Good Mood (album)
Good Mood is the fifth studio album by Australian indie pop band Ball Park Music. The album was released on 16 February 2018.[7] The album peaked at number 5 on the ARIA Charts. The band promoted the album with a national tour in February and March 2018. It was the first album to have song-writing contributions by guitarist Dean Hanson.
Good Mood | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 February 2018 | |||
Recorded | May–July 2017 | |||
Genre | Indie pop | |||
Producer | Ball Park Music | |||
Ball Park Music chronology | ||||
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Singles from Good Mood | ||||
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, the album was nominated for three awards; Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year and Best Cover Art.[8]
Recording and production
The album was recorded at the band's studio located in an industrial estate in Stafford in Brisbane, named the Bunnings Warehouse Recording Studio, and produced by the band.[9] It was engineered by Cromack, mixed by Paul McKercher and mastered by William Bowden.
On the song-writing, Cromack said, "I put some rules on myself: everything had to have the classic verse-chorus-verse-chorus pop structure. I had a ball. And with my lyrics I was like, 'For God's sake, Sam, be clear about what you want to say!'. So often we look down on pop music, but the rules didn't crush our creativity."[10]
Cover
The photo on the cover was taken by Dean Hanson, who said, "It was maybe a couple of months into the recording, we were sitting in the studio one morning… Sam came in and showed us a few images he’d seen of horses rearing in cool places and we thought it was a powerful image. As we always do, come out with ridiculous ideas, we thought it’d be an amazing album cover if we could get someone to rear their horse in front of the garage door of our studio."[11]
Critical response
The Sydney Morning Herald said, "Opening with the poppy, yet summery laid-back feel of "The End Times", this self-produced album brings studio whiz and ARIA award-winner Paul McKercher into the mix, elevating frontman/guitarist Sam Cromack's vocals to a new level and highlighting his lyrical strength."[12] The Herald Sun claimed, "The experimentation and attention to sonic detail here (it's a headphones album) makes this their Pet Sounds", and compared "The End Times" to, "a ragged Go-Betweens-style indie gem".[13]
The Australian noted, "the affable plain-spokenness, the facility for melodies that can cure a vitamin D deficiency and, yes, the festival-friendly anthems with unabashedly broad appeal" and declared it their best album.[14]
Track listing
- "The End Times"
- "I Am a Dog"
- "Frank"
- "The Perfect Life Does Not Exist"
- "Exactly How You Are"
- "Hands Off My Body"
- "So Nice"
- "Dreaming of America"
- "If It Kills You"
- "I Am So in Love with You"
References
- Newstead, Al. "First listen: Ball Park Music's 'Exactly How You Are' is the feel-good anthem we all deserve". ABC. ABC/Triple J. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- "Exactly How You Are (single)". Apple Music. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- Newstead, Al. "First Spin: Ball Park Music continue the feel-good vibes on 'The Perfect Life Does Not Exist'". ABC/Triple J. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- "The Perfect Life Doesn't Exist (single)". Apple Music. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- "BALL PARK MUSIC Good Mood - note "upcoming single Hands Off My Body"". xpressmag. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- "Ball Park Music - Hands Off My Body (Official Video)". YouTube. June 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- "Good Mood (DD)". Apple Music. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (11 October 2018). "2018 ARIA Award Nominees Announced". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- Andrew McMillen. "Ball Park Music rises from uni beginnings to stardom". The Australian.
- Craig Mathieson. "Having a ball: Ball Park Music find their mojo with Good Mood". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- Al Newstead. "Ball Park Music aren't horsing around with their feel-good new album". Triple J.
- Marty Boulton. "Courtney Barnett's first new music in three years is out now". Sydney Morning Herald.
- "New album reviews: Vance Joy, Black Panther, MGMT and more". Herald Sun.
- Caitlin Welsh. "Ball Park; Orava; Lion's Paw; Sonny Smith; Richard Russell". The Australian.
- "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.