You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter is the debut full-length studio album by American experimental rock band I Set My Friends on Fire, released on October 7, 2008 via Epitaph Records. It includes the band's most famous song, "Things That Rhyme With Orange", a promotional video for which was released July 22, 2009.[3] Four of the album's tracks are re-released songs from the band's self-released EP I Set My Friends On Fire EP. The album reached #29 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[4]
| You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 7, 2008 | |||
| Studio | Earth Sound Recording, Valdosta, Georgia[1] | |||
| Genre | Screamo, post-hardcore, electronicore, metalcore, mathcore | |||
| Length | 35:05 | |||
| Label | Epitaph[2] | |||
| Producer |
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| I Set My Friends on Fire chronology | ||||
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| Singles from You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter | ||||
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Track listing edit
All lyrics are written by Matt Mehana, except where noted; all music is composed by Nabil Moo, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sh!t It Talks... I'm Out of Here" | 1:03 | |
| 2. | "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" | 1:37 | |
| 3. | "Beauty Is in the Eyes of the Beerholder" | 2:26 | |
| 4. | "Things That Rhyme with Orange" | 3:24 | |
| 5. | "ASL" | 2:42 | |
| 6. | "Interlude" | 1:52 | |
| 7. | "Ravenous, Ravenous Rhinos" | 2:42 | |
| 8. | "HxC 2-Step" | 3:18 | |
| 9. | "WTFWJD" | 3:08 | |
| 10. | "Crank That" (Soulja Boy cover) | DeAndre Way | 3:02 |
| 11. | "But the Nuns Are Watching" | 3:26 | |
| 12. | "Reese's Pieces, I Don't Know Who John Cleese Is?" | 6:26 | |
| Total length: | 35:05 | ||
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Alternative Press |   [5] |
| ChartAttack |  [6] |
| Montreal Mirror |   [7] |
| Punk News | [2] |
| Slant Magazine | [8] |
You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter was panned by most music critics. The album received a 0.5 rating out of five from Slant reviewer Nate Adams, who said "[It's] high in the running for worst album of the year ... The music aims for brutality and melody, but misses the mark entirely on both counts."[9] Alternative Press reviewer Phil Freeman also gave the album a half star out of five, remarking that the album "truly fails because it has exactly zero memorable moments".[10]
In a mixed review, John Lucas of the Georgia Straight said that the album "seems designed to test the listener’s tolerance", but that "those willing to embrace a noisy, ambitious, self-indulgent, and downright weird record will find a lot to love".[11] Logan Broger of ChartAttack gave it three stars out of five, saying, "When the grind-electro-hardcore-pop duo aren't being obnoxious or comedic, there are some tunes that are actually really, really brilliant."[6]
Personnel edit
You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter album personnel as listed on Allmusic.[12]
- I Set My Friends On Fire
- Matt Mehana – lead vocals, lyrics
- Nabil Moo – programming, guitars, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, drums, percussion, composer, arrangements, vocals
- Additional musicians
- DeAndre Way – lyrics, composer
- Production
- Travis Richter – production
- Nabil Moo – production
- Jeff Abarta – production, management
- Lee Dyess – engineering, mixing
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Kamal Moo – management
- Sally Koening – legal
- Brett Gurewitz – artist and repertoire
- Nick Pritchard – artwork, design
References edit
- ^ "I Set My Friends on Fire - You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter". AllMusic. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ a b "I Set My Friends on Fire - You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter". 7 October 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2020 – via Punknews.org.
- ^ "Post by the band on MySpace".
- ^ "Top Heatseekers, Week of 10/25/08". Billboard.
- ^ Alternative Press review
- ^ a b Broger, Logan (October 7, 2008). "You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter review". ChartAttack. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Montreal Mirror review
- ^ Slant Magazine review
- ^ Adams, Nate (2008-09-29). "I Set My Friends on Fire – You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Logs". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ Phil Freeman, Review of You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter. Alternative Press, November 2008, p. 158.
- ^ "I Set My Friends on Fire tests one's tolerance on You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter". Straight.com. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
- ^ "You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter - I Set My Friends on Fire". AllMusic. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2012-03-16.