A City by the Light Divided is the fourth studio album by Thursday, released by Island Records on May 2, 2006.
Background
Following a number of issues regarding promotion and lack of communication with independent label Victory Records,[1] Thursday announced they had signed to major label Island Records in May 2002.[2] With the signing being made official in September,[3] the group began working on material for their third album in November.[4] Starting in January 2003,[5] recording sessions lasted six months.[6]War All the Time was released in September.[7] Following its release, keyboardist Andrew Everding, who had performed on the album, became a full-time member of the band. The group subsequently embarked on an exhaustive touring schedule[8] with performances in the UK, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.[9] As a result of this touring, personal problems between members began to occur,[8] but by July they were aiming to record in the next few months.[10]
Production
In September, early demos leaked,[10] and later that month the group started pre-production,[10] done with Tim Gilles.[11] Recording took place at Tarbox Road Studios, in Cassadaga, New York with producer Dave Fridmann[11] Amanda Tannen of Stellastarr and Mary Fridmann of Bass Piggy provided additional vocals on "We Will Overcome".[11] In mid-February, recording was finished and the album was in the process of being mixed[10] by Fridmann. Tom Coyne mastered the album at Sterling sound, in New York City.[11]
Release
On February 5, 2006, A City by the Light Divided was announced for release in May.[12] In mid-February, the group were working on ideas for a music video for "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" with production companies Refused TV and Artificial Army.[10] The song was made available for streaming on February 28.[13] From mid March to the beginning of April, the band went on the first leg of the Shirts for a Cure tour, with support from Minus the Bear, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, and We're All Broken.[14] On March 29, "At This Velocity" was made available for streaming via Alternative Press.[15] For most of April, the band went on the 2006 edition of the Taste of Chaos tour.[16] However, on April 13, Rickly became ill, resulting in the band dropping off the tour.[17] On April 18, A City by the Light Divided was made available for streaming via the band's Myspace profile,[18] and "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" was released to radio.[19]
From late April to late May, the band went on the second leg of the Shirts for a Cure tour, with support from Minus the Bear, mewithoutYou and We're All Broken.[14]A City by the Light Divided was released on May 2 through Island Records.[14] The UK version of the album, which was released through Hassle Records, included the bonus track "Even the Sand Is Made of Seashells".[20] In May and June, the group went on a UK tour.[10] In the summer, the band went on the 2006 edition of Warped Tour.[13] In October and November, the group went on the 2006 international edition of the Taste of Chaos tour, visiting New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.[21] In between dates on this tour, the band went on a co-headlining tour with Rise Against.[22] In January and February 2007, the band went on a tour of the U.S. with support from Fear Before the March of Flames, Murder by Death and Heavy Heavy Low Low.[23]
The album so far has a score of 75 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[24]AbsolutePunk gave it a score of 90% and said that " just like the Buffalo Bills, it’s not about how you start the game, but about how strong you can comeback and finish, and A City By The Light Divided exemplifies this very well."[33]Blender gave it a score of four stars out of five and called it "A widescreen goth-punk stunner."[24]Billboard gave it a positive review and called it "A quality album."[24] Some reviews are average or mixed: Uncut gave it three stars out of five and said, "A sprinkle of Flaming Lips fairy-dust may be just what the genre needs to slip its genre straitjacket."[24]Melodic.net also gave it a score of three stars out of five and said it was "not a superb album but it's a helluva lot better than War All the Time."[34]
Commercial performance
It reached #20 on the Billboard 200.[35] A month after its release, the album had sold over 81,000 copies.[36] By July, it had sold 90,000 copies.[37] By April 2007, it had sold 132,000 copies.[38]
UK: Beth, Jo (August 1, 2003). "Thursday tour October". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Archived from the original on November 5, 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
