Famous First Words (Viva Brother album)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	34/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Clash	5/10[3]
The Guardian	[4]
The Independent	[5]
The Irish Times	[6]
Mojo	[7]
musicOMH	[8]
NME	5/10[9]
The Observer	[10]
Pitchfork	2.9/10.0[11]

The album was panned by critics upon release, with reviewers criticising the lack of original content and the clumsiness with which the band attempted to emulate popular acts of the 1990s. On Metacritic, the album received a score of 34/100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[1] Alexis Petridis of the Guardian likened the band to a tragicomedy and remarked that "Viva Brother haven't got a new idea in their heads – as every song fades out, you somehow imagine the theme music from TFI Friday fading in".[4] Martin Headon of musicOMH praised certain aspects of the album, but noted that overall it was clichéd, had "few arresting melodies" and lacked courage.[8] Similarly, Hari Ashurst of Pitchfork lamented the "chugging guitar and infant grade lyrics", ultimately judging the album to be "pretty brainless stuff, the special kind that makes you feel somehow stupider for having listened".[11] John Meagher of the Irish Independent wrote that Viva Brother "might just be responsible for the most uninspired, downright awful British album of the year".[12]

NME's Emily Mackay gave the album a more moderate score of 5/10, commenting positively on "New Year's Day" and "Darling Buds of May", but going on to criticise the rest of the songs, saying, "there’s no lyrical content here with lasting weight or worth much comment at all..." The review ultimately described the album as "disappointing [and] formulaic".[9]

Famous First Words is considered by the British press as the first Britpop revival album. Many reviewers pointed out that while Viva Brother attempted to be a lad rock act, they ended up only producing dad rock.

All tracks are written by Viva Brother.