''Exile'' is the second studio album by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

duo

Hurts Hurts may refer to: * Pain, injury or suffering * Hurts (duo), British musical duo * Hurts (song), "Hurts" (song), by Emeli Sandé, 2016 * "Hurts", a song by Lany from ''LANY (album), LANY'', 2017 * "Hurts", a song by Mika from ''No Place in Heaven ...

. It was released on 8 March 2013 by Major Label. The album was produced by Hurts, along with Jonas Quant—with whom the duo worked on their debut album, ''

Happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

'' (2010)—and Dan Grech-Marguerat. " Miracle" was released on 11 January 2013 as the lead single from the album, followed by " Blind" on 10 May 2013 and " Somebody to Die For" on 21 July 2013. Upon release, ''Exile'' debuted at number nine on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, while charting inside the top 10 in eight other countries.

Background

The album's title was revealed in December 2012, followed by the track listing and artwork in January and February 2013, respectively. Hurts singer Theo Hutchcraft came up with the title while sitting in a bar in

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; he glimpsed it on a scrolling billboard, and it was the only word he could understand. "That sense of being in a weird place. Freedom, fear, isolation, joy, religion, punishment, the decadence that comes with exile—always being on tour, always far away from home. It did feel like we were on the run, always chasing something". Hutchcraft read Cormac McCarthy's 2006 apocalyptic novel '' The Road'' three times while writing the album, which was recorded from January to June 2012. Speaking to ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' about ''Exile'', he said: "We had to push ourselves and express the more intense, darker side which lies at the heart of our music. The first record was mainly about love and loss. This is a record about sex and death. The whole process was one of the heaviest and most extreme experiences we've had, but now we're on the outside looking in, it feels like we've made something truly unique and special."

Composition

Compared to Hurts' debut album, ''

'', ''Exile'' incorporates more orchestral and rock instrumentation, while retaining the duo's core new wave and

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

influences. According to Matt Collar of

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, the album "updat stheir '80s electronic sound with a sparkling,

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

sheen that weaves in

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orchestral sections, choirs of backing vocals, and even some swaggering

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

guitar attitude." The album's lyrical themes include sadism, sickness, possessiveness and envy. The album's second track, " Miracle", employs an anthemic chorus and a

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

-esque backdrop of stadium guitars and synths. Adam Anderson described it as the most effortless song the duo have ever done, and compared writing it to the creation of " Stay" from ''Happiness''. Note: Click on "Read more" under "Biography" on the right side of the page. Critics compared "Miracle" to Nine Inch Nails, as well as

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

's songs "

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

" and " Princess of China". "Sandman" has an R&B feel to it; according to Hutchcraft, the duo aimed to "make a song that sounded like Hudson Mohawke, but as a pop song." The song was described as "a mechanical krautrocky dirge with a pop heart", while its child choir was branded "creepy" and "cloying" by critics. Inspired by Cormac McCarthy's 2006 apocalyptic novel of the same name and J. G. Ballard's 1973 novel '' Crash'', "The Road" is about a car accident. "We tried to write the darkest song we could", says Hutchcraft. "We thought 'How bleak can we make it?'" He explained, "We wanted people to hear 'The Road' first because it's the most extreme example of the idea on the record." To record "Help", the duo enlisted a choir made up of fans from around the world. "They were all brilliant", Hutchcraft said. "It was such a powerful thing, watching them. So emotional. To hear a mass of people singing 'I just need some help'. It was heartbreaking."

Release and promotion

Promotion for ''Exile'' started with a two-minute mini-promo for "The Road" directed by Nez Khammal, which was unveiled on 14 December 2012. Conceptually, the video takes the viewer on a journey of the life of Hurts members Hutchcraft and Anderson. Following its premiere on

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's "Hottest Record in the World" on 12 February 2013, the song "Sandman" was made available as a free download from Hurts' official website. The duo performed a cover of Bruno Mars' " Locked Out of Heaven" along with "Miracle" and "Exile" in a live session at BBC Radio 1's Maida Vale Studios for Zane Lowe on 13 February 2013. In February 2013, Hurts performed a NME Awards show at London's

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

and a gig at Berlin's Postbahnhof, before embarking on a 12-date European headline tour, which commenced in

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on 14 March and ended in

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on 2 April. The second leg of the tour started on 25 October 2013, visiting countries such as the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Czech Republic, Germany and Luxembourg.

Singles

The album's lead single, " Miracle", received its first worldwide radio play on Huw Stephens' BBC Radio 1 breakfast show on 4 January 2013. The song was released digitally in several continental European countries on 11 January 2013 and in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2013. Hurts performed "Miracle" on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show on 9 March 2013, alongside a cover version of " Wonderwall" by

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentBlind" was released as the album's second single on 10 May 2013. The duo premiered the track during a live session at Absolute Radio. The accompanying video was shot on location in Spain and debuted on 4 April 2013. " Somebody to Die For" was released on 19 July 2013 as the third single from the album. The duo premiered the track during a special live session at

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in January 2013.

Critical reception

''Exile'' received mixed reviews from music critics. At

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, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 59, based on 16 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Simon Price of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' wrote that "''Exile'' employs greater variety than ''Happiness'', from acoustic piano to—shock—what sounds like electric guitar, but without sacrificing any of the grandeur. It's often reminiscent of Soft Cell or late 1980s

. It's on close personal terms with magnificence."

editor Matt Collar viewed the album as a "bigger, brasher, even more passionate version of the cinematic feel heard on ''Happiness''", adding that " at's clear about Hurts on ''Exile'' is how skilled Hutchcraft and Anderson are at seamlessly incorporating their influences, so you can hear the bands' inspirations in every line even as you marvel that this album is like nothing you've heard before." Dan Martin of ''

'' compared ''Exile'' to

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

's album '' The 2nd Law'' and stated that, "by hooking their comeback on ''Exile''s lead single 'Miracle', urtsreminded everyone just how bloody fantastic they were at writing anthemic songs." Gareth Ware of This Is Fake DIY expressed that the album "cements he duo'splace as mainstream pop's most daring and ambitious offering. While the relentless realisation of their film-ready stylings may not be to everyone's tastes, the fact they're here at all in the first place is a cause worth celebrating in itself." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''s Caroline Sullivan commented that "though the duo now incorporate spasms of grotty, Nine Inch Nailsy guitar .. ''Exile'' is still defined by its synth-pop froideur", noting that Hurts have "a gift for striding, anthemic choruses that turn even the most overwrought songs into unshakeable earworms." Chris Saunders of ''

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'' complimented Hurts for "making stadium sized pop music with a darker underbelly, without forcing it, in the same black vein as Depeche Mode", while remarking, "''Exile'' isn't a bad album, and Hurts do what they do well ..Yet ''Exile'' is found wanting when they try too much to be the stadium band rather than allowing the drama to play out." Tom Hocknell of BBC Music opined that, although ''Exile'' "occasionally takes itself so seriously that it's hard not to smirk", the album "genuinely builds upon its predecessor" and "reinforces the feeling in modern pop that no other group sounds quite as hurt as Hurts." ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''s Hermione Hoby faulted the album for lacking a "killer single" and wrote, "It's all laid on thick—the violins, the choir-sung, stadium-friendly choruses—but the songwriting isn't sturdy enough to hold it all up." In a review for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', Maria Schurr characterised the duo as "style over substance" and found that musically, the album is "rarely memorable enough". Schurr continued, "No matter how many dark subjects are nested throughout, too often the music on ''Exile'' falls back into the same old tricks of bells-and-whistles pop choruses and obvious hooks." '' Time Out London''s Oliver Keens felt that the album's "poppy moments have become as lazy and humdrum as 'Sandman'", concluding that "too often the desire to directly rival Muse or U2 makes urtssound lost and featherweight in comparison." John Freeman of '' Clash'' stated the album "starts brightly", but critiqued that tracks like "Blind", "Sandman" and "The Rope" " educe''Exile'' to a chilling example of naked ambition prioritising production style over songwriting substance."

Commercial performance

''Exile'' debuted at number nine on the

, selling 12,124 copies in its first week.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of ''Exile''.

Hurts

* Hurts – programming ; production ; instruments ; keyboards ; guitar ; mixing * Adam Anderson – art direction * Theo Hutchcraft – vocals, art direction

Additional personnel

* Malin Abrahamsson – choir vocals * John Barclay – trumpet * Dick Beetham – mastering * Mark Berrow – violin * Rachel Stephanie Bolt – viola * Emil Chakalov – violin * Dermot Crehan – violin * Caroline Dale – cello * Dave Daniels – cello * Laurence Davies – horn * Liz Edwards – violin * Richard Edwards – trombone * David Emery – assistant engineering * Martin Forslund – assistant engineering * Duncan Fuller – assistant engineering * Karolin Funke – choir vocals * Jennifer Götvall – choir vocals * Dan Grech-Marguerat – production ; engineering , engineering ; mixing * Peter Hanson – violin * Jakob Hermann – engineering ; drums * The Hurts Choir – additional vocals * Garfield Jackson – viola *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

– mastering *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

– piano * Salome Kent – strings, vocals * Patrick Kiernan – violin * Boguslaw Kostecki – violin * Julian Leaper – violin * Gaby Lester – violin * Anthony Lewis – cello * Martin Loveday – cello * Steve Mair – bass * Wil Malone – brass arrangement, brass conductor ; trumpet ; string arrangement, string conductor * Rita Manning – violin * Charl Marais – photography * Perry Montague-Mason – violin * Andy Parker – viola * Jonas Quant – instruments ; production, programming ; keyboards ; guitar ; mixing * Tom Pigott-Smith – violin * Anthony Pleeth – cello * Maciej Rakowski – violin * Simon Rayner – horn * Jonathan Rees – violin * Tom Rees-Roberts – trumpet * Frank Schaefer – cello * Nathalie Schmeikal – backing vocals * Mary Scully – bass * Shilling & Shilling – design * Emlyn Singleton – violin * Oskar Stenmark – bass guitar, trombone, trumpet * Per Stenbeck – bass guitar * Spike Stent – mixing * Tina Sunnero – choir vocals * Cathy Thompson – violin * Chris Tombling – violin * Allen Walley – bass * Paul Walsham – drums * Vicci Wardman – viola * Richard Watkins – horn * Pete Watson – bass guitar ; piano ; performer * Bruce White – viola * Andy Wood – trombone * Steve Wright – viola * Warren Zielinski – violin

Background

Composition

Release and promotion

Singles

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Personnel

Hurts

Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links