In a Perfect World (Kodaline album)

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In a Perfect World
Studio album by
Kodaline
Released14 June 2013 (2013-06-14)
Recorded2012
GenreIndie rock, indie folk, indie pop, alternative rock
Length44:09
LabelB-Unique/RCA Victor
Kodaline chronology
Love Like This
(2013)		 In a Perfect World
(2013)		 Coming Up for Air
(2015)
Singles from In a Perfect World
  1. "High Hopes"
    Released: 15 March 2013
  2. "Love Like This"
    Released: 31 May 2013
  3. "Brand New Day"
    Released: 23 August 2013
  4. "All I Want"
    Released: 8 October 2013
  5. "One Day"
    Released: 6 February 2014

In a Perfect World is the debut studio album by Irish rock band Kodaline. The album was released in Ireland on 14 June 2013 and includes the singles "High Hopes" and "Love Like This". On 20 June 2013 the album entered the Irish Albums Chart at number 1.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic47/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[2]
Consequence of SoundStarStarStarHalf star[3]
DIYStarStarStar[4]
The IndependentStarStarStar[5]
The Irish TimesStarStar[6]
The GuardianStarStarStar[7]
musicOMHStarStarStarHalf star[8]
The ObserverStarStar[9]
PopMatters2/10[10]
QStar[11]

In A Perfect World received generally mixed reviews from critics. The album currently has a score of 47 out of 100 on aggregate review site Metacritic, based on 9 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[1]

Lewis Corner of Digital Spy gave the album a mixed review, saying that "Each track nods to the album's namesake by being acutely aware of unobtainable aspirations, but accepting the stark reality nonetheless. [...] In A Perfect World is packed with enough heart and soul to make it an enjoyable debut."[12] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian also gave the album a mixed review stating "Kodaline have already mastered the craft of piling chorus upon unshakable chorus. Most of these 11 songs contain a killer hook, such as the one that transforms High Hopes from wobbly-lipped ballad to hair-tearing tearjerker. [...] All told, there's a lot of bodice-ripping emotion to take in, and it's this, rather than the lack of original ideas, that makes In a Perfect World hard to take in large doses."[7]

Ally Carnwath of The Observer gave the album 2 stars out of 5, and felt "That for all their stadium uplift and notionally anthemic choruses, they never deliver a hook or melodic sucker punch that really floors you."[13] Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times gave a similar review, saying "Kodaline are a bit drab...It sounds like [they] are more focused on ticking boxes in order to appeal to their target audience, than on blazing their own trail by attempting something original."[6] Bevis Man from DIY gave a negative review, saying "Let’s be frank here, what this band needs is a punch in the face and to grow some balls. It’s hard not to imagine the band, all still in their 20s, writing the album wistfully looking out of a window and feeling incredibly sorry for themselves."[4] Q Magazine were highly critical of the album, calling it "Entirely meritless", and awarded 1 star out of 5.

Singles

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steve Garrigan, Mark Prendergast & Vinny May

No.TitleLength
1."One Day"4:15
2."All I Want"5:05
3."Love Like This"3:36
4."High Hopes"3:50
5."Brand New Day"3:25
6."After The Fall"3:35
7."Big Bad World"4:21
8."All Comes Down"4:55
9."Talk"4:28
10."Pray"3:33
11."Way Back When"3:26
Deluxe edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Lose Your Mind (Live at the Button Factory)"5:30
2."High Hopes (Live at the Button Factory)"4:01
3."Love Like This (Live at the Button Factory)"3:43
4."All Comes Down (Live at the Button Factory)"5:27
5."All I Want (Live at the Button Factory)"5:54
6."The Answer (Live at the Button Factory)"4:01
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."The Answer"3:41
13."Perfect World"2:52
14."Lose Your Mind"4:45
15."Latch" (Cover)3:37
16."All I Want" (Acoustic Live video)5:39
17."High Hopes" (Music video)4:09

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013–14) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 79
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 8
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 3
US Billboard 200[22] 89
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[23] 16
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 22
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[25] 7
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[26] 19

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
Irish Albums (IRMA)[27] 6
UK Albums Chart[28] 65
Chart (2014) Position
Irish Albums (IRMA)[29] 10
UK Albums Chart[30] 90

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Gold 40,000‡
Ireland (IRMA)[32] 2× Platinum 30,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[33] Platinum 15,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[34] Gold 10,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[35] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Platinum 288,855[37]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Ireland 14 June 2013 Digital download, CD B-Unique

References

  1. "Critic Reviews for In a Perfect World". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  2. Sullivan, Caroline (7 June 2013). "Kodaline: In a Perfect World – review". Clash. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  3. Hardy, Tony (20 June 2013). "Album Review: Kodaline - In a Perfect World". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  4. "Kodaline - In A Perfect World | Album Reviews | DIY". Thisisfakediy.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  5. Gill, Andy (14 June 2013). "Album review: Kodaline, In a Perfect World (B-Unique)". The Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  6. "Kodaline: In a Perfect World". Irish Times.
  7. Sullivan, Caroline (20 June 2013). "Kodaline: In a Perfect World – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  8. Green, Laurence (12 June 2013). "Kodaline – In A Perfect World". musicOMH. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  9. Carnwath, Ally (16 June 2013). "Kodaline: In a Perfect World – review". The Observer. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  10. Houle, Zachary (8 October 2013). "Kodaline: In a Perfect World". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  11. Entirely meritless. [Apr 2013, p.104]
  12. "Kodaline: 'In A Perfect World' - Album review". Digital Spy. 10 June 2013.
  13. Ally Carnwath (16 June 2013). "Kodaline: In a Perfect World – review | Music | The Observer". Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  14. "Australiancharts.com – Kodaline – In a Perfect World". Hung Medien.
  15. "Ultratop.be – Kodaline – In a Perfect World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Kodaline – In a Perfect World" (in French). Hung Medien.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kodaline – In a Perfect World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  18. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 14, 2014". GfK Chart-Track. IRMA. Archived from the original.
  19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 29/6/2013 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  20. "Swisscharts.com – Kodaline – In a Perfect World". Hung Medien.
  21. "Official Albums Chart on 29/6/2013 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  22. "Kodaline Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  23. "Kodaline Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  24. "Kodaline Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  25. "Kodaline Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  26. "Kodaline Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  27. "Best of 2013 – Top 20 Albums". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  28. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2013". The Official Charts.
  29. ">> IRMA << Welcome to our site >>". irma.ie.
  30. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2014". The Official Charts.
  31. "Canadian album certifications – Kodaline – In a Perfect World". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  32. "The Irish Charts - 2013 Certification Awards - Multi Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  33. "New Zealand album certifications – Kodaline – In a Perfect World". Radioscope. Retrieved 23 January 2026. Type In a Perfect World in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  34. "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2016 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  35. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('In a Perfect World')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  36. "British album certifications – Kodaline – In a Perfect World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 January 2020. Select albums in the Formats field. Type In a Perfect World Kodaline in the "Search:" field.
  37. Jones, Alan (5 October 2018). "Charts analysis: Rod Stewart rules albums chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 5 October 2018.