Life's Too Good

Release

The lead single "Birthday" was released on Derek Birkett's One Little Indian Records in August 1987. After influential magazine NME declared it "Single of the Week", the band unexpectedly got the attention of the British music press, especially lead singer Björk. Across the following months, the band reluctantly appeared on the covers of the United Kingdom's most prominent pop magazines and experienced a "massive hype" which generated a wave of public interest by the press and the public. Despite offers by big labels like Warner Bros. and PolyGram, none of them were willing to give the band complete creative control, so they decided to record the album themselves and release it on One Little Indian. Life's Too Good was finally released in April 1988. "Coldsweat" and "Deus" were issued as singles prior to the album's release in January and April 1988 respectively, while the Jesus and Mary Chain's remix of "Birthday" (subtitled the "Christmas Mix") was released as a single in August 1988. "Motorcrash" followed as the album's final single in November 1988.

While recording the album, the group had befriended Howard Thompson, who worked in Elektra Records' A&R division; he orchestrated a licensing deal and Life's Too Good was released in the United States. "Birthday" proved to be very successful in American college radio, before crossing over to mainstream radio. To the band's frustration, the U.S. media also focused on Björk. At the end of 1988, the Sugarcubes undertook an American tour, which evolved into an international tour catapulted by the album's growing sales.

Paul White of Me Company designed the artwork. It is a derivation of a signature he had which consisted of a character "made up of just a face, legs and a [penis]." A continuation of the flat-color background discipline that started on the singles "Birthday" and "Coldsweat" —born out of the need to keep the printing costs as low as possible—, the album was issued in various color schemes, including green, yellow, blue and pink.

Critical reception

Life's Too Good was released to largely positive reviews, receiving acclaim from the British and American press. Robert Christgau wrote the band's "sense of mischief isn't just playful—it's experimental and a little wicked." John Dougan of AllMusic praised Björk's vocals, and considered that the album "lived up to all the advance hype."

Legacy

Life's Too Good is credited as the first Icelandic album "of its breed" to have a worldwide impact. In 2014, Treble wrote that the album "[generated] a larger interest towards the country’s popular and alternative music scenes alike." The album is considered a definite influence on all subsequent Icelandic popular music, and on international acts such as Savages and Florence and the Machine. Since its release, Life's Too Good has generated a dedicated following, and is nowadays cited as an important cult classic. The Sugarcubes are now regarded as "the biggest rock band to emerge from Iceland."

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Life's Too Good is adapted from Acclaimed Music, except where otherwise noted.

Track listing

All tracks written by the Sugarcubes.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Life's Too Good.