Anna

Product Information

The band toured the UK shortly afterwards; "Van Der Graaff" was released as the album's second single in May 2013. They played a few shows in 2011, spending most of the year working on their next album, debuting some new songs in the process. Following its completion, Courteeners appeared at various festivals leading up to a one-off show at the Manchester Arena, and the release of the lead single "Lose Control" in December 2012. evokes the sound of Doves, and describes a woman who enjoys the idea of love than the person she is with. Anna received mixed reviews from critics, with some commenting on the production, while others thought the songs were uninspired.

It evolved out of "Gin on Friday", a song that dated back from the period of their 2007 debut single "Cavorting"; while "Gin on Friday" revolved about being in one's late teens, "Here Come the Young Men" saw the band "looking back over those years, but also saying that we’re not finished yet". Fray told him about "Lose Control" and "Welcome to the Rave", by which Cross was interested based on the descriptions Fray had given him. It has been two years since Courteeners last album Falcon, which charted at number 6 and followed the bands number 4 debut album St Jude.The pair later met up and discussed various topics, before eventually talking about what the band wanted from their next album. Between June and August 2012, Courteeners appeared at the Chester Rocks, T in the Park and Reading and Leeds Festivals festivals, as well as a one-off show in Manchester to coincide with that year's Olympic Games.

Islington Gazette 's Stephen Moore commented that the "sluggish feel to much of the LP that drowns out, or at least distracts from, what was once a key strength". On 8 November 2012, Anna was announced for release in three months' time; alongside this, the album's track listing was posted online. He explained that the material on Falcon were written as acoustic songs, whereas for the new material, he was "building [them] up and getting drum beats and bass parts down" prior to them entering a studio.musicOMH contributor Howard Gorman countered this by writing that Fray's "solid vocals keep the album on track and worthy of hearing through to the end". was released as the album's third single on 6 December 2013; the seven-inch vinyl edition featured a remix of "Are You in Love with a Notion? The album's closing song "Here Come the Young Men" features guitar riffs in the style of the Vaccines. The Irish Times 's Lauren Murphy echoed a similar sentiment, stating that the most prominent issue with the band's "output is that it’s simply far too ordinary", explaining that it "rarely switch[es] tempo beyond a sturdy, mid-placed plod". It peaked at number six in the UK Albums Chart; out of its three singles, "You Overdid It Doll" reached the highest at number 24 in the United Kingdom.

Two years later we made the move to our present address, 35 The Headrow, where we have remained ever since. Fray said they wanted to hire a newcomer to do the art, instead of finding a well-known artist, eventually coming across Paul X Johnson through mutual friends. AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares said the album follows the "polished, anthemic vein" of Falcon, while "bring[ing] back some of the swagger [from their debut] that was missing from those songs".The album reached number six in the United Kingdom, number seven in Scotland and number 85 in Ireland. Though originally scheduled for 28 January 2013, "Lose Control" was released as the album's lead single a month early on 10 December 2012; the seven-inch vinyl record edition featured "Chipping Away" as its B-side. Four days later, the artwork was revealed, showing a woman in front of cooling towers, wearing sunglasses with a reflection of a horse in them. This period of time allowed him to re-listen to the songs they had up to that point, which he felt could be improved upon. At the end of the year, the band played three UK shows in their hometown of Manchester in December 2011.

Fray became aware of Joseph Cross from his production work on Happiness (2010) by Hurts, as well as Cross' own material under the moniker Performance. Fray intentionally wanted to work with someone within the members' age range; he met Cross while at a party, who inquired about what new material the band had. Jamie Carson of Clash said it was "full of uninspired and recycled riffs starkly illuminated by the God awful woe-is-me-I’m-northern lyrics".The song was released as the album's second single on 6 May 2013; the seven-inch vinyl edition featured a live version of "Last of the Ladies" as its B-side, while the digital download version included "Let Down Your Guard" and a remix of "Van Der Graaff". After frontman Liam Fray broke his ankle, he re-listened to the material they had up to that point and felt they could be improved on. The album was promoted with two tours of the UK, as well as various festival appearances, including Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and T in the Park.