Hopes and Fears

Begun in Normandy in 2001 and finished at Helioscentric Studios near Rye at the end of 2003, the album carried the singles Somewhere Only We Know and Everybody's Changing, which reached three and four in the UK, along with Bedshaped, This Is the Last Time and Bend and Break. It topped the UK chart, reached 45 in the US and number one on the Heatseekers chart, went platinum in America, and had sold more than 5.8 million copies worldwide by November 2009. Q compared its confidence to Oasis's Definitely Maybe and Rolling Stone heard more hooks than most groups manage in a career, though Pitchfork gave it 2.8. It won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 2005, and a remaster marked its twentieth anniversary in 2024.