I Wish I Could Stay Here

I Wish I Could Stay Here
Studio album by
Basement
Released5 July 2011
RecordedMay 2011
StudioStuck on a Name, Nottingham
Genre
Length28:26
LabelRun for Cover
Basement chronology
Songs About the Weather
(2010) 		I Wish I Could Stay Here
(2011) 		Colourmeinkindness
(2012)

I Wish I Could Stay Here is the debut studio album by English rock band Basement. After forming in 2010, the band released a demo and signed to Run for Cover. Following this, the band toured across the UK and Europe in late 2010 and early 2011. They recorded their debut album I Wish I Could Stay Here in May 2011 at Stuck on a Name Studios in Nottingham. "Grayscale" was made available for streaming in June. I Wish I Could Stay Here was released a month later. Following this, the group embarked on tours of the UK, the US and Australia. The album received favourable reviews from critics, and featured on Thrash Hits' top 20 albums of 2011 list.

Background and production

Basement formed in Ipswich in 2010[1] and released a demo shortly afterwards.[2] In August of that year, it was announced that the band had signed to independent label Run for Cover and was aiming to release their debut album in 2011.[3] Guitarist Alex Henery explained that after the group began discussions with Run for Cover founder Jeff Casazza, "it just kind of came together."[2] On the same day, Two Songs was released for free download.[3] Basement went on a UK tour alongside Tigers Jaw and End of a Year in December 2010 and January 2011.[4] In March 2011, the band went on a UK tour alongside Hostage Calm and Daylight.[5] Following this, the band toured across Europe in April alongside Brutality Will Prevail and More Than Life.[6]

I Wish I Could Stay Here was recorded at Stuck on a Name Studios in Nottingham with Ian Boult[7] in May.[2] "Plan to Be Surprised" and "Every Single Word" from Two Songs were re-recorded for the album.[8] Jesse Cannon mixed and mastered the recordings at Cannon Found Soundation Recording Studios.[7] According to vocalist Andrew Fisher, the band wrote material they were "comfortable with and what we feel is us."[2] Fisher explained that the lyrics he wrote were "stuff that's happened to me, or stuff that I'm interested in."[2] The album's sound has been described as emo, pop punk and post-hardcore.[9] The album opens with a sample of the movie An Affair to Remember (1957).[10] Track 2, "Plan to Be Surprised", takes its name from the film Dan in Real Life (2007).[11]

Release

On May 19, I Wish I Could Stay Here was announced for release, and the album's artwork and track listing was revealed.[12] At the end of the month, the band appeared at the Slam Dunk Festival.[13] On 14 June, "Grayscale" was made available for streaming.[14] Later that month, the band performed at Ghostfest.[15] I Wish I Could Stay Here was released on 5 July through Run for Cover.[16] In July, the band supported Title Fight on their headlining UK tour.[17] In early August, the band played at the Hevy Festival.[18] For the first half of August, the band supported Such Gold on their tour of the US, while for the second half the band supported Daylight.[19] In February 2012, the group supported Touché Amoré for two UK shows.[20] In April, the band went on the Rocksound Impericon Exposure Tour with Man Overboard, Trapped Under Ice and Your Demise.[21] In late June and early July, the band went on a tour of Australia with Endless Heights.[22]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk82%[23]
Alter the Press!5/5[9]
Dead Press![24]
Kill Your Stereo96/100[8]

I Wish I Could Stay Here received a favourable response from critics. AbsolutePunk reviewer Alex Djaferis wrote that the album was "a welcome shot in the arm" for a saturated music scene full of "limp copycats of glory days long gone."[23] He called the band's sound "fresh" with "a direct energy ... denotes a clear purpose, and that is to rock, very hard."[23] Djaferis considered the band's lyrics as being "to the point and relatively solid."[23] Chantelle Goodchild of Alter the Press! viewed the album as "half an hour of pure brilliance", incorporating post-hardcore, pop-punk and emo, the group "sound a million miles" from home.[9] Goodchild found it difficult to pick out a particular song "for individual praise when they're all so flawless."[9]

Kill Your Stereo reviewer Maddo called Fisher's vocals "cleaner and improved", compared to the band's past work, and compared them to that of Title Fight frontman Jamie Rhoden.[8] Maddo viewed the album as "not sound[ing] like a debut album," but rather "the work of a band who have been making music together for many years now."[8] I Wish I Could Stay Here was included at number 20 on Thrash Hits' top 20 albums of 2011. Writing for Thrash Hits, Lock Johnson wrote that the album contained "more soul, more emotion, and just more great songs" than any of the band's contemporaries.[25]

Track listing

  1. "Fading" – 2:17
  2. "Plan to Be Surprised" – 2:19
  3. "Canada Square" – 4:08
  4. "Crickets Throw Their Voice" – 3:25
  5. "Earl Grey" – 2:35
  6. "Ellipses" – 3:40
  7. "Every Single Word" – 1:57
  8. "Yoke" – 2:26
  9. "Grayscale" – 2:29
  10. "March" – 3:15

Personnel

Personnel per sleeve.[7]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Collar, Matt. "Basement | Biography & History". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Verducci, Richard (9 May 2011). "Basement". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b Shultz, Brian (23 August 2010). "Run for Cover signs Basement". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  4. ^ Yancey, Bryne (26 December 2010). "Tigers Jaw / End of a Year / Basement (UK)". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  5. ^ Wagner, Christian (7 February 2011). "Hostage Calm, Daylight, and Basement UK Tour". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Retrieved 30 December 2016.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ Nassiff, Thomas. "Basement European Tour". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Retrieved 30 December 2016.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b c I Wish I Could Stay Here (Sleeve). Basement. Run for Cover. 2011. RFC:043.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ a b c d Maddo (28 September 2011). "Basement – I Wish I Could Stay Here". Kill Your Stereo. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d Goodchild, Chantelle. "Album Review: Basement - I Wish I Could Stay Here". Alter the Press!. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  10. ^ Ayres 2016, p. 45
  11. ^ "Upbringing: Basement". DIY. Sonic Media Group. 16 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  12. ^ Paul, Aubin (19 May 2011). "UK's Basement to release 'I Wish I Could Stay Here'". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  13. ^ "NEWS: Slam Dunk Festival 2011 announce official stage times!". Dead Press!. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  14. ^ DiVincenzo, Alex (14 June 2011). "Basement New Song, Pre-order". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Retrieved 30 December 2016.[dead link‍]
  15. ^ "NEWS: More bands added onto Ghostfest 2011 line-up!". Dead Press!. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Basement release album "I Wish I Could Stay Here" on Run For Cover records". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  17. ^ "NEWS: Basement to support Title Fight on July UK tour!". Dead Press!. 3 June 2011. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  18. ^ "NEWS: More bands added onto Hevy 2011 line-up!". Dead Press!. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  19. ^ DiVincenzo, Alex (30 June 2011). "Basement Make Their Way to the US". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Retrieved 30 December 2016.[dead link‍]
  20. ^ Biddulph, Andy (7 December 2011). "Touché Amoré / Pianos Become the Teeth UK Tour". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Retrieved 30 December 2016.[dead link‍]
  21. ^ Rock Sound (24 February 2012). "Basement To Play Intimate Gig In A Church!". Rock Sound. Freeway Press Inc. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  22. ^ Paul, Aubin (26 April 2012). "Basement (Australia)". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  23. ^ a b c d Djaferis, Alex (27 July 2011). "Basement - I Wish I Could Stay Here". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Retrieved 30 December 2016.[dead link‍]
  24. ^ Savage, Martin (5 July 2011). "ALBUM: Basement – I Wish I Could Stay Here". Dead Press!. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  25. ^ Johnson, Lock (7 December 2011). "Thrash Hits' Top 20 Albums of 2011". Thrash Hits. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

Sources

  • Ayres, Matt (March 2016). McLaughlin, David (ed.). "Started from the Bottom Now We're Here". Rock Sound (210). London: Freeway Press Inc. ISSN 1465-0185.