So Much for the City

This one is somewhat nostalgic for me, as it was played to death on Irish radio at the time, when I was about 12 or 13. Apart from the big hits though, it's fairly dull. The singer's fake American accent gets old pretty quickly too. It's a pleasant enough sounding album, but is so derivative of the influences they wear proudly on their sleeves, that I don't think it's really deserving of this list.

I wasn't expecting an Irish band to sing in an accent from the American South

These guys sound like Eliot Smith on antidepressants, which is definitely not a complaint at all. I hear some Ben Folds and Self in here too. I like all those musicians, and I like roots country and bluegrass, which are both present here. I'm quite enjoying this album. I'll be adding this to my collection.

Whether this album belongs on a list of albums one MUST hear before they die is a different story.

3.75

If you’re feeling particularly numb today, lying on your sofa with no motivation to get up at all, giving this a play comes highly recommended. I can confirm: it will not disturb your insufferable state of mind.

As for why I think So Much for the City is included on this list: I think this is because it is a record that explains… nothing at all. Look, there was a portion of good indie (folk) pop in the early 2000s. A word of warning though: if you want to convince an unbeliever of this, do not play them So Much for the City by The Thrills. Yeah, it’s not a terrible album, but it’s a far cry from being a good one either — and, in theory, even further from being worthy of inclusion on this list. It’s mostly mundane, forgettable, folksy-tinged music about some Irish dudes spending time in California. And I think this is exactly the reason why this should, in practice, belong here.

There were already thousands of copycats of this sound, and there will be thousands more to come — which is fine. And if the editors wanted to prove exactly this point by including a random act such as The Thrills, they fully succeeded. So Much for the City is a “powerful” reminder that indie folk always existed, will continue to exist, and that it’ll produce bazillions of records that will be immediately lost to time. Sometimes the sound will be more popular (as it was back in 2003), and sometimes it will be absolutely unpopular (as it is in 2026). Sometimes you will feel shitty, sometimes you will feel better. Two vicious circles aligning…

But one thing is for sure: So Much for the City and its countless peers will always be here for you on your streaming service of choice.

This one was fun - loved the dreamy California sound
3/5 #musicsky #albumsky #musicchallenge

"Big Sur" certainly brings back some memories of 2003, even if it does seem to be a rip-off of Robert Lester Folsom's "April Suzanne." But the bigger question here is why some middle-class guys from Dublin are pretending to be some drooly middle-American band?

Een heel toegankelijk album vol radio-muziek. Het zakt wat weg naar de achtergrond en lijkt daarmee op een vergeetbare 3 af te stormen. Tegelijk blijft de vrolijkheid wel hangen en verdient het op basis daarvan misschien net iets meer.

i once spent three weeks in ireland. i'm writing a very precious album about it just to get back at these guys.

Decent lil pop album. Had a bit of pavement in there which I liked.

Okay background music

2000's album that was very clearly inspired by the 60's. The 60's influence bring a nice tone to the album but the 2000's aesthetical choices and production ruins it for me. I don't really care for the songs here and the entire album has this sort of heavy orchestral noisyness to it that doesn't really fit. I don't really see a reason to listen to this one, its too boring for even the Indie crowd and wasn't popular enough to be remembered fondly.

Jason lytle if he wasn't cool. I feel like two is too harsh but they definitely aren't a three. Fuck it I'll be nice.

Americana for big fans of The OC. It's a swagless Byrds and Beach Boys California tribute that they sometimes pull off. The best bits are the slow spacious parts with loping melodic bass, big reverby atmosphere, gentle piano, soaring slides and clean echoey guitars (Deckchairs & Cigarettes, Hollywood Kids), very pretty, if ultimately empty. But then as soon as they try to high energy and that constant annoying banjo sounding arpeggio kicks in it becomes unbearably cloying. "It's such a shame when old friends fall out" - and actual lyric they repeat multiple times! good lord that's embarrassing.

Take indie, but make it boring with lyrics that come from people that may only know about California from TV shows.
Nothing outstanding, why is this here, etc. 2*
Highlight: til the tide creeps in (the harmonica got me)

Sounds good but it was all pretty much the same thing

Vaguely recognised the cover … checked my collection and found that I own it. Have no recollection of buying it. It was OK but not very inspiring.

Este disco lo habría disfrutado hace 20 años cuando salió, pero me ha parecido un peñazo incluso su hit: Big Sur.

The Good: Finally an album which is all about camping…
The Bad: Oh, wait, it’s not about camping…
The Ugly: So why are they sitting outside, with an RV?

Guilty pleasure… that’s what comes to mind.
Never really heard of The Thrills before, and when the first tune started playing I was wondering what all the real cowboys would think about their musical style being redone in falsetto… I mean, seriously?

Then you read about the band, and find out that they are Irish, which explains a ton, because I seriously doubt an American group would have the balls to do what The Thrills have done, which is to gentrify the country…

All of a sudden you find yourself starting to hum “Everybody’s Got To Have Plans…” and you curse those thrill-seeking bastards, sitting all glum outside of their RV, hiding songs in a 10-minute track which we’ll never listen to again...

On my second listen, I realized that if the singer would have been Jakob Dylan, this would have been an awesome album, easily 4*...

So, hitting this straight down the middle of a guilty-pleasure that I don’t want to admit to… 3* - 1* for the annoyance factor...

Ihan ok indie-levy, jonka voi helposti kuvitella voivan soida iPod Touch-mainoksessa joskus 2000-luvun alkupuolella.

Just another ex-1001 album!™
http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex

I laughed at the "END IT!" soundbite in the closing of the opening track. I was thinking the same thing, just end the song already.

The album itself is okay, the retro 60s indie pop inspired style is nice enough, but it's largely forgettable.

Whoever told him that he could sing deserves to be shot

Other than that it's pretty sub-par indie rock