Here Be Monsters

Ed Harcourt

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 31, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00006368A
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,429 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Here Be Monsters finds singer/songwriter Ed Harcourt developing the gentle melancholy of his previous efforts. "God Protect Your Soul" combines anguished, rambling lyrics ("I need to build a wall around me") and an off-kilter melody with bluesy harmonica and trumpets to create something akin to what Elliot Smith might make sitting at the piano. "Beneath the Heart of Darkness" starts in a similar fashion before slipping into a mash of guitars and radio interference, then drifting back again to a gentle lullaby. While "Apple of My Eye" starts with a quiet but buoyant proclamation--"I'm sick of this angst"--it quickly becomes clear that Harcourt isn't really so positive. This is one for all those who appreciate music that's full of understated despair. --Caroline Butler

Product Description

Full length debut & followup to the critically acclaimed mini-album, 'Maplewood'. An incredibly accomplished release, showcasing Harcourt's phenomenal song-writing talents. Includes the first single, 'Something In My Eye'. Recorded with Death In Vegas' Tim Holmes co-producing with Gil Norton (Pixies) & Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips). What the critics have said thus far, 'Every song an expertly-faceted gem. Superb'. - Mojo Magazine., 'The most promising pop songwriter in the country' - Uncut, 'As Bold as it is beautiful, coloring off-kilter vignettes with widescreen Americana and spine-tingling melodies' - Q. 2001. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Gift for Melody, April 18, 2002

By	nowhereman (America) - See all my reviews

This is an excellent debut. Most first offerings are mired in a cloud of one melody or rhythm spread over ten to twelve tracks. Harcourt succeeds in making every song sound different than the one that preceded it, and in doing this he shows his gift.

As a songwriter, Harcourt has a lot to say. These are not your standard songs of teenage angst. He actually seems to poke fun at this trend in "Hanging With the Wrong Crowd," a superb track.

Of course, the fans that critics like to lump together as liking Radiohead, Buckley, fill in a contemporary British band, etc. will probably like this album a lot. The opening track is clearly influenced by 'No Surprises." But what intelligent band or artist isn't conscious of what Radiohead are up to?

The bottom line is that the music is great, the instrumentation is varied, the lyrics are clever, and in Harcourt the States have received another great British artist a year late.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ed Harcourt's Monsters...Here at last, March 26, 2002

By	Junglies (Morrisville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

A friend of mine in England was raving about this guy so much last year I bought everything that he has produced thus far.

Before reviewing this album I want to rant a little about the delays in getting good stuff over here in the US when it is available in Europe and elsewhere long before it reaches these shores. With internet radio and good market research it must be within the bounds of the imagination to be able to move artists and material over here a lot sooner. It seems to me that there is more concern about shipping millions of units of J-Lo ( sounds like a Chinese dish doesn't it?) without trying to build up emerging foreign artists.

This album grows on you after several plays. Ed Harcourt uses a wide variety of voice, musical styles and instruments and has a strong lyrical content to his songs. Powerful imagery is evoked and emotions stirred by the songs. I have had this in my car an awful lot since I bought it last year and never tire of it.

Trying to provide a reference point for Harcourt is difficult - I find myself thinking of Martin Stephenson at times, at others, Jackson Browne, often Kevin Coyne although none of them are similar. I think too, of Nick Drake, of Michael Chapman and even Roy Harper.

Ed Harcourt is Ed Harcourt. This is a splendid album and deserves to be in everyone's library.

Thank you Mike Kirby for introducing me to this artist. You always did have excellent taste.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Here Be Monsters, I Love Monsters!, April 4, 2002

By	Christopher Wild "Lover of great writing" (Wauwatosa, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This has to be one of the most engaging LP's I've listened to this year. I heard it playing at a small record store in Madison, WI, and had to have it immediately.

From the first notes, these mouth-watering slabs of pure indie-pop reach out and weave their way into your soul. I'm not sure where Ed has been all these years, but he was worth the wait. And I thought nothing could hold a candle to Pete Yorn!

"She Fell Into My Arms" ranks right up there with anything in recent memory, and immediately following is "Those Crimson Tears," a song that makes you want to cry a few of your own.

This album is going into my top 10 for 2002!!