Good News (Withered Hand album)
| Good News | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 September 2009 (in the UK on B&D), 5 March 2011 (on Absolutely Kosher) | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 38:57 | |||
| Label | SL Absolutely Kosher | |||
| Producer | Kramer[1] | |||
| Withered Hand chronology | ||||
| ||||
Good News is the first full-length album by British artist Dan Willson, also known as Withered Hand. Originally released on 14 September 2009 in the UK on SL Records, it was re-released on Absolutely Kosher Records in 2011 in the US.[2] The album's title is a reference to Willson's upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness.[3] The album was funded by the Scottish Arts Council.[3]
Maggoty Lamb has written that "If you want to hear an album that genuinely does justice to the manna-from-heaven style succour that Domino Records' pre-Franz Ferdinand roster of US acoustic misfits gave to those wandering in the post-Britpop wilderness, Good News by Withered Hand...is the one to go for. Not so much for its explicit acknowledgement of aesthetic debt (lines about writing "the Silver Jews" on people's shoulder bags will only take you so far) as for the authentically homegrown twist the songwriting manages to put on its transatlantic influences".[4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Blurt | positive[7] |
| The List | [1] |
| MSN Music (Expert Witness) | A−[9] |
| The Phoenix |  [8] |
| PopMatters |   [2] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| The Skinny | [11] |
Track listing[edit]
All songs written by Dan Willson unless otherwise indicated.
- "Providence"
- "Cornflake"
- "Love in the Time of Ecstasy"
- "Joy" (written by Dan Mutch)
- "New Dawn"
- "Religious Songs"
- "No Cigarettes"
- "I Am Nothing"
- "Hard On" (Charles Latham cover)
- "For the Maudlin"
References[edit]
- ^ a b Meighan, Nicola (3 September 2009). "Good News Review". The List. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ^ a b Rowland, Stephen (1 December 2011). "Withered Hand: Good News". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ a b Withered Hand Profile Archived 2 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Absolutely Kosher Records
- ^ Lamb, Maggoty (23 June 2010). "Inky Fingers: Maggoty Lamb asks 'What's nu- pussycat?' and finds the devil is in the details". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ^ "Good News by Withered Hand". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ Monger, Timothy. "Good News - Withered Hand". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ Judge, Stephen (15 March 2011). "Withered Hand - Good News". Blurt. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ Zaino, Nick (17 March 2011). "Withered Hand - Good News". Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (16 August 2011). "Withered Hand/Lykke Li". MSN Music.
- ^ Hoard, Christian (18 October 2011). "Good News". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Brown, Ally (24 August 2009). "Good News". The Skinny. Retrieved 19 April 2014.