The Courteeners
‘You Overdid It Doll’ is taken from the band’s second album ‘Falcon’, The album was recorded in Belgium’s ICP Studios with producer Ed Buller – of Suede, Pulp and White Lies fame – over seven weeks and mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York with the legendary Michael Brauer. It is the follow up to The Courteeners’ debut album ‘St Jude’ which reached number 4 on release in April 2008.
Marking a huge leap forward for the Manchester four-piece, ‘Falcon’ is a breathtaking showcase for bandleader Liam Fray’s astonishingly personal, ‘everyman’ lyrics, and poignant passionate songwriting. These are talents that have already captivated audiences far and wide around the globe. On ‘You Overdid It Doll’, he gently admonishes a friend’s over excesses; “This pace, a little too fast, you’re a space cadet dressed in fibre glass, you’re gonna shatter, it’s not too late to undo, put the fiddle down, the taming of the shrew.”
‘Falcon’ is a truly beautiful record, and one that isn’t afraid to wear its author’s heart on its sleeve both lyrically and musically. Think the panoramic, soaring soundscape of Elbow, the emotion, solace and romance of The Verve and the elegant, arch honesty and sensitivity of Morrissey. This record is that good.
The Courteeners ended 2009 by playing the biggest gig of their career to date. The gig, at Manchester Central, may have seemed like a brave gesture from a band with just one album to their name but when all 10,000 tickets sold out in just five days it was patently clear that their fans had not forgotten them.
Coming on with the kind of confidence we have come to expect from the band’s songwriter and frontman, Liam Fray launched into the set with a track from the band’s soon to be released album and the venue erupted. About the event, one journalist was moved to comment, “…giant cheers from a boisterous throng in a mood of utter jubilation. As they end this decade as unarguably Manchester's biggest going concern, The Courteeners look set to spend the next one as one of Britain's most important rock & roll bands.”
With ‘You Overdid It Doll’ and ‘Falcon’ heralding in a New Year and decade for The Courteeners, there is undoubtedly more jubilation to come. As Liam Fray says, “We’re about to take off, we’re stretching our wings for pastures new, the time is right.”