Any Other City

Studio album by Life Without Buildings

Released

26 February 2001

Genre

Indie rock

Length

44:30

Label

Tugboat Records (UK), DC/Baltimore 2012 (US)

Producer

Andy Miller

Life Without Buildings chronology

Any Other City
(2001)

Live at the Annandale Hotel
(2007)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Drowned in Sound	10/10
NME	4/10
Pitchfork Media	8.7/10
PopMatters	9/10

Any Other City is the first and only studio album by Scottish indie rock band Life Without Buildings, released on 26 February 2001 in the United Kingdom and in 2002 in the United States.

Matthew Willson of Drowned in Sound stated, "This album is a powerful reminder that the punk scene is still producing innovative and exciting new sounds." Drawing comparisons to bands such as The Slits and LiLiPUT, Andy Kellman of AllMusic commented, "These female-fronted groups have certainly inspired LWB, but this quartet -- simply a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist, and a vocalist -- offers much more than nostalgia and post-punk plundering. They're more of a pop band, which is just fine."Noel Murray of The A.V. Club noted the influences of Patti Smith and Sonic Youth, among others, stating that the songs "reduce the flavor and style of all of Life Without Buildings' influences—25 years of brainy girlpunk—and reproduce them on track after track," though he praised the group for their "great sound."

Sue Tompkins' unique vocal style was singled out in multiple reviews. While John Mulvey of NME compared Tompkins' voice to "the scrape of fingernails on a blackboard," opining that "only mad people and immediate family could warm to Tompkins," other critics were more receptive. Jenn Sikes of Splendid praised Tompkins' vocals, stating, "The chewed word-bits are like little metronomes, counting beats between her fully-formed words, which are spoken/sung in a cheery Scottish accent that's childlike but fierce." Kellman commented that "[h]er repet-pet-petitive repetitive style might be at odds with the ears of some listeners, but it's just as unique as the exuberant vocals" employed by Tompkins' influences. Connor McEleney from Structured Harmony praised bassist Chris Evans' performance by describing it as "the stronghold underneath which Tompkins makes her unique sound palatable."

The album was re-released to rave reviews for Record Store Day on 19 April 2014 on the What's Your Rupture label. The vinyl issue included a 7" featuring alternate versions of "The Leanover" and "New Town".

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Wikipedia