Gods and Monsters (I Am Kloot album)

Gods and Monsters is the third album by English rock band I Am Kloot which was released on 11 April 2005. It reached #74 in the UK. As well as being released on vinyl and CD, the CD version of the album also appeared in a gate-fold sleeve edition with a second disc: a DVD titled Live At The Ritz + Videos which contained filmed live tracks from a gig, music videos, and a band interview.

Gods and Monsters
Studio album by
Released11 April 2005
GenreIndie rock
LabelThe Echo Label
ProducerJoe Robinson
I Am Kloot chronology
I Am Kloot
(2003)
Gods and Monsters
(2005)
BBC Radio 1 John Peel Sessions
(2006)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
BBC Collective [1]
Yahoo! MusicUK & Ireland [2]
Allmusic[3]
The Press[4]
Pitchfork Media [5]

Overview edit

The semi-autobiographical lead single from this album "Over My Shoulder", about relationships ending, was featured occasionally on MTV. Lead singer Bramwell refers to the "Night and Day" club in Manchester where he used to work and where I Am Kloot got their first break. The track "Avenue of Hope" featured in the closing credits of the Danny Boyle film Sunshine in 2007. The cover art is by poster artist Jay Ryan.[6]

Album details edit

Track listing edit

1. "No Direction Home" 2:34
2. "Gods and Monsters" 2:04
3. "Over My Shoulder" 2:57
4. "An Ordinary Girl" 3:06
5. "The Stars Look Familiar" 3:47
6. "Strange Without You" 2:27
7. "Astray" 1:41
8. "Hong Kong Lullaby" 2:10
9. "Sand and Glue" 4:06
10. "Avenue of Hope" 4:42
11. "Dead Men's Cigarettes" 2:50
12. "Coincidence" 2:39
13. "I Believe" 4:55

Music Credits edit

I Am Kloot
Additional instruments
Production and mixing

Album artwork edit

Disc II: Live At The Ritz + Videos DVD edit

The Live At The Ritz + Videos DVD was produced by film, multimedia, and transmedia artist Krishna Stott, later known for the award-winning interactive film projects Crimeface (2008) and Codename Winterhill (2015).[7][8][9] Stott first worked with the band directing the music video to their single 'Life in a Day' (June 2003), the song taken from I Am Kloot's self-titled second album. Following the release of that album, Stott and camera operator Alex Perry traveled with the band on their late 2003 UK and European support tour filming sections of gigs, as well as filming the entire concert at The Ritz club in Manchester with a full crew. The intention was to use the filmed material in some way at a future date.[10] More immediately, footage from both the Manchester concert and other gigs would be used by Stott to create the music video for the band's next single from I Am Kloot, 'From Your Favourite Sky'. Stott would also go on to direct a third music video from I Am Kloot, the single "Proof" (June 2004), featuring the actor Christopher Eccleston. As I Am Kloot were preparing the release of their third album Gods and Monsters in 2005, Stott was asked to produce the second disc using the live filmed material from the Ritz, include some of the band's music videos, and to specially film a band interview.

Live At The Ritz edit

A selection of live songs from a gig filmed on 12 October 2003 at The Ritz in Manchester by director Krishna Stott as a Retina Circus production. All the songs selected for the DVD come from their previous album I Am Kloot, the filming taking place very soon after its release. The rest of the filmed footage from the gig resides in the Retina Circus archive and is yet to be released.

1. "A Strange Arrangement of Colour" 2:39
2. "From Your Favourite Sky" 2:53
3. "3 Feet Tall" 2:59
4. "Not a Reasonable Man" 3:01
5. "The Same Deep Water as Me" 4:17
6. "Here for the World" 3:35
7. "Proof" 2:28
8. "Life in a Day" 3:10

Credits edit

Stage:

  • Bob Sastry – horn in "The Same Deep Water as Me"
  • Troupe (female dance group) – dance in "3 Feet Tall" and "Life in a Day"
  • Richard Knowles – live sound
  • Dave Morrisey – lighting

Filming:

  • Krishna Stott (Retina Circus Productions) – directing and production
  • Alex Perry, Jon Hillyer, Jared Roberts, Russell Moss, Jenna Collins, Philip Shotton, Wayne Simmonds – camerawork
  • Scott Abrahams and Alex Perry – editing
  • Julian Gaskell – live sound recording
  • I Am Kloot and Julian Gaskell – audio mixing
  • Krishna Stott and Julian Gaskell – mastering

Videos edit

9. "Life in a Day" 2:51
10. "3 Feet Tall" 3:07
11. "From Your Favourite Sky" 2:49
12. "Band Interview" 12:10

Credits edit

Music videos:

  • "Life in a Day" – directed by Krishna Stott
  • "From Your Favourite Sky" – directed by Krishna Stott
  • "Three Feet Tall" – directed by Sam Brown

Interview:

  • Krishna Stott - director
  • Danny Moran – conducting
  • Mark Kennard – heads illustration (same as visible on the artworks of singles "Titanic/To You" and "Twist/86 TV's")
  • Jon Hillyer – camera
  • Mark Schofield – sound
  • Alex Perry and Krishna Stott – editing

Singles edit

title label format,
catalog number
release date track listing charts additional
informations
"Over My Shoulder" The Echo Label[11] CDS,
ECSCD160[11]
21 March 2005[11][12] 1. "Over My Shoulder"
2. "Great Escape"
3. "Junk Culture"
4. "Over My Shoulder" (music video)
UK Singles Chart: 38[11][13] Artwork by Jay Ryan.
gramophone record 7",
ECS160[11]
A. "Over My Shoulder"
B. "Junk Culture"
gramophone record 7",
ECX160[11]
A. "Over My Shoulder (Live From the Half Moon Putney)"
B. "Stop Talking Photographs"
"Gods and Monsters (Two Lone Swordsmen)" The Echo Label gramophone record 12",
ECDJ167 (promo),
ECDLJ 167[14]
18 April 2005[15] [14]
A. "Vocal Remix" – 4:40
B. "Fuzztrumental Mix" – 4:36
Remix and additional production by Two Lone Swordsmen; drums – Nick Burton; additional guitar – Chris Rotter.
"I Believe" The Echo Label[16] download[16] 13 June 2005[16] [16]
1. "I Believe"
2. "Gods and Monsters – Two Lone Swordsmen Vocal Remix"
3. "Gods and Monsters – Two Lone Swordsmen Fuzztrumental Mix"
4. "Haunted House"

References edit

  1. ^ "collective - I Am Kloot - Gods and Monsters". BBC. 21 March 2005. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Yahoo! UK & Ireland omg! - Celebrity Gossip | News | Photos | Videos". Uk.launch.yahoo.com. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Gods and Monsters". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  4. ^ "British Sea Power, Open Season (Rough Trade) ****; I Am Kloot, Gods And Monsters (Echo) ***". The Press. A Gannett Company Newsquest (Yorkshire & North East) Ltd. 5 May 2005. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  5. ^ "I Am Kloot: Gods and Monsters | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 18 August 2005. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  6. ^ "www.iamkloot.com/www/news.html". Archived from the original on 2 December 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  7. ^ Thomis, Nicola (5 March 2020). "Secret Story Network XR Stories interview". XR Stories. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webbyawards.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  9. ^ Chaudhari, Saiqa (15 May 2020). "Codename: Winter Hill scoops top award at glittering ceremony". The Bolton News. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  10. ^ Wild, Peter (6 April 2005). "Talking to a Doppelganger: The I Am Kloot Interview". 3:AM Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "I Am Kloot favouritesky – discography". Favouritesky.tripod.com. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  12. ^ "www.iamkloot.com/www/singles". Archived from the original on 8 December 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  13. ^ "I Am Kloot at The Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  14. ^ a b Gods and Monsters (Two Lone Swordsmen) at Discogs (list of releases). [retrieved 2010-12-31].
  15. ^ "Gods and Monsters (Two Lone Swordsmen)". Townsend Records. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  16. ^ a b c d "I Am Kloot - I Believe MP3 Downloads". 7digital. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011.