Label: Chrysalis

Reissued 12/15/2023, Originally released 1998

English indie rock group Black Box Recorder formed in London in 1997 and featured Sarah Nixey, Luke Haines (of The Auteurs), and John Moore (of The Jesus and Mary Chain). Their debut album, England Made Me, was released on Chrysalis Records in 1998. The album was named after the eponymous Graham Greene novel and fuses indie rock and easy-listening pop stylings with lyrics that explore life and the experience of growing up in England. Pitchfork's Michael Sandlin described the sound of the album as "mildly morose but slightly tongue-in-cheek Sylvia Plath-meets-Paul McCartney pop sensibility". England Made Me remains a high point in the band's catalogue with standout tracks including 'Kidnapping An Heiress', 'Girl Singing In The Wreckage', and the single 'Child Psychology' which was recently back in the spotlight with a viral moment on social media after being championed by Billie Eilish.

Track listing:

1. Girl Singing in the Wreckage
2. England Made Me
3. New Baby Boom
4. It's Only the End of the World
5. Ideal Home
6. Child Psychology
7. I.C. One Female
8. Up Town Top
9. Swinging
10. Kidnapping An Heiress
11. Hated Sunday
12. Brutality
13. Seasons in the Sun
14. Watch the Angel Not the Wire
15. Factory Radio
16. Wonderful Life
17. Lord Lucan Is Missing