Against Perfection

Against Perfection
Studio album by
Adorable
Released1 March 1993 (1993-03-01)
Studios
  • Greenhouse Studio, London
  • The Beat Factory, London
GenreShoegaze
Length48:50
LabelCreation
ProducersPat Collier
Alan Moulder (track 5)
Adorable chronology
Against Perfection
(1993)		 Fake
(1994)
Singles from Against Perfection
  1. "Sunshine Smile"
    Released: 20 April 1992
  2. "I'll Be Your Saint"
    Released: 13 July 1992
  3. "Homeboy"
    Released: 26 October 1992
  4. "Sistine Chapel Ceiling"
    Released: 25 January 1993
  5. "Favourite Fallen Idol"
    Released: 12 April 1993

Against Perfection is the debut album by the British alternative rock band Adorable. It was released in the UK on 1 March 1993 on Creation Records and in the United States by SBK. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

"Still Life" was recorded without the inclusion of drums. "Sunshine Smile" was a college radio hit.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar
Select3/5

The Washington Post wrote that the album "sometimes balances the harsh and the lyrical in the manner of My Bloody Valentine, but ultimately seems more indebted to the minor-key epics of early Echo and the Bunnymen." The Waterloo Region Record noted that "all twelve songs on this release sound pretty much the same, with Piotr Fijalkowski's very power-wave British vocals set against guitars that threaten to jangle but usually just screech." Trouser Press praised the "sharp, varied songs that are by turns pretty, soaring and brooding."

In 2016, Pitchfork ranked Against Perfection at number 42 on its list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time".

Track listing

UK version
  1. "Glorious" – 4:17
  2. "Favourite Fallen Idol" – 2:41
  3. "A to Fade In" – 4:50
  4. "I Know You Too Well" – 3:41
  5. "Homeboy" – 4:30
  6. "Sistine Chapel Ceiling" – 3:34
  7. "Cut #2" – 4:43
  8. "Crash Sight" – 4:02
  9. "Still Life" – 2:37
  10. "Breathless" – 5:18
US version
  1. "Sunshine Smile" – 5:03
  2. "Glorious" – 4:17
  3. "Favourite Fallen Idol" – 2:41
  4. "A to Fade In" – 4:50
  5. "I Know You Too Well" – 3:41
  6. "Homeboy" – 4:30
  7. "Sistine Chapel Ceiling" – 3:34
  8. "Cut #2" – 4:43
  9. "Crash Sight" – 4:02
  10. "Still Life" – 2:37
  11. "Breathless" – 5:18
  12. "I'll Be Your Saint" – 3:32
Japan version
  1. "Glorious" – 4:17
  2. "Favourite Fallen Idol" – 2:41
  3. "A to Fade In" – 4:50
  4. "I Know You Too Well" – 3:41
  5. "Homeboy" – 4:30
  6. "Sistine Chapel Ceiling" – 3:34
  7. "Cut #2" – 4:43
  8. "Crash Sight" – 4:02
  9. "Still Life" – 2:37
  10. "Breathless" – 5:18
  11. "Sunshine Smile" – 5:03
  12. "I'll Be Your Saint" – 3:32
  13. "Summerside" – 2:49

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1992)
  • Peak
  • position
UK Albums (Official Charts)70

References

  1. ↑ Goddard, Michael; Halligan, Benjamin; Spelman, Nicola (18 July 2013). "Resonances: Noise and Contemporary Music". Bloomsbury Publishing USA – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Adorable Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ "Adorable: Footnotes 92-94". Pitchfork.
  4. ↑ "Unsung: The 100 Greatest Bands You've (Probably) Never Heard". Spin. 25 (8): 68. August 2009.
  5. ↑ "So Adorable". The Salt Lake Tribune. 30 July 1993. p. D5.
  6. ↑ Paul, George (18 June 1993). "ALTERNATIVE". Orange County Register. p. P49.
  7. ↑ Kim, Jae-Ha (30 July 1993). "CLUB HOPPING". WEEKEND PLUS. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 5.
  8. ↑ Parisien, Roch. "Against Perfection – Adorable". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  9. ↑ Kessler, Ted (April 1993). "Adorable: Against Perfection". Select. No. 34. p. 73.
  10. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (23 July 1993). "Adorable Cuts Up, Echoing Bunnymen". The Washington Post. p. N16.
  11. ↑ Randall, Neil (29 July 1993). "Against Perfection Adorable". Waterloo Region Record. p. D9.
  12. ↑ "Adorable". Trouser Press. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. 24 October 2016. p. 1. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 7/3/1993 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2019.