Falcon

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You Overdid It Doll" was released as the lead single from Falcon in February 2010, which was then promoted with a tour of the UK the following month.Forget preconceptions of boorish Manc laddishness – Morrissey’s championing of this fast-rising band is beginning to make sense. They played two UK shows prior to supporting Morrissey on his tour of the United States in April and May 2009. Music reviewer Julian Marszalek wrote that "what hampers" the album was the "small and obvious palette that they paint from - a soupcon of Oasis here, a dab of Elbow there and some typical indie garnishes all over the place". The band promoted the album with two tours of the UK, shortly after its release, and one near the end of 2008.

Jude, Liam Fray and his Middleton homeboys present an album to seal their role as the Stereoasisphonics-lookalikes that it’s okay to like. Läßt man sich darauf ein, dass die Courteeners "nur" noch Popmusik machen, wird man ihnen zugestehen müssen, das "Falcon" eine durchaus gute Pop-CD ist. Between June and August 2010, the band performed at the Glastonbury, Isle of Wight, T in the Park, iTunes, Oxegen, Underage and V Festivals. The band's alternately jangly and bombastic brand of indie guitar rock bears the influence of all three acts, as well as comparisons to contemporaries like Kasabian, Editors, and Kaiser Chiefs. The album reached number six in the UK, after selling 24,000 copies in the first week of its release.Falcon was released on 22 February 2010; a two-disc deluxe edition was also released, featuring "Revolver", "Bojangles", "You're the Man", "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch" and "Forget the Weight of the World". These are strong, conventional songs full of clever flicks and feints, deliciously produced by Ed (Suede, Pulp, White Lies) Buller. Falcon peaked at number six in the UK Album Charts, selling 24,000 copies in its first week of release. Yet Buller ensures that even the most throwaway boast cunning builds and kinks, and Fray’s narratives compel you to hear the rest of the story.

Phares theorised the shift in sound "comes from a need for the band to prove that there’s more to their sound than breathless rock and sneering lyrics". Though she added that "too much soul-baring is as bad as too many putdowns; maybe next time the band will find some balance between the extremes of this album" and the previous. Michael Bauer mixed all of the recordings, bar "Take Over the World", which was done by Jeremy Wheatley. The song was released as the lead single from the album 11 days later; the CD edition included "I Never Wanted To". For seven weeks from August 2009, the band recorded their follow-up at ICP studios in Brussels, Belgium.

The Japanese version included "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch", "Revolver" and the non-album track "That Kiss" as bonus tracks. The album starts with the string-enhanced "The Opener", which sees Fray discuss his hometown and his relationship with his girlfriend. Lullaby" and "Scratch Your Name Upon My Lips" were released as a Double A-Side single in December 2010.

Don’t be misled, though: this remains ‘indie-rock’, albeit tanned and tarted-up like one of the girls on a night out in Fray’s songs. While touring the US, the Courteeners wrote new material on their tour bus with guitars, shakers and keyboards.

The Guardian editor Will Dean wrote that "most things fall between the cracks – either sub- Guy Garvey/ Conor Oberst ballads [. Most tracks bounce at a comfortable mid-pace, ensuring maximum sing-along factor, and perhaps Falcon flags before its end.