Sway (album)
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Publication |
2013 |
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| Label (s) | Up / Down Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
13 |
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running time |
55:59 |
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Studio (s) |
Fire Station Studio ( San Marcos, Texas ) |
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Sway is the seventh studio album by Texan alternative rock / art rock band Blue October . It was released in Europe on August 30, 2013 . The album was released in the United States ten days earlier .
After Any Man in America, Sway is the second album that was released on Justin Furstenfeld's own label Up / Down Records . The album was recorded within four weeks at Fire Station Studio in San Marcos , Texas .
Creation and financing
In several interviews, Furstenfeld reported that he had developed almost 60 songs that would have come into language for the album. After considering which songs fit thematically best into the concept of the album, he decided that there will be 12 songs on the album. The group put a thirteenth song on the album while they were working in the studio.
The recordings began in February of that year at Fire Station Studio in San Marcos , Texas with co-producer Dave Castell (he already produced the album History for Sale with the band and was co-producer for Foiled ). The work took four weeks, so that it could be completed in March. Further recording sessions, including those for the string instruments and the background vocals, took place in April at Test Tube Audio in Austin .
Tim Palmer , producer of the previous album Any Man in America , mixed the album between May and July at Studio 62, also in Austin, Texas.
The production of the album was financed through crowdfunding . On April 2, 2013, the group started a campaign on PledgeMusic calling for donations for the production of a new album. The group offered various prizes, such as private music lessons, signed musical instruments, exclusive artwork, cameo appearances in a music video, and concert tickets that were valid for life.
The intended goal was achieved on April 5, 2013. On August 14, 2013, it was confirmed that the action landed 263% above the intended target. The campaign achieved a total of 4,252 "pledges". The band donated five percent of the proceeds from the crowdfunding campaign to the MusicCares Foundation .
Cover design and album title
Artwork
The artwork is by Justin Furstenfeld and Brad Bonds. It shows four white roses on a black background. They symbolize the four musicians of the band, who were mainly involved in the work on the album. ( CB Hudson left the band in 2010, but has been supporting the group since Julian Mandrake left, he will support the group live on the Sway Tour.) The cover should reflect the current mood of the musicians. He also wanted the artwork to be simple in order to be able to represent a simplification of life.
Album title
Like the artwork, the title Sway has a symbolic meaning for the musicians. In order to keep the theme of simplification, the musicians chose an album title consisting of one word. It was planned, however, that the album should be called Hard Candy . However, the group Counting Crows has already released an album under this name. Even debris stood as a potential album title to choose from. However, due to the devastating moor tornado in May 2013, it was discarded.
Publications
So far there have been two single releases for Sway. The first single, Bleed Out , was first played on the radio on June 6, 2013. On June 25, 2013, the single was officially released as a download. A second single, Angels in Everything , was released specifically in Germany . This managed to get into several radio chart lists.
The group recorded a music video for the song Bleed Out with Norry Niven on June 15, 2013 , which premiered on August 19, 2013. On November 16, the band's second music video for Angels in Everything was released.
Sway is released on vinyl , CD and download. In North America , the label takes Megaforce Records sales in Europe to Sway on membrane Records are sold.
Songs
Sway contains a total of 13 tracks and has a total playing time of 55 minutes and 59 seconds. Justin Furstenfeld wrote nearly 60 songs, which the band reduced to 15. These were recorded. Originally Sway was only supposed to contain twelve tracks, but a new song called To Be was created during the recording , which was later packed onto the album. This was created while recording the piece Fear .
Songs that didn't make it on the album are Keep On , Sorry Hearts , Snow Globe and Still Broken . Sorry Hearts is an older song written by Furstenfeld when he was still working under his pseudonym 5591 (his patient number). This should be available as an exclusive bonus track on the iTunes version of the album. Still Broken is a piece that Furstenfeld published with his first band The Last Wish . The song can be found on the album The First of February .
On August 10, 2013, several radio stations played the entire album. It was accompanied by comments from the singer, who explained what the individual pieces should say and why they can be heard in the album.
| Playlist Sway | |
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Angels in Everything , for example, was inspired by Justin's wife, who showed him that an angel has a hand in every plot . The song should say that you are never alone, but that someone is always there for you.
"It was inspired by my wife, who showed me that that there are angels in everything you do. You don't have to be alone; and that the heart that's beating when we're together is so special and something to be cherished. I think that's one song that I love so much because it reminds me of a guy just taking his wife out to a river, under the moon, and telling her that 'you've changed my life and thank you so much ... "
Angels in Everything was released as a single especially in Germany .
Bleed Out, on the other hand, was written from the perspective of Justin's wife, who has to watch a person destroy himself. According to Furstenfeld, the piece should no longer express his grief, but rather represent a reminder of the people he has hurt in the past in any way. Jeremy Raby is said to have inspired Furstenfeld to complete the song.
promotion
The group played five CD release shows between August 21 and August 28, 2013. On August 21, 2013, two acoustic performances were planned at the Barnes & Noble in Dallas and Frisco . One day later the official release party took place at the House of Blues in Dallas. On August 27th and 28th, the group played an acoustic set again in a Barnes & Noble store. This time in San Antonio and Austin .
Between September and November 2013, the group toured extensively promoting the album. In September and October, the band toured exclusively in the United States . A European tour took place in November. Blue October was shown for the first time in Russia and Ukraine . Further appearances of the European tour took place in Germany and England . On December 7th and 8th 2013, two shows will follow in the USA.
review
Commercial win
Sway only rose in the domestic charts, the Billboard 200 , where it could reach 13th place. So Any Man in America and Foiled are the only albums that could also be placed in other charts. Foiled reached number 40 in New Zealand , Any Man in America number 100 in Germany . Sway received mostly negative reviews in the trade press.
Print / online media
English speaking
Sway received 4 out of 5 points from the critic for Ultimate Guitar . He wrote that Blue October does not present any gruesome pieces in this album. He was particularly enthusiastic about Things We Don't Know About , Debris , Things We Do at Night , Light You Up , Hard Candy and Put It In . Brandon East, the reviewer, thinks the group shows a better balance compared to previous albums.
Brian Campbell from Examiner couldn't get anything from Sway. He wrote that the album narrowly missed the 2011 Any Man in America disaster . Campbell also judged that the group had resorted to the same concept that the band allowed the survival of seven albums.
German speaking
In Germany the album was received mostly positively with the exception of a few negative reviews. Kai Wehmeier from Plattentests.de was less impressed with the record. He says that while you can wave your lighter around half of the songs and look charmed, the other half of the record isn't that strong. Except for the surprising opener, Sway is generally weak. As a positive development, Wehmeier names the production, which is no longer so cheap. Sway received only 2 out of 10 points from the critic. In the criticism at Terrorverlag it is said that the group show “multi-faceted approaches” in their music, but the overall concept is still too “smooth”.
Matthias Reichel from CD Starts describes Sway as the band's "most coherent album". He is of the opinion that the album no longer deserves the stamp of Alternative Rock , but Reichel describes the musical development as logically and artistically impressive. He gave the plate 8.5 out of 10 points. The internet magazine access2music.de also gave a similarly good score with 9/10 points.
Thomas Becker from Powermetal.de awarded 7.5 points out of 10 and describes the sound as high quality. He likes to sink deeper into the music. He compares the group to A-ha , Travis and Coldplay .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brooke: Infectious Magazine : Blue October announce new album 'Sway'
- ↑ a b c d Antimusic.com : Blue October Announce New Album And Tour
- ↑ Johnny Price: Rock Revolt Magazine : INTERVIEW: JUSTIN FURSTENFELD OF 'BLUE OCTOBER'
- ↑ Jeff McQ: Music Is My Oxygen : THE MIMO INTERVIEW: BLUE OCTOBER ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d Nuno Saque Ferreira: Altsounds : Blue October releases new album - 'Sway' out August 26, 2013 ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ PledgeMusic : Blue October: We're Making A New Album!
- ↑ Jay Smith: Pollstar : 'Sway' with Blue October
- ↑ a b Chart tracking: US , NZ , DE ( Memento of the original from April 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Brandon East: Ultimate Guitar : Blue October - Sway
- ^ Brian Campbell: Examiner : Blue October - Sway
- ^ Kai Wehmeier: Plattentests.de : Blue October - Sway
- ↑ Terror Verlag : Blue October - Sway
- ^ Matthias Reichel: CD Starts : Blue October - Sway
- ↑ ArcheoPix Access2music : Blue October - Sway
- ↑ Thomas Becker: Powermetal.de : Blue October - Sway
