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Mapping the Rendezvous

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Mapping the Rendezvous is the fifth studio album by British rock band Courteeners, released on 28 October 2016.[1] The album was announced in August while "The 17th" was made available on streaming platforms.[2] In November the band embarked on a UK/European tour in support of the album.

Mapping the Rendezvous
A photo of a man in a black shirt against a black background hanging in an art gallery
Studio album by
Courteeners
Released28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)
Recorded2016
GenreDance-rock
Length41:16
LabelIgnition
ProducerJoe Cross
Courteeners chronology
Concrete Love
(2014) 		Mapping the Rendezvous
(2016) 		More. Again. Forever.
(2020)
Singles from Mapping the Rendezvous
  1. "The 17th"
    Released: 12 August 2016
  2. "No One Will Ever Replace Us"
    Released: 12 September 2016
  3. "Kitchen"
    Released: 4 October 2016
  4. "Modern Love"
    Released: 26 May 2017

Background

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Courteeners released their fourth studio album Concrete Love in August 2014, peaking at number three in the UK Albums Chart.[3][4] It was promoted with two tours of the United Kingdom, various festivals (including Isle of Wight, Glastonbury, T in the Park), and a one-off show at Heaton Park in Manchester to a crowd of 25,000.[5] Following this, bassist Mark Cupello left the band in December 2015 and was replaced by their previous producer Joe Cross.[6] They spent two weeks in Loch Ness, Scotland at a converted chapel, where they demoed new material. Following a month break, they re-listened to the material, which frontman Liam Fray deemed "good but it wasn’t great".[7]

The songs that would end up on their next album were written in Paris, France, with Fray citing the film Victoria (2015) by Sebastian Schipper as the lyrical inspiration.[8][9] Cross and Fray had spent six weeks in the city; they set up a tiny studio in the apartment they were staying in.[7] Fray said he admired the romanticism involved with France, where he was an unknown person, allowing him to take his time writing.[10] Cross produced Mapping the Rendezvous with assistance from Patrick Phillips.[11] Sessions were held in Real World Studios in Bath, and unnamed places in Loch Ness and Manchester, concluding in July 2016.[8][6] Cenzo Townshend mixed the recordings, before the album was mastered by Robin Schmidt.[11]

Composition

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Mapping the Rendezvous is a dance-rock album; AllMusic reviewer Neil Z. Yeung noted that as with their contemporaries Kaiser Chiefs and Two Door Cinema Club, Courteeners had "evolved from their indie rock early days, favoring melody and pop-leaning numbers that inspire more dancing than rocking out".[12] Fray described it as a party album that also deals with regret.[13] Discussing the album's overall theme, Fray said it was akin to "making bad decisions. Or not thinking too much about the consequences".[8] Describing the influence of Victoria, Fray saw it as "one snapshot of a big night out. It’s romantic, it’s sad, you’re making bad decisions, you regret it in the morning, you do it all again the next night".[14] Alongside to the band, they had a variety of additional musicians contribute to the recordings: Richard McVeigh on trombone, Katherine Curlett on trumpet, Luz Hanks on cello, Emma Richards on viola and Natalie and John Purton on violin.[11]

Mapping the Rendezvous opens with "Lucifer's Dreams", a dance-rock song that evokes the work of Kaiser Chiefs, and is followed by the 1975-lite "Kitchen", a funk rock song that cribs "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" (1977) by Ian Dury.[12][15] "No One Will Ever Replace Us" deals with falling in love at Glastonbury Festival, as well as the "under-pinning fear about when you’ve got something so good, and you don’t want it to end".[16] With "De La Salle", which was named after a school of the same name and apes the work of Morrissey, Fray contemplates if monks from the 17th century were celebrities in their time.[12][10] "Tip Toes" is about a person being in love with a best friend from an early age, who would later regret not doing anything about the situation.[7] Sonia de Freitas of Renowned for Sound said "Not for Tomorrow" was "particularly exciting because of the contrasting styles they blend together, and the unexpected rhythmic stabs will get your heart ticking".[17] "The Dilettante" has Fray imagining his life married to a French woman.[10]

"Finest Hour" is a slow-building track, the end of which is reminiscent of "The Universal" (1995) by Blur.[12] The Phoenix-esqie "Modern Love" is the first time Fray had co-written a song with someone, in this case, with Adam Anderson and Theo Hutchcraft of Hurts.[12][14] Fray and the other members of Courteeners had been friends with the pair for over a decade.[18] Anderson and Hutchcraft had sent a version of the song to Cross, which they were not satisfied with; after Fray heard it, he added guitar parts and altered some of its lyrics.[14] "Most Important" mixes "Lullaby" from their second studio album Falcon (2010) with the drum pattern of "Maps" (2003) by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.[12] The album's closing track "The 17th" had the most direct influence of Victoria, as it comes across as a mix of LCD Soundsystem and Prince.[9][19] Louder Than War referred to it as a "monstrously huge pop song that wraps itself around a keenly observed lyric about outsider culture and hedonistic escape".[20]

Release

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Following recording, the band supported the Stone Roses for a one-off show and appeared at the T in the Park and Reading and Leeds Festivals. On 12 August 2016, Mapping the Rendezvous was announced for release in two months' time; the album's track listing was posted online.[20] "The 17th" was made available for streaming through The Independent's website that same day, before being released as the album's lead single four days later.[8][21] "No One Will Ever Replace Us" premiered through NME website on 30 August 2016, before released the album's second single on 12 September 2016.[16][22] "Kitchen" was released the album's third single on 4 October 2016.[23] Three days later, the music video for "No One Will Ever Replace Us" was posted on YouTube.[24] Mapping the Rendezvous was released on 21 October 2016, through Ignition Records.[20] A deluxe edition was released with a DVD of their 2015 Heaton Park performance.[11]

It was promoted with a UK tour the following month, running into December 2016, with support from Cut Up Kid, Milburn and the View.[25][26][27] The music video for "Modern Love" was posted online on 10 April 2017, directed by Joe Connor.[14] "The 17th" was released as a twelve-inch vinyl record for Record Store Day, which featured the album version, a radio edit, an acoustic version and two remixes.[28] "Modern Love" was released as the album's fourth and final single on 26 May 2017.[10] The following day, the band performed at home town show at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester to a crowd of 50,000, with support from the Charlatans, Blossoms and Cabbage.[29][27] All of the tickets sold out after three months, and was preceded by two warm-up shows.[30] An acoustic version of "Modern Love" was released on 28 July 2017.[31] Following this, they appeared at that year's Glastonbury Festival and appeared at the We Are Manchester benefit show, which was held for the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing.[32][33] In October and November 2017, Fray embarked on a solo acoustic tour of the UK.[34]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.1/10[35]
Metacritic69/100[36]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
Belfast Telegraph8/10[37]
The Independent     [38]
NME     [15]
Q     [36]

Mapping the Rendezvous was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 69, based on six reviews.[36] AnyDecentMusic? gave it an average score of 6.1, based on five reviews.[35]

Yeung praised the band for melding "sonic touchstones from throughout their catalog" to create "one of their strongest works, as addictive as anything" on Concrete Love and their third studio album Anna (2013).[12] Eamon Sweeney of Hot Press felt they "show the strongest signs yet of blossoming into a band who can be taken as seriously as their illustrious musical forefathers".[9] Belfast Telegraph writer Andrew Carless said that the album retained "all the swagger you would expect from the Manchester four-piece, and is a return to form"; Mark Peters of South China Morning Post said this "kind of rock-star swagger [...] grabs headlines and divides music lovers".[37][39] The Independent's Andy Gill took this to be a negative, stating that the band are "still pretty much mired in Mancunian mores on this latest album".[38] NME writer Barry Nicolson felt they "only made half of a very good album", something that has "plagued" the band since their debut studio album St. Jude (2008).[15]

Mapping the Rendezvous peaked at number four in the UK Albums Chart, topping the Scottish Albums Chart.[40][41] It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry nearly a year after its release, and gold in 2019.[42] "The 17th" peaked at number 17 on the UK Independent Singles Chart and number 38 in Scotland.[43][44]

Track listing

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Track listing per booklet.[11]

No.TitleLength
1."Lucifer's Dreams"3:27
2."Kitchen"2:55
3."No One Will Ever Replace Us"3:54
4."De La Salle"4:31
5."Tip Toes"3:44
6."Not for Tomorrow"3:28
7."Finest Hour"3:21
8."The Dilettante"3:05
9."Modern Love"3:38
10."Most Important"3:48
11."The 17th"5:25
Total length:41:16

Personnel

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Personnel per booklet.[11]

Charts and certifications

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References

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  1. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "Mapping the Rendezvous - The Courteeners | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Courteeners Announce Return With The 17th Track And Mapping The Rendezvous Album". .radiox.co.uk. 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  3. ^ Stubbs, Dan (20 June 2014). "Courteeners announce new album – hear first track, 'Summer'". NME. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Courteeners / full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  5. ^
  6. ^ a b "The Courteeners announce new album at T in the Park". NME. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Cooper, Kevin (10 November 2016). "Interview: Liam Fray". UK Music Reviews. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Stolworthy, Jacob (12 August 2016). "Exclusive: Courteeners announce new album, drop new track 'The 17th'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Sweeney, Eamon (20 October 2016). "Album Review: The Courteeners, Mapping the Rendezvous". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d Duerden, Nick (11 May 2017). "Courteeners' Liam Fray: Not the new Liam Gallagher". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Mapping the Rendezvous (booklet). Courteeners. Ignition Records. 2016. IGNCD82X.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Yeung, Neil Z. "Mapping the Rendezvous - Courteeners / Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  13. ^ Richardson, Andy (12 November 2016). "Courteeners' Liam Fray speaks ahead of Birmingham concert". Express & Star. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d Trendell, Andrew (10 April 2017). "The Courteeners unveil new video for 'Modern Love'". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b c Nicolson, Barry (20 October 2016). "The Courteeners - 'Mapping The Rendezvous' Review". NME. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  16. ^ a b Levine, Nick (30 August 2016). "Listen to Courteeners' new single 'No One Will Ever Replace Us'". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  17. ^ Freitas, Sonia de. "Album Review: Courteeners – Mapping The Rendezvous". Renowned for Sound. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  18. ^ Trendell, Andrew (3 May 2017). "Hurts' Theo Hutchcraft discusses his friendship and collaboration with The Courteeners' Liam Fray". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  19. ^ Aideen (31 October 2016). "Courteeners". Scene Point Blank. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "Courteeners announce new album". Louder Than War. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  21. ^ "The 17th - Courteeners / Release Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  22. ^ "No One Will Ever Replace Us - Courteeners / Release Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Kitchen - Courteeners / Release Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  24. ^ Courteeners (7 October 2014). The Courteeners - No One Will Ever Replace Us. Retrieved 11 April 2022 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (31 August 2016). "The Courteeners announce UK tour dates". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  26. ^ Earls, John (2 September 2016). "Watch Courteeners reveal: 'We've stopped giving a fuck what people think about us'". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  27. ^ a b Trendell, Andrew (24 October 2016). "Fans buy 67 Courteeners tickets for wedding reception guests". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  28. ^ "The 17th" (sleeve). Courteeners. [PIAS]/Ignition Records. 2017. IGN105T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ^ Trendell, Andrew (17 October 2016). "The Courteeners announce Manchester gig with huge support acts". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  30. ^ "Courteeners head for the Victoria". Halifax Courier. 19 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Modern Love (Acoustic) - Single by Courteeners". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  32. ^ Moore, Sam (25 June 2017). "Courteeners frontman Liam Fray praises 'love and hope' of atmosphere at Glastonbury 2017". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  33. ^ Trendell, Andrew (30 August 2017). "Blossoms discuss the 'honour' of playing the Manchester Arena re-opening gig". NME. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  34. ^ Matheson, Anna (29 July 2017). "Liam Fray announces acoustic tour". NME. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  35. ^ a b "Mapping the Rendezvous by The Courteeners reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  36. ^ a b c "Critic Reviews for Mapping the Rendezvous". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  37. ^ a b Carless, Andrew (28 October 2016). "Albums of the week: From Lady Gaga to Marching Church". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  38. ^ a b Gill, Andy (26 October 2016). "Album reviews: Empire Of The Sun - Two Vines, Madness - Can't Touch Us Now, Courteeners, and more". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  39. ^ Peters, Mark (17 November 2016). "Courteeners head for the Victoria". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  40. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  41. ^ a b "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  42. ^ a b "British album certifications – Courteeners – Mapping the Rendezvous". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  43. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50 19 August 2016 - 25 August 2016". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  44. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 19 August 2016 - 25 August 2016". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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