Wilderness Is Paradise Now
Wilderness Is Paradise Now | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 March 2006 | |||
Recorded | Rockfield Studio, Monmouth and Sawmills Studio, Cornwall 2005 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 42:47 | |||
Label | Parlophone Faith & Hope | |||
Producer | John Cornfield | |||
Morning Runner chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
TheMusicZine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Gigwise.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Drowned In Sound | 5/10 link |
Wilderness Is Paradise Now was the debut and only
Track listing
All tracks written by Ali Clewer, Tom Derrett, Matthew Greener and Chris Wheatcroft.
- "It's Not Like Everyone's My Friend" – 4:09
- "Have a Good Time" – 3:44
- "Gone Up in Flames" – 2:53
- "Burning Benches" – 4:07
- "Hold Your Breath" – 4:01
- "Oceans" – 3:42
- "The Great Escape" – 3:51
- "Be All You Want Me to Be" – 4:41
- "Punching Walls" – 4:04
- "Work" – 4:02
- "Best For You" – 3:33
Bonus tracks (Japan)
- "Can't Get It Right"
- "Them Folk" (from the Burning Benches UK single)
- "Burning Benches" (video) (from the Burning Benches UK single)
Conception
- "Gone up in Flames" contains three narratives: a racetrack loser, a devastated mourner, and a possessive consumer. "They are all pictures of desperation," explained Matthew Greener, "I got told this story about a woman so obsessed with this pearl that she sold all her possessions just to own it."
- "Burning Benches" was according to the band, not so much about love as it was about obsession. Greener said, "It sounded a bit too lovely, which is why we made it louder towards the end, we wanted to mess it up a bit." It was inspired by the surreal David Lynch horror film Eraserhead, in which the main character Henry Spencer watches and listens to the Lady in the Radiator sing about finding happiness in heaven.
- "Be All You Want Me to Be" was credited by Chris "Fields" Wheatcroft, "We did struggle with where to put it on the album." However, it was decided that the song would be on the album "to bring it back up again", following the track "The Great Escape".
- "Punching Walls" was the first song that the band wrote. A "Oceans".
- "Work" was written following Greener's father being made redundant.
Naming of the album
The name of the album came from a romantic rhyme by Edward FitzGerald, translated from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
- Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
- A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse - and Thou
- Beside me singing in the Wilderness -
- And Wilderness is Paradise now.
Cover art
The album's
The artwork was inspired by a small collection of
Critical reaction
The album was generally seen as a strong debut by critics on release. On the negative side, the band suffered occasional accusations that they were too similar to other piano-driven bands, such as Coldplay and Keane; The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan talking of Morning Runner filling a "vacancy for a new Coldplay". However, some critics refuted these, with NME's Paul McNamee saying "they're a band that could knock 10 bells out of Keane" and Phil Mongredien of Q stating that a Coldplay comparison "would be doing Morning Runner a disservice." Mike Pattenden from The Times said that it was the band's slower tracks which suggested that "Morning Runner are in it for the long haul." However, the group disbanded in October 2007 before they could release a second album.
Release details
Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
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United Kingdom | 6 March 2006 | Parlophone Faith & Hope | CD | 356 0972 |
Japan | 15 March 2006 | Toshiba-EMI
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CD | TOCP-66498 |