Sing Sing Death House is the second studio album by the American punk rock band The Distillers, released in 2002 on Hellcat Records. The song "Seneca Falls" was featured in the game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 and is a reference to the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.
Recording and production Sing Sing Death House was recorded in a week. Production was rushed as the band was supposed to have the album completed within two weeks. However, after their engineer disappeared during the recording sessions, the band was forced to rush the album to meet deadlines. Following its completion, Epitaph delayed its release for nine months.
Composition and lyrics The lyrics on Sing Sing Death House are more direct than on the band's self-titled debut album. This came about due to criticism of the album's nonsensical lyrics in a review written by The Village Voice, which greatly affected Brody. Brody called the review "scathing and hilarious and life-altering", but was grateful for the review's honesty.
"Young Girl" was first released on the band's self-titled debut album as a hidden track with only vocals and guitar. The song was re-recorded as a longer version with the full band and slightly different lyrics for Sing Sing Death House.
Critical reception Andrew Bregman from AllMusic noted the album is "a story with an uncharacteristic ending that punks born of squalor can rise up and create music as impassioned and relatively positive as this", also calling it "authentic". In a 2003 piece called "Bands to Watch," Tim Kenneally from Spin wrote, "the band conjures the spirit of '77 with razor-bladeriffery while [Brody] shouts about urban blight, school shootings, and her troubled youth".
Track listing
Personnel Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
The Distillers Brody Dalle – vocals, guitar Casper Mazzola – guitar, backing vocals Andy Outbreak – drums Ryan Sinn – bass, backing vocals
Production The Distillers – producers Donnell Cameron – engineer Dave Carlock – engineer Kevin Guarnieri – engineer, mixing Brett Gurewitz – engineer, mixing
Artwork Brody Dalle – artwork Andy Outbreak – artwork C.F. Martin – layout design, construction Paul Miner – layout design, construction Knowles Allen – photography
Charts Chart (2002) PeakpositionBillboard Top Independent Albums29
References
External links