If You Wait is the debut studio album by English indie pop band London Grammar, released on 6 September 2013 by Metal & Dust Recordings and Ministry of Sound. Seven singles were released from the album: "Metal & Dust", "Wasting My Young Years", "Strong", "Nightcall", "Hey Now", "Sights" and "If You Wait". The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 33,130 copies.

Background

After signing with Ministry of Sound and Big Life Management, the band began the first sessions of the album in early 2012 with Cam Blackwood. Later that year he was replaced by Tim Bran and Roy Kerr. Hannah Reid commented on the collaboration, saying, "Tim is amazing at recording, of finding the best way of recording a guitar or my vocal. Roy had the strongest relationship with Dot and they worked on production together."[1]

The album's lyrics are mainly based upon vocalist Hannah Reid's personal life, in particular her troubled teenage years,[2] prompting The Guardian to suggest that this was "the first quarter-life-crisis album."[2]

Critical reception

If You Wait received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 19 reviews.[3]

Andy Gill of The Independent summarised the album's production and instrumentation as "all beautifully sketched to evoke the crepuscular intimacies of the songs."[4]

A large quantity of praise went to the vocal ability of Reid, whose husky contralto vocals have been described as "defining and soulful" by Clash magazine[5] and "emotive" and "folky" by Drowned in Sound.[6] Her voice has been compared to artists like Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine,[7] Annie Lennox,[4][8] and Julee Cruise.[4] Benji Taylor of Pretty Much Amazing wrote a favourable review of the album, calling it "an enthralling, stunning, deeply emotive album that perfectly marries understated electronica to sublime vocals and melodies." Vocalist Hannah Reid's voice was particularly praised: "underscored by an enduring brittle beauty and an underlying otherworldliness, as if she honed her craft singing amidst the gardens of Lothlorien, or some far-flung corner of Westeros."[9]

Commercial performance

If You Wait entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, selling 33,130 copies in its first week.[10] As of June 2017, it had sold 642,301 copies in the United Kingdom.[11] In the United States, the album debuted at number 91 on the Billboard 200 with 4,000 copies sold.[12]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Tim Bran, Roy Kerr and London Grammar, except where noted.

Notes

  • signifies a co-producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of If You Wait.[13]

London Grammar

  • Hannah Reid
  • Daniel Rothman
  • Dot Major

Additional musicians

  • Tim Bran – additional programming (all tracks); additional keyboards (tracks 4, 7)
  • Roy Kerr – additional programming
  • Dot Major – additional programming (tracks 4, 7)
  • Wil Malone – string arrangements, string conducting (tracks 4, 5, 8, 11)
  • Tony Stanton – strings preparation (tracks 4, 5, 8, 11)
  • City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra – strings (tracks 4, 5, 8, 11)

Technical

  • Tim Bran – production
  • Roy Kerr – production
  • London Grammar – production
  • Manon Grandjean – engineering
  • Ben Siegal – engineering (tracks 3, 8, 10, 11); vocal recording, piano recording (track 11)
  • Jan Holzner – string recording (tracks 4, 5, 8, 11)
  • James Fitzpatrick – orchestra contractor (tracks 4, 5, 8, 11)
  • Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing
  • Tom Coyne – mastering

Artwork

  • Mat Maitland – art direction
  • Markus Karlsson – art direction
  • Lee Kirby – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for If You Wait
Chart (2013–2015)Peak
position
Greek Albums (IFPI)[14]25
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)[15]1

Year-end charts

2013 year-end chart performance for If You Wait
Chart (2013)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16]87
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]182
French Albums (SNEP)[18]95
UK Albums (OCC)[19]33
2014 year-end chart performance for If You Wait
Chart (2014)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20]23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21]9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22]9
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23]55
French Albums (SNEP)[24]21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25]27
UK Albums (OCC)[26]17
2015 year-end chart performance for If You Wait
Chart (2015)Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27]27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[28]48
2019 year-end chart performance for If You Wait
Chart (2019)Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29]189
2021 year-end chart performance for If You Wait
Chart (2021)Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30]189
2025 year-end chart performance for If You Wait
Chart (2025)Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31]187

Decade-end charts

Chart (2010–2019)Position
UK Albums (OCC)[32]91

Release history

Release dates and formats for If You Wait
RegionDateFormatEditionLabelRef(s)
Australia6 September 2013CD · digital downloadStandard · deluxeDew Process[33][34][35][36]
LPStandard[37]
France9 September 2013CDBecause[38]
United KingdomCD · digital downloadStandard · deluxeMetal & Dust · Ministry of Sound[39][40][41][42]
LPStandard[43]
United States10 September 2013Digital downloadColumbia[44]
Germany11 October 2013DeluxePolydor · Island[45]
15 November 2013CDStandard · deluxeIsland[46][47]
United States25 March 2014US standardColumbia[48]
Digital downloadUS deluxe[49]
1 April 2014LPUS standard[50]
France28 April 2014LP + CDStandard (LP) · deluxe (CD)Because[51]
Japan18 June 2014CD · digital downloadJapan standardUniversal[52][53]
France24 November 2014CDCollector'sBecause[54]

References

  1. ^ [1] Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Russell Dean Stone, London Grammar', BEAT Magazine, 16 October 2013
  2. ^ Wolfson, Sam (5 September 2013). "London Grammar: 'A lot of our friends are really lost'". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Reviews for If You Wait by London Grammar". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  4. ^ Gill, Andy (29 July 2013). "Album: London Grammar, If You Wait (Metal & Dust)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  5. ^ "London Grammar – If You Wait". Clash. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  6. ^ Fenwick, Tom (5 September 2013). "London Grammar – If You Wait". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  7. ^ "OTW #523: London Grammar". Clash. 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  8. ^ "Hannah, London Grammar: I'm compared to every other female singer". Gigwise.com. 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  9. ^ Taylor, Benji (9 September 2013). "Review: London Grammar – If You Wait". Pretty Much Amazing. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  10. ^ Jones, Alan (16 September 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Arctic Monkeys' AM doubles predecessor's week-one sales". Music Week. Archived 29 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  11. ^ Jones, Alan (16 June 2017). "Official Charts Analysis: London Grammar enter at No.1". Music Week. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  12. ^ Caulfield, Keith (4 April 2014). "Chart Moves: 'God's Not Dead' Sales Surge, London Grammar Gains, Karmin's Full-Length Arrives". Billboard. Archived 6 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  13. ^ If You Wait (liner notes). Metal & Dust Recordings. 2013. MADART1.
  14. ^ "Official Cyta-IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 7/2014)". IFPI Greece. Archived 26 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Top 10 Independent Artist Albums, Week Ending 13 February 2014". Chart-Track. Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  16. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2013 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Top Albums annuel (physique + téléchargement + streaming) – 2013" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived 14 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  19. ^ Lane, Daniel (1 January 2014). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Artist Albums Of 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  20. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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  23. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2014" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  24. ^ "Top Albums annuel (physique + téléchargement + streaming) – 2014" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived 12 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  25. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2014" (in German). hitparade.ch. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  26. ^ Moss, Liv (1 January 2015). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums Of 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  27. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2015 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2015 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  29. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2019 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2021 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2025" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  32. ^ Copsey, Rob (11 December 2019). "The UK's Official Top 100 biggest albums of the decade". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  33. ^ "If You Wait". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  34. ^ "If You Wait (Deluxe Edition)". JB Hi-Fi. Archived 9 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  35. ^ "If You Wait by London Grammar". Australia: iTunes Store. 6 September 2013. Archived 30 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  36. ^ "If You Wait (Deluxe Version) by London Grammar". Australia: iTunes Store. 6 September 2013. Archived 4 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  37. ^ "If You Wait (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. Archived 6 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  38. ^ "If you wait – London Grammar – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  39. ^ "If You Wait by London Grammar". United Kingdom: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  40. ^ "If You Wait: Deluxe by London Grammar". United Kingdom: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  41. ^ "If You Wait: London Grammar: MP3 Downloads". United Kingdom: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  42. ^ "If You Wait (Deluxe Edition): London Grammar: MP3 Downloads". United Kingdom: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  43. ^ "If You Wait [VINYL by London Grammar"]. United Kingdom: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  44. ^ "If You Wait: London Grammar: MP3 Downloads". United States: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  45. ^ "If You Wait (Deluxe Version) von London Grammar" (in German). Germany: iTunes Store. January 2013. Archived 11 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
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  47. ^ "If You Wait (Deluxe Edition)" (in German). Germany: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  48. ^ "London Grammar: If You Wait (US Edition)". United States: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  49. ^ "If You Wait (Deluxe Version) by London Grammar". United States: iTunes Store. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  50. ^ "London Grammar: If You Wait (US Vinyl Edition)". United States: Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  51. ^ "If you wait – Inclus CD – London Grammar – Vinyl album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  52. ^ "ja:イフ・ユー・ウェイト" [If You Wait] (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
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