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Front

by luxembourg

/
1.
LE14 01:22
2.
Faint Praise 02:57
who wants to be the truest friend? i need to know, i can’t just pretend it starts so well but it always ends... am i not quite what you were looking for? a little old, a little tired, a little too sincere? or are you just not sure what you’re looking for? well, you should know by now you should know by now i’ll do for now, but keep on shopping around i’m good for a day trip, but not for the long haul your faint praise is gonna kill me one day am i not quite what you were looking for? a little old, a little tired, a little too sincere? or are you just not sure what you’re looking for? well, you should know by now you should know by now so later on, when you are sleeping and you think you’re very safe i’ll break and enter your apartment inventorising all your failings because your jokes were mediocre and the sex was just ok and your kisses merely average not the worst but not the best and your art is nothing special i’ve seen worse - i’ve seen much better and i never liked your style or the way you wore your hair and now your friends, they frankly bore me like the places where you spend your time (so i don’t suppose you’ll miss me) but you should know by now you should know by now
3.
i made a vow and how and you made a few now we just row and how! “i do,” i said, “i do” will the angry words fade away in time? or will they never really leave us? just when they seem to be forgotten is when they make their claim on my feeble frame and it all comes crashing home again you must think me very naïve, baby it’s years since i have seen you without clothes there were times we only stayed together for the kids now i don’t want to do as I am told i stuck around for you you stuck to me like glue turned sandra down for you and now i hear that you did too will the happy words fade away in time? or will they never really leave us? i put them somewhere safe, but i can’t remember where will my body turn against me now? will anybody notice anyhow? we won’t starve won’t want it’s gentle and it’s cruel that the money won’t run out until we do we won’t feel pain just rage “i love you and i’ll stay” and the money won’t run out until we do
4.
i’m stuck at home with a thousand housewives they’re such a scream at least for a while from their tireless questioning they never cease: how to keep your man how to effect world peace so why did you ask me out when you knew you could not deliver? we went out somewhere then came back again so why do you look terrified? i don’t care if you never make a move just as long as you don’t say it’s time to leave stay around a while i can make more tea you can put on a record just don’t say you’re going cos what the housewives don’t tell you because they don’t want to distress you is it’s a lonely, lonely vigil that we’re keeping and it’s all for you now you’re sending me messages that i can’t quite read you write, “hope you’re well” when you mean, “come and see me” you write, “how are you?” when you mean, “how i want you” and your “see you soon” means, “put those arms around me” so why did you ask me out when you knew you could not deliver? i could wait all day in your favourite café but the staff are almost ready to turn me away cos what the housewives don’t tell you because they don’t want to depress you is it’s a lonely, lonely vigil that we’re keeping what the housewives don’t tell you what they never have done and they never will do it’s a lonely, lonely vigil that we’re keeping and it’s all for you you see there’s something that the housewives don’t tell you because they really, really don’t want to distress you but me, i’m not so concerned with protecting your feelings i think there’s something that you ought to know
5.
Single 03:18
you can shove your degree from the university of life you can stick your BSc from the hallowed hallways of the college of firth & fife but i can’t spend another summer burning copies of my debut single in my bedroom i can’t spend another sunday on the sofa crying as another opportunity passes me by i wouldn’t wish my life upon anyone so let’s abstain i couldn’t share this life of grime this doing time so let’s refrain my twenty-fifth birthday was melancholy but i wasn’t surprised because my seventeenth birthday was melancholy but i wasn’t surprised because my fifth birthday was… sad and lonely oh, well don’t they start so early these days? yes, they do! i wouldn’t wish my life upon anyone so let’s refrain i couldn’t share this pantomime this doing time so let’s refrain now my friends are starting families i’ve barely started on mine
6.
Relief 03:50
made to perform without a script but you all had one embarrassment falls out of my face and gathers on the floor around us please take a hint leave me alone you must know i can only go so far i’m sorry i can only reach so far are you aching to get some relief? here it comes in time to start all over again will this life always be so conspicuously lacking from one particular angle? (yes, but don’t feel bad) i’ll always be a little older you’ll always be a little younger and please don’t give me any more of those gifts they only make me sadder you’ve an eye for an eye - i’ve an ear for a tune from the midlands choral to the middle eight chorus are you tired of walking as if you know where you’re going? when it’s all that you want to be home and be loved can i make this any clearer? please take a hint leave me alone are you aching to get some relief? here it comes in time to start all over again will this life always be so consistently lacking from one particular angle? (maybe, i don’t know)
7.
Taking Cover 04:32
seal up your windows sandbag your doors cancel your non-essential engagements there’s a commotion in the superstore and the sale of tinned goods is rising while… i’m falling under i’m taking cover i’m becoming a burden upon my friends surely somebody from somewhere is coming to get me now but if you are my slender arms and my recalcitrant charms could do you no harm at all we’ll bend in the wind then spring back up vigilance is needed alert but not alarmed i keep my head to the ground where the air is clear for the very first time and the very last time i’m tuning in to my local radio show i check myself for damage but there’s nothing to see all the damage is on the screen surely somebody from somewhere is coming to get me now but if you are my slender arms and my recalcitrant charms could do you no harm at all i’ll bend in the wind i’ll bend in the wind then spring back up
8.
WC1 00:24
9.
Sick Of DIY 04:36
you’ll find me in the pictures in mid-afternoon but that which starts out sweet becomes bitter and the time comes to go home i’m going off this day job come to think of it, that’s nothing new so many things i started (i know, i know) but left unfinished now i’m diminished a little more by each and every one i’m sick of DIY i’m all wrong, but you are alright it’s not enough, just friday to sunday i want you here from tuesday to monday it’s not enough, just friday to sunday i want you here from tuesday to monday i’m still doing the things you gave up years ago but being born pre-madonna (i know, i know) it’s not flattering i took a battering at the back of the top of the number 31 i’ve seldom been mistaken for being good with my hands so it’s all so convenient that you have your own wrench and i know not to mention things that clearly i don’t understand
10.
it goes like this... (something like this) there are moments of joy they're interspersed with something else that i call constantly searching for escape please don't - please don't try to stop things from progressing don't you ever try to stop things from progressing but i need things to slow down it's getting fast so very fast - but not fast enough it takes progressively more energy to yield the same small reward i'm running fast i'm standing still i think i'm making progress but i need things to slow down
11.
Mishandled 05:17
you think you've found my stockpiles leave my arsenal alone someone once said dark forces are at work round here if you're in trouble, get a double just make sure that they're not better looking than you are and don't come back to me eventually when suddenly you get found out as you will first you give me a thrill then you make me feel ill i might be all yours right now but not for long you want to send me and my twenty-seven million cousins home but i was born on a roundabout in st17 know what i mean? the talent spotters are at work round here if you have got it, they will spot it yeah right and they'll do all they can to make sure that you get the platform you deserve you want to see me and my thirty-seven million lovers dead but you settle for mishandling me in se3 instead it's hard to be committed when you fall for someone new each day it's hard to be concerted when you fall for something new each day and if you take it, then you know it they won't be letting you go so take your time and get it right now take your time and get it right now
12.
this is a better, but a slightly smaller place to be your seaside shoreline slipping slowly into the sea your demographic is a little top-heavy when you’re old we’ll let you starve if you don’t let us be here you’ve been thriving on drivel and insinuation now it’s time to shut your mouth and take a little dictation you’d better hope your shorthand is up to speed we’re giving you your third degree SEX! DRINK! CONSOLATIONS! i’ve given them all up to be with you LOVE! HOPE! REMUNERATION! i’ve given them all up for you you think you’re very special but you’re all the same a pathetic apathetic pissing life away while slaving all these hours to pay for finery and for fresh air, bottled water and binary but it’s not about the money it’s the hegemony that depresses the hell out of me we’ve been very patient we’ve been patronised something tells me that this stage is behind us we’re standing right here, do you think you can find us? we’ve made your life easy we’ve stayed by your side something tells me that the moment’s upon us we’re screaming in your face and you still can’t hear us a little translation is a dangerous thing tell the underdog it’s threatened and it fights to win while lapping up piety and indignation now it’s time to drop the act and tell me your frustrations the slightest confrontation’s undesirable keep consequences at arm’s length to keep them palatable but i’m here to bring those consequences home to you come on, tell me that you want me to i’ve given up everything for you so don’t say you don’t want me now i’ve given up everything for you so don’t say you don’t want me i’ll just stay here till you do
13.
i walk down a sunny street and i’m struck by the memory of a childhood shame another childhood shame i’m drenched in relief that the heatwave’s ending i couldn’t keep pretending to be enjoying myself you think i’m a throwback but the noughties look good to a sixties soundtrack you should try it some time i am like a hammer you can see where i have come from but you are like an apple i can’t see where you end or begin i return home late and turn on the lights the room just about remembers to compose itself i wake to find i’ve disappeared i wake to find i’ve disappeared to be replaced by a sad young man to be replaced by a sad young man i wake to find i’ve disappeared

about

David Shah - Vocals
Alex Potterill - Keyboards/Piano/Programming/Vocals
Rob Britton - Guitars/Keyboards/Piano/Vocals
Jon Bacon - Bass
Steve Brummell - Drums/Percussion

Written by Luxembourg

Produced by Brian O'Shaughnessy & luxembourg at Bark

Luxembourg vs Great Britain produced by Darren Allison
Engineered and mixed by Darren Allison at Miloco and Triangle N12

LE14 recorded at Marlborough Road

Violins - Audrey Morse
Cellos - Gill Walshaw
String arrangement - Audrey Morse
Saxophone - Phil Whaite
Illustrations - Kate St. Claire
Band centrefold - Stefan Walters
Mastered by Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering

credits

released October 23, 2006

Front reviews:

"The most striking thing...is that they seem to know about everything... Intelligent and original, Luxembourg is a small but fabulous place to be..."
CMU

"The barnstorming debut album from this neo-Brit-pop quintet... Crammed with dramatic sounding tunes which build up into anthemic singalong choruses..."
Nude

"You'll wonder how you ever survived without it. Not so much the Marmite of pop, more the olive, or possibly the avocado. Try it, you might even like it..."
Playlouder

"One of those genuine every-song-a-single albums, each track sounding like their final statement to this world... See you in the charts..."
Incendiary

"Every word and note done that evokes a precise phraseology while bursting with raw emotion. Classy, and the sort of filth we should throw at our kids..."
Planet Sound

"In a month of damp mornings and drizzly days, Luxembourg light everything up with the release of their album Front...a piece of pop magic..."
Tasty

"It's a perfectly formed record, an evolutionary magnum opus that represents five years of coffee, vague disenchantment, and thinking too hard..."
To Hell With

"Luxembourg conjure up an ur-indieness that high steps out of the whiny ghetto that constitutes the sensitive constituency of muddled youth..."
Vanguard Online

"Front is already one of the best things about 2006: knowing, tuneful, intelligent, glamorous, but above all human and honest... Now the world needs to listen..."
God Is In The TV

"I find it incomprehensible that this band are not dominating the airwaves... An album this good cannot remain unnoticed for much longer..."
CLUAS

"Crashing guitars, noisy rhythms and an aching, melancholy lyric, pained at times...rich, campy and idiosyncratic... Dark and quirky pop..."
Leeds Guide

"Confident and knowing. A whole bunch of declamatory dramas of the kitchen sink variety with plenty of humour and honest human sentiment..."
Trakmarx

"The 13 songs that make up Front are filled to the brim with life and desire and overwhelming potency... Luxembourg are stepping out of the shadows..."
PowPowPow

"After 45 minutes of this gem of an album, it’s impossible not to have been a little bit infected by their genius... They’re contagious and charming..."
Indigo Flow

"With their entrancingly delightful "pop noir" melodics, low, crooning voices and witty lyrics, it isn't hard to understand the Pulp and early Smiths comparisons..."
London Student

"The world is crying out for a new breed of pop intelligentsia to idolise – well, look no further, the Luxembourg army is recruiting... Brilliant..."
Kendallrock

"Finally an LP from that refined bunch of aesthetes. All their finest gear from the last few years here, sounding large and lively, as they should be..."
Vanity Project

"Deliciously British, devastatingly guitary... Luxembourg write unnervingly spot on lyrics that put things just how you only wish you could yourself..."
Subba-Cultcha

"An entire album of do or die performances...to hear an outfit on such creative fire is exactly what we signed up for..."
Unpeeled

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luxembourg London, UK

Luxembourg are a British five-piece indie band, formed in London in 2001. Most often compared to artists like Pulp, The Smiths, Suede and Roxy Music, they have been described as "pop noir".

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