Overpowered

Overpowered
Studio album by Róisín Murphy
Released	11 October 2007
Recorded	2006–07
Studio	Various The Bowling Green (Sheffield, England) Da Spot (Miami, Florida) Fluidity Studios (London, England) Mr Dan's (London, England) The Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre	Electropop[1] dance-pop electro-disco
Length	59:49
Label	EMI
Producer	Dan Carey Andy Cato Jimmy Douglass Ill Factor Róisín Murphy Parrot & Dean Richard X Seiji Mike Ward
Róisín Murphy chronology
Ruby Blue (2005) Overpowered (2007) Hairless Toys (2015)
Singles from Overpowered
"Overpowered" Released: 9 July 2007 "Let Me Know" Released: 8 October 2007 "You Know Me Better" Released: 31 March 2008 "Movie Star" Released: 14 October 2008

Overpowered is the second solo studio album by Irish singer and songwriter Róisín Murphy, released on 11 October 2007 by EMI. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, the album was more commercially successful than its predecessor, Ruby Blue (2005), debuting at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart with 9,656 copies sold in its first week.^[2] Overpowered was shortlisted for the 2007 Choice Music Prize in Murphy's native Ireland.^[3] As of May 2015, the album had sold 65,532 copies in the United Kingdom.^[2]

Background and recording

In 2006, while promoting her band Moloko's greatest hits album, Catalogue, Murphy announced that she was recording a new album to be released in 2007. After signing to EMI in May 2006, Murphy set out to produce a pop album with a heavy disco influence. With a bigger budget behind her than with her last record company, the independent Echo Records, Murphy recorded around 30 songs for the album with various producers and writers in Miami, London and Barcelona, commenting that each of the producers aided the pop influence of the album, as they all wanted to write "the single". She later noted that "It's the first time I've worked with multiple writers. I needed to keep in mind a clear idea what kind of record I wanted to make. There was no experiment about it".^[4]

Murphy collaborated with Scottish electronic musician Calvin Harris on the songs "Off & On" and "Don't Let It Go to Your Head Boy", which did not make the cut for Overpowered. During an interview with Popjustice, Harris called Murphy "a bit mental" for not including the songs on the album, while accusing her of "cost[ing] me all sorts of money" during recording.^[5] Murphy and Harris have since resolved their differences, and the song "Off & On" was ultimately recorded by English pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor for her 2011 album Make a Scene.^[6][7]

Art direction

The artwork for Overpowered and its accompanying single releases was conceptualised by Scott King (who also directed the music videos for "Overpowered" and "Let Me Know"), and the cover images were photographed by Jonathan de Villiers. The artwork places Murphy wearing extraordinary outfits in everyday surroundings, presenting her as a "street diva"^[8] and a constant performer. Murphy wears outfits by Gareth Pugh, Givenchy and Viktor & Rolf in the artwork.^[9]

The design inside the booklet for Overpowered features a cryptic assemblage (resembling a flowchart but lacking directional indications found in such) made up of boxes containing statements and quotes, as well as apparent excerpts from the written treatment for the promotional video of "Let Me Know" and assorted photographs. Among the known quotations are: "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" (Laurie Anderson) and "I got signed to EMI because I reminded them of Robbie Williams" (Murphy).^[9] According to Murphy, the photography for the album and single sleeves cost £125,000.^[10]

Promotion

The album was preceded by the title track "Overpowered", released as its lead single on 9 July 2007. As the single was ineligible to chart, it failed to enter the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart, instead reaching number 149.^[11] "Let Me Know" was released as the second single from the album on 8 October 2007, reaching number 28 on the UK Singles Chart.^[12] "You Know Me Better" was released as the album's third single on 31 March 2008, peaking at number 47 on the UK Singles Chart.^[12] The album's fourth and final single, "Movie Star", was released digitally in the United States on 14 October 2008.^[13]

In support of the album, Murphy embarked on an extensive tour across Europe. During the tour, she also performed in Australia and a one-night show in New York City. On 27 October 2007, Murphy sustained an eye injury during a concert in a Moscow club and had to cancel several subsequent shows.^[14] In total, Murphy performed 94 shows in 29 countries from 17 November 2007 to 2 November 2008.^[15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100[16]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[17]
AllMusic	[18]
Drowned in Sound	6/10[19]
musicOMH	[20]
NME	6/10[21]
The Observer	[22]
Pitchfork Media	8.0/10[23]
Stylus Magazine	B+[24]
The Sunday Times	[25]
Yahoo! Music	[26]

Overpowered received general acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".^[16] The Observer's Garry Mulholland lauded the album as "a sumptuous 11-track, all-killer-no-filler, electro-disco gem", adding that its "bubbling, sensual, and soulful glitterball gems effortlessly tap into the perennial glory of feeling lost and lonely at the disco at the end of the world."^[22] Heather Phares of AllMusic called it "[a]ptly enough for such a pop-focused album" and wrote that "nearly every song on Overpowered sounds like a potential smash hit. Even if this album is a bid for the big time, it's done with such flair that it just underscores what a confident and unique artist Murphy really is."^[18] Ben Urdang of musicOMH praised Overpowered as Murphy's "most coherent album yet", noting that her songwriting "appears to be stronger than ever with a consistent style and sound emerging throughout."^[20] Emily Mackay of Yahoo! Music expressed that on Overpowered, Murphy "melded the two sides of her history much more seamlessly; four-to-the-floor pop belters mix with touches of electronic and lyrical darkness to make one of the pop albums of the year."^[26]

Stephen Trouss of Pitchfork Media commented, "In a year of low-stakes disappointment for European pop, Overpowered is a triumph."^[23] Stylus Magazine's Dan MacRae found that "Overpowered knows how to squeech and squelch in the proper places, while touches of cowbell, beatboxery, and the occasional Prince styled riff all get sprinkled in accordingly."^[24] Jax Spike of About.com described the album as "pretty overpowering itself, containing solid electropop music with plenty of funky flavor and some really wild beats, with her smooth voice exuding confidence despite any moments of breathiness."^[17] The Sunday Times critic Mark Edwards opined, "The music on Overpowered plays down her quirky (all right, difficult) side in favour of a melange of disco/house styles from 1975 to 1989. It lacks the glam wit of Goldfrapp or the cheekiness of Kylie [Minogue], but it's brisk and efficient."^[25] The NME viewed Overpowered as "a thoroughly modern pop album that will best appeal to ageing clubbers."^[21] In a mixed review, Cpt H.M. 'Howling Mad' Murdock of Drowned in Sound concluded, "Not once does Overpowered really drag its feet, but it never truly impacts with the might one could possibly expect from an artist with such a fine pedigree. It's a solid pop album, one wonderfully in tune with today's stylistic shifts and trends."^[19] Lauren Murphy of entertainment.ie felt that the album "sticks rigidly to a tried-and-tested formula, rarely colouring outside the lines or deviating from the disco/house vibe", but noted that "there are some fantastically uplifting dance-pop tunes here, all launched forth with the effortless vigour that Murphy does so well."^[27]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Overpowered"	Róisín Murphy Paul Dolby Mike Patto	Seiji	5:08
2.	"You Know Me Better"	Murphy Andy Cato	Cato Ill Factor^[a]	4:18
3.	"Checkin' on Me"	Murphy Jimmy Douglass Ivan Corraliza Cheri London	Douglass Ill Factor	4:39
4.	"Let Me Know"	Murphy Cato	Cato Ill Factor^[a]	5:10
5.	"Movie Star"	Murphy Dolby Patto	Parrot & Dean	4:02
6.	"Primitive"	Murphy Corraliza	Douglass Ill Factor	4:50
7.	"Footprints"	Murphy Dolby Mark de Clive-Lowe	Seiji	3:37
8.	"Dear Miami"	Murphy Dolby Patto	Seiji	3:41
9.	"Cry Baby"	Murphy Richard Barratt Dean Honer Mike Ward	Parrot & Dean Ward^[a]	5:55
10.	"Tell Everybody"	Murphy Douglass Corraliza London	Douglass Ill Factor	3:51
11.	"Scarlet Ribbons"	Murphy Barratt Honer Ward	Dan Carey	5:36
12.	"Body Language" (bonus track)	Murphy Cato	Cato	4:40
13.	"Parallel Lives" (bonus track)	Murphy Richard X	Richard X	4:22

European iTunes Store bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
14.	"Pandora"	Murphy Richard X	Richard X	3:56

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Overpowered.^[28]

Róisín Murphy – vocals, production Matt Cappy – trumpet (track 3) Dan Carey – engineering, production (track 11); mixing (track 4, 11) Andy Cato – engineering, instrumentation, production (tracks 2, 4, 12) Mark de Clive-Lowe – keyboards (track 7) Carl Cox – tenor saxophone (track 3) Tom Coyne – mastering (track 9) Jimmy Douglass – production (tracks 3, 6, 10); mixing (track 7, 8, 12) Tom Elmhirst – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13) Ill Factor – production (tracks 3, 6, 10); additional production (tracks 2, 4); brass arrangements (track 3); instrumentation (tracks 3, 10) Larry Gold – string arrangements (tracks 3, 6, 10) Dean Honer – production, programming, synthesiser (tracks 5, 9); additional engineering (track 5) Scott King – art direction, design Eric Kupper – mixing (track 2) Cheri London – backing vocals (track 10)

Joshua Maiden – strings engineering (tracks 3, 6); engineering (track 10) Robin Mullarkey – bass (track 11) Stephan Murphy – bass (track 3) Dave Okumu – guitar (tracks 1, 7, 8) Ross Orton – drums (track 5) Jan Ozveren – guitar (track 11) Parrot – production, programming, synthesiser (tracks 5, 9) Mike Patto – keyboards (track 1); guitar (tracks 5, 8) Richard X – keyboards, production (track 13) Davide de Rose – drums (track 11) Kevin Rudolf – guitar (track 4) Seiji – drums, production (tracks 1, 7, 8); keyboards (tracks 1, 7); engineering (tracks 5, 7, 8) Alexis Smith – studio assistant (track 4); assistant engineering (track 11) Philly Smith – backing vocals (track 9) Eddie Stevens – keyboards (track 11) Stephen Tirpak – brass arrangement, trombone (track 3) Jonathan de Villiers – photography Mike Ward – additional production (track 9)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Hitseekers Albums Chart[29] 19 Austrian Albums Chart[30] 35 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[31] 4 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[32] 34 Dutch Albums Chart[33] 13 European Top 100 Albums[34] 30 Finnish Albums Chart[35] 28 French Albums Chart[36] 154 German Albums Chart[37] 57 Irish Albums Chart[38] 51 Polish Albums Chart[39] 16 Scottish Albums Chart[40] 46 Swiss Albums Chart[41] 32 UK Albums Chart[12] 20

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Peak position Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[42] 48

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Belgium (BEA)[43]	Gold	15,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[44]	Silver	65,532[2]
^*sales figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Ref.
Germany	11 October 2007	EMI	[45]
France	15 October 2007		[46]
Poland			[47]
United Kingdom			[48]
Finland	17 October 2007		[49]
Australia	26 October 2007		[50]

References

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