The Wave is the debut solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter Tom Chaplin. The album was released on 14 October 2016 by Island Records.[7]

The Wave
Studio album by
Released14 October 2016 (2016-10-14)
RecordedJanuary–June 2016
StudioPasadena, California and London, England
Length42:39
LabelIsland
ProducerMatt Hales
Tom Chaplin chronology
The Wave
(2016)
Twelve Tales of Christmas
(2017)
Singles from The Wave
  1. "Quicksand"
    Released: 26 August 2016[1]
  2. "Still Waiting"
    Released: 16 January 2017
  3. "Solid Gold"
    Released: 17 March 2017[2]
  4. "See It So Clear"
    Released: 14 April 2017
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Guardian[5]
Evening Standard[6]

Background edit

It is Chaplin's first solo album since Keane announced their hiatus in 2013, and Chaplin has called the process of recording a solo album a "daunting prospect for someone who knows nothing else".[8]

After the band members began new projects, Chaplin began using drugs due to anxiety over the album and "thought [he] was going to die" in early 2015: "When I finally liberated myself from years of spiraling addiction, a place of inspiration and creativity became available to me. I set about writing an album that documents my transition from the darkest recesses of human experience to a place of resolution, fulfillment and happiness. At long last I am comfortable in my own skin and have achieved that elusive dream of writing a set of songs I can truly call my own."[8][9]

Tour edit

On 5 September 2016, Chaplin announced his first solo tour to accompany the release of the album. The tour was described as "a run of intimate club shows", which ran between 23 October and 31 October 2016 consisting of eight shows, visiting Brighton, Bristol, Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and Islington in London.[10]

These shows were followed in 2017 by the Carried By The Wave Tour, which visited the US and Canada and venues throughout western Europe before returning to the UK. Chaplin announced the dates and venues of the UK leg via his Facebook page on 23 October 2016,[11] with tickets going on sale four days later[12] and a second date at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill being added to the list on 31 October, after the first date sold out.[13] Chaplin was supported on the UK leg of the tour by Australian singer-songwriter Ainslie Wills.[14]

On 14 November 2016 the dates for the US and Canada leg were announced, three days prior to tickets going on sale.[15]

On 6 December the dates for the European leg were announced,[16] and tickets for these shows went on sale on 9 December.[17]

Music videos edit

The first video from the album was for "Hardened Heart", which became available to view on 12 August 2016. The album's first single, "Quicksand" was released accompanied by a music video on 26 August.

A video of an acoustic version of "Quicksand" also became available to view prior to the release of the album, which was followed by acoustic videos of the tracks "Hold On to Our Love" and "Still Waiting".

A video for "Still Waiting" became available to view on YouTube on 20 January 2017 to mark its official release as a single.

On 17 March 2017, a video for a new version of "Solid Gold" performed by Chaplin in collaboration with JONES was released, alongside its release as a single on iTunes.

Singles edit

"Quicksand" was released as the first single from the album, on 26 August 2016.[18]

After the commencement of the opening leg of the Carried by the Wave Tour, across North America, the album's opening track "Still Waiting" was officially released as a single, on 20 January 2017.

In March 2017, Chaplin announced that the album version of "Solid Gold" had been re-recorded for release as a single, with the new version featuring a collaboration between Chaplin and British singer-songwriter JONES.[19] The new collaboration was released as a digital download single on 17 March 2017.[2]

Two other tracks were sold prior to the album's release - "Hardened Heart"[20] and "Hold On to Our Love"[21] - though these were not released as radio singles.

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Still Waiting"
  • Tom Chaplin
  • Dan Heath
3:51
2."Hardened Heart"
  • Chaplin
  • Max McElligott
3:44
3."The River"
4:12
4."Worthless Words"
  • Chaplin
  • Hales
3:05
5."I Remember You"Chaplin3:46
6."Bring the Rain"
  • Chaplin
  • McElligott
4:16
7."Hold On to Our Love"
  • Chaplin
  • McElligott
3:45
8."Quicksand"
  • Chaplin
  • Hales
4:03
9."Solid Gold"3:53
10."See It So Clear"
  • Chaplin
  • Hales
4:34
11."The Wave"3:24
Total length:42:39
Deluxe version (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Better Way"
  • Chaplin
  • McElligott
4:10
13."Turning Back"
  • Chaplin
  • Chaplin
  • McElligott
3:32
14."Love Wins"
  • Chaplin
  • Chaplin
  • McElligott
3:58
15."Cheating Death"
  • Chaplin
  • Chaplin
  • McElligott
4:15
16."Bound Together"
  • Chaplin
  • Morris
3:21
Total length:61:57

Personnel edit

  • Tom Chaplin – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Matt Werry – bass, backing vocals
  • Drake Putishold – drums
  • Matt Hales – productions

Charts edit

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] 31
French Albums (SNEP)[25] 139
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 76
Irish Albums (IRMA)[27] 26
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[29] 35
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 84
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 3

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Region Date Format Label Catalog no.
Worldwide 14 October 2016 Island B01K60KKEO

References edit

  1. ^ "Quicksand - watch the video and get the single! - Tom Chaplin". Tomchaplinmusic.com. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Solid Gold - Single by Tom Chaplin & Jones on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Reviews for The Wave by Tom Chaplin". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  4. ^ "The Wave Review by Neil Z. Yeung". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  5. ^ Dennis, Jon (13 October 2016). "Tom Chaplin: The Wave review – tender songs from former Keane frontman". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  6. ^ Paine, Andre (14 October 2016). "Tom Chaplin - The Wave review: 'dramatic without being self-pitying'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  7. ^ Meaghan, Sam (12 August 2016). "Tom Chaplin of Keane makes a return with solo album". Gigwise. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Tom Chaplin Steps Into the Spotlight". Island Records. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  9. ^ McCormick, Neil (11 August 2016). "Keane's Tom Chaplin on his battles with addiction and why he's embarked on a solo career". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  10. ^ "UK tour announced! - Tom Chaplin". Tomchaplinmusic.com. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Tom Chaplin - I'm taking #TheWaveAlbum on the road in May..." Facebook. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Tom Chaplin - The May 2017 #CarriedByTheWaveTour is on..." Facebook. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Tom Chaplin - You've only gone and bought all the tickets..." Facebook. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Tom Chaplin - Very excited to have the wonderfully..." Facebook. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Tom Chaplin - Very excited to announce that I'm heading to". Facebook.com. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Tom Chaplin - I'm bringing the Carried By The Wave Tour to..." Facebook. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  17. ^ "Tom Chaplin - The European #CarriedByTheWaveTour dates are..." Facebook. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  18. ^ "Quicksand to be first single from The Wave - Tom Chaplin". Tomchaplinmusic.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Tom Chaplin - Hello from sunny Denmark. I have some news..." Facebook. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  20. ^ "Tom Chaplin - Timeline". Facebook. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  21. ^ "New song - Hold on to Our Love". Tomchaplinmusic.com. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Tom Chaplin – The Wave" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Tom Chaplin – The Wave" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Chaplin – The Wave" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  25. ^ "Lescharts.com – Tom Chaplin – The Wave". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Chaplin – The Wave" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  27. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 42, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  29. ^ "TOP 100 ALBUMES — SEMANA 42: del 14.10.2016 al 20.10.2016" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Tom Chaplin – The Wave". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  32. ^ "British album certifications – Tom Chaplin – The wave". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 November 2017. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The wave in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.