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Statues (album)

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Statues
Studio album by
Moloko
Released3 March 2003 (2003-03-03)
Recorded2001–2002
StudioMetropolis Studios (London)
Genre
Length57:05
LabelEcho
Producer
Moloko chronology
All Back to the Mine
(2001) 		Statues
(2003) 		11,000 Clicks
(2004)
Singles from Statues
  1. "Familiar Feeling"
    Released: 17 February 2003
  2. "Forever More"
    Released: 23 June 2003
  3. "Cannot Contain This"
    Released: 2003
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
BBC MusicFavourable[1]
entertainment.ie[2]
The Guardian[3]
Resident Advisor[4]
Uncut[5]

Statues is the fourth and final studio album by English-Irish electronic music duo Moloko. It was released on 3 March 2003 by The Echo Label.

Background

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After working with live musicians on their previous album, Things to Make and Do (2000), Moloko returned to electronic territory with this album, although the previous album's organic influences remain, as seen on "Familiar Feeling" and "Over & Over".

Production on the album was described as "massive" by Murphy, who declared the cost of it "almost killed" the band.[6] She added "there was a very great deal of thought and attention that went into mixing this record."[7]

At the time of its release, the long-term romantic partnership between group members Róisín Murphy and Mark Brydon had dissolved, setting the stage for Murphy's 2005 solo album, Ruby Blue. Statues is composed of material which describes the various emotional milestones in a romantic relationship, or rather as it comes apart. Moloko toured Europe extensively to promote the album and disbanded shortly thereafter.

Composition

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The opening track, "Familiar Feeling", is an upbeat remembrance stated as one lover trying to convince the other that the relationship was always meant to be, and it should not be in jeopardy because of jealousy and mistrust. The song is elaborately arranged with hints of both Latin and Irish folk music. Brydon's lyrical bass guitar playing can be heard trailing Murphy's lead vocal in the song's bridge.

"Come On" suggests the diminishing sex life of a tense pairing ("Do you remember the way we danced? I wish I could forget it").

The song "Statues" implies isolation in the absence of a distant or departed lover ("If all the statues in the world would turn to flesh [...] would they be kind enough to comfort me?"). With its evident theme of dissolving romance, Statues launched a debate among fans as to whether the songs were about the end of Brydon and Murphy's romantic relationship.[8] Murphy later commented on this on her official forum: "[A]s regards my long and fruitfull [sic] relationship with Mark, your[sic] right its[sic] all there to read in the records we made so i[sic] don't need to tell you!"[9]

The closing track, "Over & Over", assures the audience that the pairing (in the story) has indeed dissolved, and is among the most seriously stated of Moloko's love songs. It has a lyrical yet simple, winding acoustic guitar line (which echoes in the bass line) and plaintive lyrics such as "Can't imagine where you are, you are all I've ever seen". Moloko have said that they were aiming high on "Over & Over", claiming it took two weeks of work to score just the strings for it. Brydon later said, "There was no compromise with 'Over & Over'...We all felt it should be allowed to be what it is."[10]

Non-album tracks
Another track appearing to be from this period, initially titled "Emotional Bankruptcy", was retitled "Bankrupt Emotionally" for its appearance on the 2006 greatest hits collection Catalogue.

In contrast to the tragic view of love on Statues, the song "Take My Hand", a relatively upbeat love song, was an outtake. The song had a prominent brass scoring, jazz-funk bass line and wistful piano, as well as a confident multi-tracked delivery by Murphy that displays her extraordinary vocal technique. "Take My Hand" is available as a B-side to "Forever More", and was donated to War Child to help the charity raise money for children affected by war.[11]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Mark Brydon and Róisín Murphy

No.TitleLength
1."Familiar Feeling"6:30
2."Come On"4:40
3."Cannot Contain This"5:39
4."Statues"5:23
5."Forever More"7:20
6."Blow X Blow"3:12
7."100%"5:12
8."The Only Ones"4:13
9."I Want You"5:05
10."Over & Over"9:51
Japanese and South Korean bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Familiar Feeling" (Timo Maas Main Mix)9:21
12."Familiar Feeling" (Martin Buttrich Remix)6:07
Limited edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Forever More" (Belgium only)3:51
2."Familiar Feeling"3:41
3."Indigo"3:23
4."Pure Pleasure Seeker"3:47
5."The Time Is Now"4:29
6."Sing It Back"4:09
7."The Flipside"3:48
8."Dominoid"4:06
9."Fun for Me"3:47
10."Where Is the What If the What Is in Why"4:17

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[26] Gold 25,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 60,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Davies, Lucy (24 February 2003). "Review of Moloko – Statues". BBC Music. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  2. ^ Lynch, Andrew (13 March 2003). "Moloko – Statues". Entertainment.ie. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  3. ^ Sweeting, Adam (28 February 2003). "Moloko: Statues". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  4. ^ Tintin (4 March 2003). "Statues – Moloko". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Moloko – Statues". Uncut. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  6. ^ Murphy, Róisín (19 June 2020). "Statues Tim's Twitter Listening Party". Retrieved 15 January 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Murphy, Róisín (19 June 2020). "Statues Tim's Twitter Listening Party: 'Blow x Blow'". Retrieved 15 January 2023 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Fan banter on the forum at roisinmurphy.com Archived 27 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine offers many perspectives on this release. Further points of view are represented in online reviews at Amazon and other such sites.
  9. ^ "roisin, tell me, please, i've been thinking too much again". roisinmurphy.com. 16 September 2005. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
  10. ^ "ECHO: Moloko". Archived from the original on 3 December 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
  11. ^ Lai, Alex (20 February 2005). "Roots Manuva Helps Charity". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Moloko – Statues". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Moloko – Statues" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Moloko – Statues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Moloko – Statues" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  16. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Moloko – Statues". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Moloko – Statues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Moloko: Statues" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Lescharts.com – Moloko – Statues". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Moloko – Statues" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  21. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 10, 2003". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  22. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Moloko – Statues". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2003 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  26. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2003". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 20 September 2003. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Moloko – Statues". British Phonographic Industry. 28 February 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
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