You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter

You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter
Studio album by
I Set My Friends on Fire
ReleasedOctober 7, 2008 (2008-10-07)
StudioEarth Sound Recording, Valdosta, Georgia[1]
Genre
Length35:05
LabelEpitaph[2]
Producer
I Set My Friends on Fire chronology
I Set My Friends On Fire EP
(2008) 		You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter
(2008) 		Astral Rejection
(2011)

You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter is the debut full-length studio album by American post-hardcore band I Set My Friends on Fire, released on October 7, 2008, via Epitaph Records. It includes the band's most famous song, "Things That Rhyme With Orange", a promotional video for which was released July 22, 2009.[3] Four of the album's tracks are re-released songs from the band's self-released EP I Set My Friends On Fire EP. The album reached #29 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[4]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Matt Mehana, except where noted; all music is composed by Nabil Moo, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sh!t It Talks... I'm Out of Here" 1:03
2."Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" 1:37
3."Beauty Is in the Eyes of the Beerholder" 2:26
4."Things That Rhyme with Orange" 3:24
5."ASL" 2:42
6."Interlude" 1:52
7."Ravenous, Ravenous Rhinos" 2:42
8."HxC 2-Step" 3:18
9."WTFWJD" 3:08
10."Crank That" (Soulja Boy cover)DeAndre Way3:02
11."But the Nuns Are Watching" 3:26
12."Reese's Pieces, I Don't Know Who John Cleese Is?" 6:26
Total length:35:05

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Alternative Press[5]
ChartAttack[6]
Montreal Mirror[7]
Punk News[2]
Slant Magazine[8]

You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter was panned by most music critics. The album received a 0.5 rating out of five from Slant reviewer Nate Adams, who said "[It's] high in the running for worst album of the year ... The music aims for brutality and melody, but misses the mark entirely on both counts."[9] Alternative Press reviewer Phil Freeman also gave the album a half star out of five, remarking that the album "truly fails because it has exactly zero memorable moments".[10]

In a mixed review, John Lucas of the Georgia Straight said that the album "seems designed to test the listener’s tolerance", but that "those willing to embrace a noisy, ambitious, self-indulgent, and downright weird record will find a lot to love".[11] Logan Broger of ChartAttack gave it three stars out of five, saying, "When the grind-electro-hardcore-pop duo aren't being obnoxious or comedic, there are some tunes that are actually really, really brilliant."[6]

Personnel

You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter album personnel as listed on Allmusic.[12]

I Set My Friends On Fire
  • Matt Mehana – lead vocals, lyrics
  • Nabil Moo – programming, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, songwriting, additional vocals
Production
  • Travis Richter – production
  • Nabil Moo – production
  • Jeff Abarta – production, management
  • Lee Dyess – engineering, mixing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Kamal Moo – management
  • Sally Koening – legal
  • Brett Gurewitz – artist and repertoire
  • Nick Pritchard – artwork, design

References

  1. ^ a b "I Set My Friends on Fire - You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter". AllMusic. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "I Set My Friends on Fire - You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter". 7 October 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2020 – via Punknews.org.
  3. ^ "Post by the band on MySpace".
  4. ^ "Top Heatseekers, Week of 10/25/08". Billboard.
  5. ^ Alternative Press review
  6. ^ a b Broger, Logan (October 7, 2008). "You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter review". ChartAttack. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ Montreal Mirror review
  8. ^ Slant Magazine review
  9. ^ Adams, Nate (2008-09-29). "I Set My Friends on Fire – You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Logs". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  10. ^ Phil Freeman, Review of You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter. Alternative Press, November 2008, p. 158.
  11. ^ "I Set My Friends on Fire tests one's tolerance on You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter". Straight.com. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  12. ^ "You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter - I Set My Friends on Fire". AllMusic. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2012-03-16.