| Artist | Modern English |
|---|---|
| Cover | Pillow Lips.jpg |
| Released | 1990 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 32:40 |
| Label | TVT[2] |
| Producer | Pat Collier |
| Prev year | 1986 |
| Next year | 1996 |
Pillow Lips is an album by the English band Modern English, released in 1990.[3][4] It contains a rerecorded version of "I Melt with You", which charted.[5] The album peaked at No. 135 on the Billboard 200.[6] The band again broke up after promoting Pillow Lips.[7]
Production
The album was written over a period of 18 months, and was produced by Pat Collier.[8][9][10] Modern English recorded it as a trio.[11]
Critical reception
Entertainment Weekly wrote that "even the lightest, most eager and abandoned melodies on this album tap a deeper vein of feeling than most songs do."[12] Trouser Press thought that "the diverse record contains some easy-to-like bounce-pop ('Beauty', 'Care About You') but other tracks either drift along listlessly (like the enervated title tune) or sag under clichéd lyrics ('Life's Rich Tapestry'...) and equally unimaginative melodies."[13]
The Ottawa Citizen stated that, "now with the band trimmed back to a trio, the sound is tighter, the spirit more lively, and the approach better conceived."[14] The Los Angeles Times concluded that the album was "recorded without a permanent lead guitarist in the group and suffers accordingly, with a thin, techno-pop approach somewhere between OMD and late-period Sparks."[15] The Dallas Morning News determined that, "having provided us a near-perfect pop song, the group now delivers a hodgepodge that includes everything from neo-Modern English to country to watered-down Big Audio Dynamite."[16]
AllMusic noted that "older fans of the band despaired of their new, slicker variant."[17]
References
- ^ Kostanczuk, Bob (6 July 1990). "Modern English Speaks the Language". Post-Tribune. p. 4.
- ^ Sullivan, Jim (23 July 1990). "Modern English Picks Up Where It Left Off". The Boston Globe. p. 50.
- ^ "Modern English Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic
- ^ Okamoto, Shari (12 October 1990). "With the re-release of Modern English's 'I Melt With You'...". Daily Breeze. p. E10.
- ^ Majewski, Lori & Bernstein, Jonathan (15 April 2014). Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-61312-666-0.
- ^ "Modern English". Billboard
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 822.
- ^ Danner, Jennifer (1 July 1990). "Modern English to bring 'new sound' to Club Met Tuesday". The Patriot-News. p. E2.
- ^ Gettelman, Parry (8 June 1990). "Modern English Speaks Up Again After 2-Year Hiatus". Orlando Sentinel. p. 3.
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Record Producers. Billboard Books. 1999. p. 142.
- ^ Obee, Dave (2 August 1990). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. E3.
- ^ "Pillow Lips". Entertainment Weekly
- ^ "Modern English". Trouser Press. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Erskine, Evelyn (3 August 1990). "Modern English Pillow Lips". Ottawa Citizen. p. D6.
- ^ Willman, Chris (9 August 1990). "Modern English Melts Down". Los Angeles Times. p. 2.
- ^ Samuels, Lennox (16 September 1990). "Modern English CD fades after first cut". The Dallas Morning News. p. 9C.
- ^ "Pillow Lips". AllMusic