So Much For The City

UGH. nare stem, ongeïnspireerde muziek

Very lame and annoying. This is like a tutorial on how to live in the 70s after entering 21st century. I like vintage sounding records, but change something or at least make the songs sound good.

Braucht niemand

Bland, cutesy music for pre-pubescent girls

Completely unthrilling

The fact that one of these songs appeared on GWB’s iPod is not a ringing endorsement. But this is pretty shit all on its own. Cheesy, empty, boring, twangy, harmonicas…. Yeah, I’m not into this. Is this an Irish band singing about California? Oh fuck this sucks.

Not for me this one

Thoroughly annoying album. Reminds me a lot of several artists I do like (Grandaddy, Flaming Lips, The Feeling etc) but the songs are uninteresting, the vocals monotone and the bands name a misnomer. Don't see any reason this album could be seen as interesting or inspiring enough to make this list. 1/10

I don't know what it is, but I lothed every second of this album

Another one that baffles the mind. In no way is this a record anyone needs to hear

Maybe I would like this if it weren’t for it being on the list…. bc it’s not worthy of any top 1000 compilation. Bland and forgettable beach boy rip off

I was surprised that this is an Irish band. I was even more surprised it made it on the list.

Det var inget för mig.. visste inte att irländare som sjöng med en amerikansk dialekt mer lät som en grov west country dialekt på amerikansk engelska. Samtidigt hans hesa röst irriterar mig

Sounds to me like a generic college indie band that shouldn't be on this list.

When I worked at a Suburban plaza pub in my early 20s I used to stay well after close to help the bartender close the place. She’d fill me with half pints as I wandered through the jukebox looking for music to accompany us. This was one of the albums I found and I was obsessed with the song Deckchairs and Cigarettes. I played that song multiple times every night (along with Ooooh Child by the 5 stairsteps and Hey Mama by Tupac). As time went on I forgot the name of this band and the song but I remembered the feeling I had and how important a part this song was in this part of my life. Imagine my surprise when the album came up on this list and imagine my utter horror at how much this album sucks. More British boys I’m America face. Ugh.

The band needs to change their name cause this debut was anything but thrilling. Pretty much everything about this album was dull. I compare it to a room temperature plate of buttered spaghetti. Conor Deasy has a voice that makes you cringe...so wimpy and off-putting. I'm happy the team is uplifted by the content they created on a trip to the west but they should have stayed in old Eire. This was a complete flop from the list for me from beginning to end...even all the way to the secret song. These jabronies should be pumping gas. A song from this record even showed up on Dubya's playlist...is that cool? So much for the shitty...1.07 stars.

Not sure why a bunch of Irish indie-pop boys are singing about California towns but to each their own I guess. Maybe someone else can draw some inspiration from the subject matter but I was mostly annoyed by the whole thing. Despite the softer approach something about the vocal style was really grating and irritating. Almost like if someone was intentionally doing a bad impression of someone to get a rise out of them or something. When said and done this album came off as a bunch of lame sappy ballads. At only 45 minutes this was a surprising struggle. Not thrilled in any way. 1.27 stars

Don't remember anything but that it was innocuous the next day.

so i can't beat ana's review which is hilariously on point about how awful this list is and about how nothing this album is, but i can attempt to give a californian perspective because this album is just ridiculous. it is literally just the the band singing about their trip to california. it's embarrassing to hear in a way of like "dude, just relax" if that makes sense. they visit one time and record a whole album about how much they love and miss the concept of california. i'm tugging at my collar. it's a little over-familiar to say the least. absolute drek. get a job. stay away from her (california)!

i definitely don’t hate it and it’s got some good moments but they can’t rlly put together a great song, i definitely don’t think it’s deserving of a place on here

What a terrible pick for my last 1001 album. I would usually give this a 2 but I'm so sad they get this 1.

Never heard of these geezers. How can this be top 1001 albums of all time when I haven’t got half a clue who they are? Santa Cruz (You’re not that far): His voice is shithouse. Are you American or Irish you git? This song has left such a bad taste in my mouth, not even gonna bother with ranking the rest of the album.. Big Sur: Don’t steal our sun: Deck chairs and cigarettes: One horse town: Old friends new lovers: Say it ain’t so: Hollywood kids: Just travelling through: Your love is like Las Vegas: Til the tide creeps in:

So, basically it's competently played and performed. I don't mind a weak or lazy vocalist, but this goes beyond that. A put-on American drawl? I hate that. The constant geographical signposting? Competent as the playing is, the lyrics, instrumentation, and production all sound like a costume. Beach Boys. Jayhawks. Byrds. A Bob Ross painting of Laurel Canyon. I recognize "One Horse Town" from somewhere. Sounds like one of the less ingenious songs by Girls. First reaction was this is a benign 3-/2+, but I had to listen to it all and it just emphasizes its faults over and over. 1.5? Should absolutely not be on a list of 1001 must-listen albums. The note in Wikipedia, kinda sums it up: "The song "Say It Ain't So" appeared on US President George W. Bush's iPod in 2005."

Absolutely not

Total hipster indie rock. You can tell right from the cover. Not sure how many of these slow piano breakdowns I'll be able to take if the ones in the first track keep up. A few tracks in, and I might as well have turned this off after the first one. Pretty lame, high treble oughts hipster indie rock. Then there's the guy's whiney voice... anything but a Thrill, for sure. Not my thing, and why I ignored rock for like a decade starting in late 90s. I can picture exactly the type of bar that used to play shit like this. Then just when you think it's over there's a bonus track. Oh joy. 1/5

This album sucks. When the last song came on and it was 10 minutes long I wanted to kill myself. The hidden track was a jump scare and, predictably, sucked like the rest of this album.

convinced me to give it 1 star in under two seconds. instead of writing a bunch of shitty songs about California they should have used the recording budget on plane tickets. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

Shouldn’t a band called The Thrills be at least a little bit not boring

Not a fave

The more I listened to this the more I hated it. I couldn’t get behind the affect of the lead singer’s voice, every song sounded the same and not in a “sonically cohesive” way, and The Thrills somehow managed to make me hate the greatest instrument of all time (the tambourine). In theory this should’ve been right up my alley, if only for its wistful dreaming of the Californian coast but why you would choose to listen to this album over anything else is beyond me.

Not for me, sounded really thin

Boring, whiny, corny, honkytonk in a very cringe way. Wholly uninteresting. Very glad to have learned this album was dropped from updated editions of this list, no idea how it made it on in the first place

Man, this is wholly unnecessary. I wouldn’t even call this band flash in the pan, they may as well not existed. Why is this here?

this was terrible!

Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) Big Sur

The first song had me thinking it might be okay but there was nothing here that really caught me. Just mediocre and not memorable

I find it no small coincidence that this album was released the same year as the Iraq War. I assume the CIA-funded research into torture resulted in this album. Further proof: The Thrills never released an album after the ending of the enhanced interrogation program. Coincidence? Probably. But this album sucks.

The Thrills, huh. Decidedly not delivering on the name (Yeah, I was champing at the bit to delivery that absolute ZINGER). Everything is great except for the weird whisper singing of the vocalist. I think the Eels are the only group that can get away with that. Every song just made me so mad because it was somehow tedious and time wasting to listen to this album. I felt a brief glimmer of hope at the very end both when the vocals started to speak up and when the track ended.

Boring

another piece of evidence that the irish are shit musicians. do not let the propaganda from big pub fool you

Musica para cayetanos (no hay nada mas que ver la portada) no soporté.

What have I done to deserve this bland, whiny, boring indie pop shite? And I like whiny indie pop.

This isa struggle for me, as I see very little value in there. I get mad, at the number of great records from other countries we could have had, instead of this very run of the mile 00's indie thing. Every song sounds the same, (and that sound is lame). It was really not for me, I listened to it, immediately forgot it, and I can't seem to think what people will like about this.

This one fell flat for me. I didn't dislike the album exactly, but it felt like a really surface-level understanding of a small corner of America that is masquerading as something more profound. The music itself is fine yet forgettable. I don't really understand why this one's on the list instead of a stronger Indie entry. Favorite track: "Big Sur" because it's funny that I got this just a few days after an album by The Monkees

Thoughts before listening: No idea. Looks like this is from the 00s so I'm going to guess its some sort of British indie rock band. Review: Yeah I guess I got it right. For some reason a bunch of their songs are about California? Weird subject matter for a Dublin-based band. Seems a little contrived quite frankly like they are trying to emulate the 70s California rock scene...or maybe just that band with the dude from Rushmore in it that did the theme song for the OC. Anyway, this is pretty bad. Not really sure why these guys are on here. 1-star

This was fine enough, but more than 20 years on I question how influential they were. And I have given some unknown bands on this list high scores, but they have to be something really special that I feel should be better known to get that. Not sound exactly like the Stereophonics, Travis, and Starsailor. And then the back half of the album devolved into some pseudo-country bullshit and I’m all the way out

Meh

Don't like the voice, nor the music.

Not a fan of this one.

If this is the top 1001 albums this one has to be #1001

Худший! за долгое время (а может и в целом) в списке альбом. Мучительная подъебка под Флэйминг Липс. Лучшая песня - Deckchairs And Cigarettes.

This is extremely plain. Can't wrap my head around the reason why it is included in this list. Amazingly boring. And to think I liked "Big Sur" when it first came out... Well, I was 12, so it shouldn't say much...

I totally forgot about the thrills until today and have seen them live more than once at festivals. Dull then dull now, so bland it sounds like a bad pastiche of folk rock.

This was woeful. Desperately trying to sound “retro”, but instead sounding like a cruddy sixth form band. Vacuous and uninspiring. Definitely not an album that anyone needs to hear before they die. It’s been a tough week, made worse by this.

Belanglos ist noch geprahlt.

Oh, no wonder I don’t remember this from 2003!

Howard Molson has a new shovel. Spear and Jackson No.3.

My goodness, this record is a drag. It is meant to be an attempt at the ´Sunny California´ records from the sixties. But it falls well short of achieving that, just like it falls short of accomplishing anything else. How on earth did this album end up on this list? There is really nothing standing out on this album. A well-deserved 1/5

another cup of instant coffee another plastic spoon another table routine. another 2000s indie rock album. this time with a substantial amount of 60s California country rock flavor. that's like. this list's two favorite things. and they're Irish and have noticeably unamerican accents. not a fan. dull and bland. deserves to be one of the 1001? no. but Whitehouse should have one

Oh this OC crap.

That one review saying this sounds like sober Flaming Lips is so right 😭

nah

Should not be on the list. Completely soulless. There are a few omissions from this list of albums that are actually quite defining in their own genres, and then you get something like this which just feels like a rip off of other music at the time.

Wow! "The Thrills" doesn't quite capture the glory that is this! I think a more appropriate designation would be "AIreland". 2003?! I'm seriously impressed the Irish were already implementing some fairly advanced AI techniques way back then! The music, the vocals, Hell - even the album cover! If I didn't know any better, I'd have totally believed those were real people on there! And how about those lyrics?! Repetitive? Check. Vapid? Check. Repetitive? Check. Amazing!

What the fuck

Wow, I found this to be some boring, lame shit. I like this website but I feel like there’s a fair amount of awful chill indie shit on here. I love some indie but this ain’t it. To me all the songs are boring and sound the same, and the guys breathy falsetto voice isn’t my thing at all. Yuck.

A sound so sugary it damn well may have given me diabetes. A cringe inducing listen. Bewildered at its inclusion. 💫

I found this album to be completely unremarkable in every way. Like I just listened to it and I couldn't really tell you much about it. Plus the vocals were grating. Like a severe annoying version of Wayne Coyne.

I knew right off the bat with Santa Cruz that this was going to be a grind, how repetitive can a song be my god. Dump whoever the songwriter is and this album has 4-star potential. I think the break between the final song and the hidden track was my favorite part.

I don't remember u 1 star

Sucked

I could have died and not listened to this album.

Who votes for this shit?

This one is somewhat nostalgic for me, as it was played to death on Irish radio at the time, when I was about 12 or 13. Apart from the big hits though, it's fairly dull. The singer's fake American accent gets old pretty quickly too. It's a pleasant enough sounding album, but is so derivative of the influences they wear proudly on their sleeves, that I don't think it's really deserving of this list.

Somewhere between country and britpop, but with more jingling and jangling. Insufferable in its cheerful moments, annoying in its louder moments, and with all the depth of a pothole puddle.

Terrible. Not sure out of all the music in the world that this was a must listen. Awful vocals

Aburridillo

Why is this essential listening

Rubbish dull

If you’re feeling particularly numb today, lying on your sofa with no motivation to get up at all, giving this a play comes highly recommended. I can confirm: it will not disturb your insufferable state of mind. As for why I think So Much for the City is included on this list: I think this is because it is a record that explains… nothing at all. Look, there was a portion of good indie (folk) pop in the early 2000s. A word of warning though: if you want to convince an unbeliever of this, do not play them So Much for the City by The Thrills. Yeah, it’s not a terrible album, but it’s a far cry from being a good one either — and, in theory, even further from being worthy of inclusion on this list. It’s mostly mundane, forgettable, folksy-tinged music about some Irish dudes spending time in California. And I think this is exactly the reason why this should, in practice, belong here. There were already thousands of copycats of this sound, and there will be thousands more to come — which is fine. And if the editors wanted to prove exactly this point by including a random act such as The Thrills, they fully succeeded. So Much for the City is a “powerful” reminder that indie folk always existed, will continue to exist, and that it’ll produce bazillions of records that will be immediately lost to time. Sometimes the sound will be more popular (as it was back in 2003), and sometimes it will be absolutely unpopular (as it is in 2026). Sometimes you will feel shitty, sometimes you will feel better. Two vicious circles aligning… But one thing is for sure: So Much for the City and its countless peers will always be here for you on your streaming service of choice.

point2.

So much alt europe stuff on here. I'm not gonna sit here and call it trash. Because it's not - and some of it is pleasantly surprising. But I'm just saying it doesn't deserve to be dubbed as a top 1001 album. So for that. 1 Star

Very bland, meh music. I'm sure they have talent, but it falls short.

Horse music for the fans of Neil Young and the likes ie: not me

Typical 2000s indie garbage

The disaster started with the first song and it didn’t get better. I wanted to like this album but, sadly, we never got there.

Echt ongelofelijk kut

Sugary sweet indie pop about America.

False belle and Sebastian

Boring as bat shit. I kept listening and hoping something was going to happen. No thrills. Zero stars.

No. No fucking way. This guy’s voice is absolutely neutered and the cutesy music doesn’t help. Transatlanticism came out the same year as this if you need an indie record with little boy vocals that doesn’t suck the beach boys dick so hard.

Tulee mieleen Euroviisujen roots-nostalginen ehdokas, joka ei pääse semifinaalista jatkoon. Bändin pienet onnistumiset kaatuvat imelimpiin lyriikoihin (ja laulusoundiin), mitä on koskaan keksitty. 1+

2/10. Not my style. Too posh and Dublin for me

Jesus Christ if this had come out in 1968 I could have appreciated how it was progressive for the time. 2003?

Not so thrilling.

Possibly the most grating singing voice I've ever heard

2000's album that was very clearly inspired by the 60's. The 60's influence bring a nice tone to the album but the 2000's aesthetical choices and production ruins it for me. I don't really care for the songs here and the entire album has this sort of heavy orchestral noisyness to it that doesn't really fit. I don't really see a reason to listen to this one, its too boring for even the Indie crowd and wasn't popular enough to be remembered fondly.

this sucked

Americana for big fans of The OC. It's a swagless Byrds and Beach Boys California tribute that they sometimes pull off. The best bits are the slow spacious parts with loping melodic bass, big reverby atmosphere, gentle piano, soaring slides and clean echoey guitars (Deckchairs & Cigarettes, Hollywood Kids), very pretty, if ultimately empty. But then as soon as they try to high energy and that constant annoying banjo sounding arpeggio kicks in it becomes unbearably cloying. "It's such a shame when old friends fall out" - and actual lyric they repeat multiple times! good lord that's embarrassing.

This may be only my second 1 star review, 713 albums in... Ugh, I knew I was going to hate this after the first song. Just saying "Santa Cruz" over and over and over is not a song. Everything is just so contrived. They took all the worst lessons from 40 years of pop rock. This absolutely should not be on this list.

Worse than I remember somehow

I do not love this guys voice. A little whiny. The music is just fine but a little meh. It feels like a lame indie blend to me. Like if the Cardigans were bad? Or if lumineers/mumford/of monsters and men tried some bullshit 00's alt rock. It doesn't lean enough into either it's folk inspirations or it's weird 2000's indie pop rock leanings. Blah/bad

The fact that one of these songs appeared on GWB’s iPod is not a ringing endorsement. But this is pretty shit all on its own. Cheesy, empty, boring, twangy, harmonicas…. Yeah, I’m not into this. Is this an Irish band singing about California? Oh fuck this sucks.

Hard to put into words just how boring this album is. If this is their definition of Thrills, then the Blue Plate Special and Bingo Night must be highlights of the month. Please, no more.

Sehr langweilig, die Stimme des Sängers ist auch ungeil

instrumentit osittain kuulostaa musiikilta. valitettavasti joku alieni, joku ufopoika käyttää jotain äänijänteitä jota koskaan nähty maapallolla, koska niin uskomattoman kamala ihmiskorvalle. ihmiskorvaa hyökkäävä/raiskaava hirvitysääni. varmaan kuulostaa hyvältä planeetalla glorpsex, mutta maapalllossa, telluksella tämmöinen on rikos. tappaa ihmisiä äänellä. pelkästään äänellä.. jahas irlantilaisia.. noh selittää ehkä vähän paremmin.. mutta nyt alkaa vähän hävettään tämän ihmiskunnan puolesta. tollasia päästetään käveleen. oma kauhunsa sekin... santa cruz

I'm pretty not for this one. Will I listen to again: 0%

Hipster nonsense.

It's not often I react badly to an album but this is so generic and devoid of originality I'm staggered. It sounds like a hundred other bands in the same genre. This won awards too!! Wow! There must have been a real lack of talent that year.

Meh

This one feels bland—a safe album. I had to listen to it three times because it faded into the background after Santa Cruz.

Another non-de-script indie band, not from UK, but from Ireland this time! Whoop di fucking whoo!

In a nutshell: really bad 2000's indie movie soundtrack. It combines elements of The Shins, The Polyphonic Spree, Granddaddy and Badly Drawn Boy...yet it sounds completely bland. Ugh. What a let down for a Mercury nominated album. Overall: 1/10

Twee, dull, annoying.

Don’t really get this.

I really don't like this. To me it sounds over produced and I don't like the vocals. Getting through this is a slog, I see why they removed it from the book lol sorry not sorry Least favourite BY FAR so far

Nothing noteworthy here apart from the horrible forced American accent.

If 90s Wilco, Pavement and Ben Folds Five merged and was lesser than the sum of its parts.

Why?

Ironically named because this is perhaps one of the least thrilling albums I've ever listened too. Ponderous, repetitive, and almost offensively bland. At one point one of them tuned down their guitar and I thought something might happen, but then the harmonica came out and the vocalist repeated the same innane lyrics 15 times on the trot.

This albums inclusion is laughable. This was rubbish and overplayed/over-promoted at the time of release. Cannot believe there aren’t better albums than this to be included. Twee rubbish.

I guess the only good thing that came out of listening to this album was that now I finally know who was responsible for that annoying song that got a lot of airplay in the early 2000s. Utter trash, this is a nasty album in every regard. It sounds like some sort of weird amalgam of christian rock, retro american, and bluegrass. Like a squeaky clean version of the Flaming Lips, with everything interesting sucked out and drowned in a bath of blandness. I was astounded and saddened to learn the band are actually Irish. The singer deserves a jail sentence for crimes against humanity for this drivel.

1. zanta cruz - 0 2. big zur - 0 3. zun - 0 4. cigarettez - 0 5. horze - 0 6. friendz - 0 7. zay - 0 8. kidz - 0 9. travelling - 0 10 vegaz - 0 11. creepz - 0 ZERO , THIZ BAND ZUCKZ BALLZ AT LEAZT THIZ CD

Skilled arrangements, skilled musicians. Nice for a shopping mal. I think, I'll survive, if I diddn't listen to this record......

This isn't a very thrilling record. It's all very nice, but plodding and unmemorable. Doesn't grab my attention. At all.

Sehr langweilig, die Stimme des Sängers ist auch ungeil

Wash your hair and stop with all the whining already.

it wouldn't be until Hey There Delilah that this level of cloying, twee irritation would be surpassed

1 star in 2003 1 star in 2024

Awful

I had never heard of The Thrills, and within 2 seconds of this playing I knew I was not going to like it. It's just pretty standard early 2000s sunny So-Cal Indie Pop but made by Irish folks. Could not be any less interesting.

vervelend van eerste tot waarschijnlijk laatste noot ... maar zover ben ik niet geraakt... ik raakte in een muzikale coma

I already know I'm not going to like this... Yup, hot garbage, every track sounded the same, took me about 30 seconds to skip through the whole album. People who like this.... I don't like you.

Sometimes it sounds like a cheap ripoff of "The Beach Boys". Sometimes like bad country and sometimes like bland indie. I just couldn't get over the style of the lead singer. Probably a 2 but I really didn't like it so 1 it is.

Very little joy here

Zzzzzzzzzz

This album is just awful. So Naff.

Is that Bill Hader? Dude's got a Rockmount Ranchwear shirt it appears. The cover DEFINITELY does not sell this - the posturing is strong in this one. The guy on the far right - ew. I bet they from Ireland or something. This better be good. (Not feeling generous today). Not going to break my rule and read about them before I listen, though. BRB! Is this a prank? They ARE from feckin’ Ireland!!!! I just heard Willie Nelson and now here come these poseurs. Yikes. Bad ideas poorly executed. Why not do your own stuff and leave the Americana to someone who knows how to do it? Awful. Couldn’t get through it.

Ick.

So bland and so beige. Complete lack of soul.

Truly dreadful, boring, uninspiring. Offensive in its mediocrity. Notable for its lack of notability.

It’s not offensive but it didn’t give me the Thrills. This album seemed like a love letter to Americana with an Irish accent. I liked it better when it was called The Joshua Tree.

Jeg er måske lidt harsh her, for jeg syntes egentlig at melodierne og instrumentationerne var rigtig fine, men sangeren har simpelthen en af de hæsligste stemmer, jeg nogensinde har hørt. Negle på en tavle for mig

This manages to be utterly uninteresting, even when compared to the rest of the mid-2000s dross. It's like somebody took The Supernaturals and made them twee. Guff.

Absolutely no idea why this album was on the list. Definitely not a band I would dive into

Grandaddy wants their sound back.

Do not like. Hipster pop.

This is bland.

Nah. I heard this one at the time it was new and a bit hyped but I found it dull and cheesy. Time has done nothing for it. No idea how it has made the list. Is he trying to sound American? It’s just not good and it was also too long, I could not wait for it to end.

Booooring

This just isn't for me...

why is this album on here. i guess i dont like this genre at all

This is really awful. When I thought a generic folk/indie was terrible enough, they started with some unexpressive and generic country influence. To put the last nail in their coffin, Wikipedia says that Bush was a fan. That was all I needed to rate it with 1 star.

This really isn't very good at all. Meek vocals, poor composition, tacky title tracks. Big no from me.

So much for the thrills ...

So Much For This Shit.

1001 Albums To Make You Pray For The Sweet Release Of Death

I really hated this wave of indie music from the mid 2000s. Just nothing music, boring AF

Yeah, no. That was some shit slow, depressing album. Glad it's done.

This was pretty disappointing. Nothing about this record feels authentic. Maybe I’m projecting, but an Irish band affecting a Southern US accent and wistful recollections of travelling there comes across as try hard. The music is fine, but not exceptional. The presentation continually pushed me away. No individual song was a standout. I’ll never listen to any of this again. 1.5/5

Ok it's not bad but there are tens of thousands of albums like this It could come from a band in my village, but not from a book listing the 1001 best albums.

Kind of a really really bad ccr

Boring and generic.

Achei fraquíssimo e repetitivo

pass

I'm sure this sound is for someone, but that someone is not me.

Just got The Zutons and now this, so I guess I'm on a stretch of forgettable indie rock. There's something about the breathy vocals and California-name-checking lyrics that is a particular turnoff for me.

With a vocalist with little range makes this very samey and frankly irritating to listen to. How is this on the list ?

This is straight trash. It was 45 minutes too long. They can't sing and it's indie music. Avoid.