 reviews), indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

Chart positions

[edit]

Pala debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number 6 on 22 May 2011, that week's second highest debut after Kate Bush's Director's Cut. It also debuted at number 2 on the albums download chart, and number 3 on the UK Indie Chart.

Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 19
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 29
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 6
US Billboard 200[29] 152
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] 36

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (2011) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 174

As of January 2012 UK sales stand at 90,000 copies according to The Guardian.[32]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Friendly Fires: Pala | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ^ "iTunes – Music – Hawaiian Air – Single by Friendly Fires". iTunes Store. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Friendly Fires to release new album 'Pala' on May 16". NME. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b Chang, Mary (31 May 2011). "Interview: Edd Gibson and Jack Savidge of Friendly Fires". There Goes the Fear. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Album Review of Friendly Fires – Pala". MusicOMH. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  6. ^ JB Hi-Fi. "Pala – Friendly Fires". Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  7. ^ Emmy Blotnick. "Friendly Fires Perform "Live Those Days Tonight" – Music". Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  8. ^ "iTunes – Music – Live Those Days Tonight – Single by Friendly Fires". iTunes Store. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  9. ^ "Hawaiian Air – Friendly Fires | Manic Butterfly Productions". Manicbutterflyproductions.com. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  10. ^ hmvdigital UK – Hurting by Friendly Fires
  11. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Pala at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  12. ^ Pala at AllMusic
  13. ^ "Music – Review of Friendly Fires – Pala". BBC. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Music Reviews on Albums, Singles, Gigs, DVDs and Films –". Clash Music. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  15. ^ Nellis, Krystina (12 May 2011). "Friendly Fires – Pala / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  16. ^ "CDS of the week: Kate Bush and Ambrose Akinmusire | Music". Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  17. ^ Dave Simpson (12 May 2011). "Friendly Fires: Pala – review | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  18. ^ Gill, Andy (13 May 2011). "Album: Friendly Fires, Pala (XL)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
  19. ^ Haider, Arwa (24 February 2012). "Friendly Fires, Pala: Album review". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  20. ^ "Friendly Fires – Pala | album reviews". MusicOMH. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  21. ^ "NME Album Reviews – Album Review: Friendly Fires – 'Pala'". NME. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  22. ^ "Friendly Fires: Pala | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  23. ^ Pancccake (10 June 2011). "TMR-The Music Review: Review #40: Friendly Fires – Pala". Tmr-music.blogspot.com. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  24. ^ "Friendly Fires: Pala | Music Review". Slant Magazine. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  25. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Friendly Fires – Pala". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Friendly Fires". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Friendly Fires Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Friendly Fires Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  31. ^ "End Of Year Chart 2011" (PDF). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  32. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (16 January 2012). "Indie rock's slow and painful death". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2019.