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Mama, I'm Swollen

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Mama, I'm Swollen
Studio album by
Cursive
ReleasedMarch 1, 2009
RecordedDecember 2008
GenreEmo, indie rock
Length40:47
LabelSaddle Creek
ProducerA. J. Mogis
Cursive chronology
Happy Hollow
(2006) 		Mama, I'm Swollen
(2009) 		I Am Gemini
(2012)

Mama, I'm Swollen is the sixth studio album by the American indie rock band Cursive, on Saddle Creek Records.[1] It was released on March 1, 2009 digitally, March 10 on CD, and was released on LP on May 19, 2009. The entire album was played through as a preview at Subterranean in Chicago on June 27, 2008. On February 24, 2009 the band released "From the Hips" on their website.

Background

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In December 2008, the band had finished recording and mixing their next album.[2]

Release

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In January 2009, the band went on a tour of the US.[2] On February 2, 2009, Mama, I'm Swollen was announced for release the following month; alongside this, its artwork and track listing were posted online.[3] "I Couldn't Love You" was posted online on February 23, 2009, followed by "From the Hips" two days later.[4][5] On March 1, 2009, the album was released digitally in 320 kbps MP3s with a PDF booklet and cover art at the cost of $1.00 USD, with a one dollar increase in price until its release day.[6] Each CD digipak and 180 gram red vinyl/CD gatefold package order will come with a bonus download card with other songs, demos, and videos. It was supported with a handful of releases shows across the country, with support from Ladyfinger and Little Brazil.[7][8] The trek also included an appearance at the South by Southwest music conference and a performance of "From the Hips" on Late Show with David Letterman.[9][10] A music video was released for "From the Hips" on March 30, 2009.[11]

For the 2009 Record Store Day event, the band released a split with Ladyfinger, which featured Cursive's "From the Hips" and "Universal Shrug", while Ladyfinger contributed "Little Things" and "Old News".[12] In April and May 2009, the band went on a US tour with Man Man.[8] They went on a tour of the UK to close out May 2009, before embarking on a US tour until July 2009.[13] Further shows were added, extending the trek into August 2009.[14] During this, a music video was released for "I Couldn't Love You". Kasher said it was a "gross exaggeration of the 'trophy wife' concept -- grooms hunting down brides, hanging wedding pictures over the mantel next to a deer head".[15] They went on a short tour of Japan in October 2009; they closed the year with a US tour in November and December 2009.[16] Between February and April 2010, the band went on a US tour with Alkaline Trio, with support from the Dear & Departed.[17][18]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
Drowned in Sound(9/10)[21]
Blender[22]
Entertainment Weekly(C+)[23]
Pitchfork Media(5.2/10)[24]
PopMatters(5/10)[25]
Rock Sound[26]
Rolling Stone[27]
Slant Magazine[28]
Tiny Mix Tapes[29]

Initial critical response to Mama, I'm Swollen ranged from mixed to positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 65, based on 14 reviews.[19]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."In the Now"2:34
2."From the Hips"3:55
3."I Couldn't Love You"3:21
4."Donkeys"3:58
5."Caveman"3:23
6."We're Going to Hell"4:53
7."Mama, I'm Satan"4:28
8."Let Me Up"4:47
9."Mama, I'm Swollen"3:20
10."What Have I Done?"6:11

Bonus Material Download Card

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CD and LP versions of the album came with a Bonus Material Download Card to enable the customer to download five bonus tracks and 14 tour videos not included on the album by going to http://saddle-creek.com/mamaimswollen and entering the code found on the card. The code only works once.

Bonus Tracks

  1. "All I Know"
  2. "Mama's Baggage"
  3. "I Couldn't Love You (demo, alternate lyrics)"
  4. "What Have I Done (demo, extra verse, alternate lyrics)"
  5. "In the Now (demo, alternate lyrics)"

References

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  1. ^ Cursive's Latest Album. Noise Press. Retrieved 2009-02-26
  2. ^ a b Paul, Aubin (December 4, 2008). "Cursive wrapping up album, plan dates". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  3. ^ Paul, Aubin (February 2, 2009). "Cursive set release date for 'Mama, I'm Swollen'". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Paul, Aubin (February 23, 2009). "Cursive: 'I Couldn't Love You'". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Paul, Aubin (February 25, 2009). "Cursive: 'From the Hips'". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Paul, Aubin (March 1, 2009). "Cursive selling new album for $1". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Paul, Aubin (January 13, 2009). "Cursive (March)". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Paul, Aubin (March 12, 2009). "Cursive / Ladyfinger / Man Man". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  9. ^ Paul, Aubin (January 15, 2009). "SXSW with The Queers, Rival Schools, TAAS, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Teenage Bottlerocket". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  10. ^ Paul, Aubin (March 15, 2009). "Cursive: 'From The Hips' live on Letterman". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  11. ^ Paul, Aubin (March 30, 2009). "Cursive: 'From The Hips'". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  12. ^ Paul, Aubin (April 17, 2009). "Cursive to release split with Ladyfinger for Record Store Day". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  13. ^ Paul, Aubin (May 1, 2009). "Cursive". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  14. ^ Paul, Aubin (June 19, 2009). "Cursive". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Paul, Aubin (June 12, 2009). "Cursive: 'I Couldn't Love You'". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Paul, Aubin (October 15, 2009). "Cursive". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Paul, Aubin (December 22, 2009). "Alkaline Trio / Cursive". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  18. ^ Yancey, Bryne (January 7, 2010). "The Dear and Departed tapped to support Alkaline Trio / Cursive tour". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Cursive:Mama, I'm Swollen (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  20. ^ Mama, I'm Swollen at AllMusic
  21. ^ "Drowned in Sound review". Archived from the original on 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  22. ^ "Blender review". Archived from the original on 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  23. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  24. ^ Pitchfork review
  25. ^ PopMatters review
  26. ^ Kellehar, Rachel (June 2009). "Cursive – Mama, I'm Swollen." Rock Sound (123): 82. ISSN 1465-0185.
  27. ^ Rolling Stone review
  28. ^ Slant review
  29. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes review
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