Astoria (Marianas Trench album)

Astoria
Studio album by Marianas Trench
Released October 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)
Recorded 2014–15
Genre Funk,[1] pop,[1][2][3] pop punk[1]
Length 57:11
Label
Producer Josh Ramsay
Marianas Trench chronology
Something Old / Something New
(2015)		 Astoria
(2015)
Singles from Astoria
  1. "One Love"
    Released: September 14, 2015
  2. "This Means War"
    Released: February 16, 2016

Astoria is the fourth studio album recorded by Canadian rock band Marianas Trench. It was released on October 23, 2015 through 604 Records (in Canada) and Cherrytree Records and Interscope Records (internationally).[4][5][6] The album represents the band's official return to the music scene after promotion of their previous album, Ever After (2011), ended in 2013 and was preceded by the retrospective EP, Something Old / Something New earlier in 2015.[7]

Background

In 2011, Marianas Trench release their third studio album, Ever After, which produced five top-50 singles, including lead single "Haven't Had Enough", which became the group's highest charting single to date (since the creation of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 in 2007) at number 9. After releasing the last single from that era, "By Now", in 2013, the group returned to the studio to record their next album. During the promotion for Ever After, lead singer and songwriter, Josh Ramsay, also achieved mainstream success as a songwriter and producer on fellow Canadian Carly Rae Jepsen's No. 1 hit "Call Me Maybe" (2012).[8][9] This helped pave the way for the band signing an American record deal with Cherrytree Records and promoting to a broader audience.[8]

The group released "Pop 101" featuring hip hop artist Anami Vice on July 29, 2014 as the intended lead single for the then-unnamed fourth album.[10][11] A second single, "Here's to the Zeros", was released in December 2014, with the full album expected the following spring (2015).[12][13] The album's release was later pushed back to the fall. When the band officially announced Astoria, they ultimately decided not to include either of these tracks, as they no longer fit the tone of the record.[7][14][15] Both of these buzz singles, along with two previously-unreleased songs recorded before their debut album, Fix Me (2006), were instead released as a four-track extended play fittingly titled Something Old / Something New that was released on May 26, 2015.[14][16]

Concept

Similar to their previous two albums (2009's Masterpiece Theatre and 2011's Ever After), Astoria is conceived as a loose concept album, with a cohesive theme and transition tracks bridging the individual songs composing the album.[7] According to Ramsay, this album is inspired by 1980s fantasy and adventure films, and The Goonies (1985) in particular.[4] That film inspired the title (as it was set in Astoria, Oregon), the album's artwork, as well as the title of their accompanying US tour (Hey You Guys!!).[4]

Promotion

Marianas Trench participated the US on the Hey You Guys!! Tour in the fall of 2015 in support of the album. The tour began in Portland, OR on November 3, 2015 and ended in Grand Rapids, MI on February 14, 2016.[17][18] The band also released a video to their official Vevo channel regarding the making of the album.[19] The group has also announced a Canadian tour called the "Never Say Die Tour", and will be accompanied by Walk Off The Earth . The tour is set to start on March 9, 2016.

Singles

"One Love" was released on September 14, 2015 as the official lead single for the album.[20] It entered the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 at number 60 on the chart dated October 3, 2015.[21] The song has been described by critics as more pop than the group's earlier music and has also been favorably compared to previous ballad singles "Good to You" and "Fallout".[22][23] "One Love" was serviced to American hot adult contemporary radio through 604 Records on November 9, 2015.[24]

A second official single, "This Means War", was serviced to Canadian radio on February 16, 2016.[25]

Other songs

The thirteenth track, "Wildfire", was released to iTunes on October 2, 2015 as a promotional single supporting pre-orders of the album.[26]

Track listing

All music and lyrics by Josh Ramsay.[27]

No. Title Length
1. "Astoria"   6:57
2. "Burning Up"   4:05
3. "Yesterday"   4:14
4. "One Love"   4:01
5. "August Burns Red"   0:46
6. "This Means War"   3:24
7. "Hospital Bells"   0:38
8. "Dearly Departed"   4:19
9. "Hollywood Renaissance"   1:08
10. "Shut Up and Kiss Me"   3:12
11. "Who Do You Love"   3:52
12. "Never Say Die"   0:29
13. "Wildfire"   4:04
14. "While We're Young"   4:00
15. "Forget Me Not"   3:48
16. "And Straight On Til Morning"   0:34
17. "End of an Era"   7:40
Total length:
 57:11

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[27]

Marianas Trench
  • Josh Ramsay – vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass, programming, string arrangement
  • Matt Webb – guitar, piano, vocals
  • Mike Ayley – bass, vocals
  • Ian Casselman – drums, percussion, vocals
Additional musicians
  • Dave Genn – guitar and Hammond organ on "Astoria"
  • Morgan Hempstead – vocals on "Astoria" and "End of an Era"
  • Roger Joseph Manninng Jr. – vocals on "Astoria"
  • Steve Marshall – vocals on "Astoria"
  • Craig Northey – vocals on "Astoria" and "End of an Era"
  • Sara Ramsay – vocals on "Astoria"
  • Royce Whittaker – guitar on "Astoria"
  • Bennie Ramsay – aux percussion and foot steps on "Astoria"
  • "Yesterday" horn players:
  • Mike Allen
  • Kristy-Lee Audette
  • Dominic Conway
  • Jocelyn Waugh
  • Ian Weiss
  • "Shut Up and Kiss Me" The Marian-ettes:
  • Rachel Ashmore
  • Aiden Farrell
  • Jessica Lee
  • Natasha Pheko
  • Cat Thomson
  • "Who Do You Love" drummers:
  • Peter Barone
  • Flavio Cirillo
  • Pedro Dzelme
  • Alex Glassford
  • Christopher Hockey
  • Nik Pesut
  • Paul Townsend
  • Shane Wilson
  • Brett Jamieson – guitar on "End of an Era"
  • Dave "Rave" Oglivie – additional synthesizers
  • Colin Janz – additional synthesizers
  • The Vancouver Film Orchestra – strings
  • Hal Beckett – conductor
Production
  • Josh Ramsay – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Bennie and the Jets Ramsay - executive producer
  • Kyle – assistant to executive producer
  • Zach Blackstone – engineer, mixing assistant
  • Kurtis S. Maas – engineer assistant
  • Nik Pesut – drum tech, additional editing
  • Shane Wilson – drum tech
  • Roger Monk – engineer on strings
  • Dave Oglivie – mixing
  • Satoshi Mark Noguchi – orchestra mixing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Garnet Armstrong – art direction, design
  • Ivan Otis – photography, base photography
  • Naeim Khavari – illustration, paint overs

Chart performance

Album

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 56
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[29] 2
US Billboard 200[30] 53

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
CAN
[31]		 CAN
AC
[32]		 CAN
CHR
[33]		 CAN
Hot AC
[34]		 US Adult
[35]
2015 "One Love" 50 14 20 16 35
2016 "This Means War" 38 37 38 —
"—" denotes a recording that failed to chart or was not released to that format.

References

  1. 1 2 3 http://www.allmusic.com/album/astoria-mw0002886558
  2. ↑ http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/musicandnightlife/album-reviews-the-neighbourhood-steve-martin-and-edie-brickell-and-more-b99602136z1-338696611.html
  3. ↑ http://alternativeaddiction.com/Review/516
  4. 1 2 3 Jane, Lauraa (September 15, 2015). "Marianas Trench To Release New Album 'Astoria'". Highlight Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Astoria by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Astoria by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 DeAndrea, Joe (June 2, 2015). "Marianas Trench - 06/02/15 - Interview". Absolute Punk. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 Payne, Chris (April 24, 2013). "Marianas Trench's Josh Ramsay On Band's U.S. Breakthrough, Crafting 'Call Me Maybe'". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Lederman, Marsha (August 15, 2015). "Call me Maybe helps dreams come true for co-founder of 604 Records". The Globe and Mail (The Woodbridge Company). Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Pop 101 (Barely feat. Anami Vice) - Single by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Virgin Radio 96 :: Marianas Trench - Pop 101 :: New Music Blog New Music - Article". 96 Virgin Radio. Bell Media. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Here's To the Zeros - Single by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Today's Best Music max 104.9 :: New Music For A New Year :: New Adds New Adds - Feed Story". Max 104.9. Bell Media. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  14. 1 2 Sternall, Allison (May 28, 2015). "NEWS: Marianas Trench Announce New Album To Be Released Later This Year". Confront Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  15. ↑ Josh Ramsay (May 27, 2015). "Detective Mittens on Twitter: "That's right. All new. RT @NorthsideLala: @JoshRamsay so here's to the zeros and Pop 101 wont be on the album? It'll be all brand new?"". Twitter. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Something Old / Something New - EP by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Witherow, Barbara (September 15, 2015). "Marianas Trench announces tour". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  18. ↑ Witherow, Barbara (October 28, 2015). "Marianas Trench adds more dates to the Hey You Guys!! Tour". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  19. ↑ MarianasTrenchVEVO (September 21, 2015). "Marianas Trench - The Making Of Astoria". YouTube. Google. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Marianas Trench: One Love - Music on Google Play". Google Play. Google. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Canada Singles Top 100 (October 3, 2015) - Music Charts". aCharts.co / Billboard. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Witherow, Barbara (September 14, 2015). "Marianas Trench releases new single "One Love"". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  23. ↑ Sternall, Allison (September 15, 2015). "LISTEN: Marianas Trench Release New Single "One Love"". Confront Magazine. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "R&R :: Going For Adds :: Hot COol blaster" (Week Of: November 9, 2015). Radio & Records. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  25. ↑ Marianas Trench (February 16, 2016). "Marianas Trench - #ThisMeansWar is out today at radio in Canada!...". Facebook. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "Wildfire - Single by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  27. 1 2 Astoria (Booklet). Marianas Trench. 604. 2015. 25396 06932.
  28. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (October 31, 2015). "ARIA Albums: 5 Seconds of Summer Top Australian Chart". Noise11. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Marianas Trench – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Marianas Trench. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Marianas Trench – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Marianas Trench. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Marianas Trench - Chart history (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada AC for Marianas Trench. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Marianas Trench. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada Hot AC for Marianas Trench. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Marianas Trench - Chart history (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
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