''All Together Now'' is the eighth studio album by the
-based
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
group
Better Than Ezra
Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass g ...
, released on September 9, 2014.
It is available on
CD,
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
and as a
digital download.
Produced and mixed by
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-nominated producer
Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer.
Career
Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have been ...
, the album marks the band's first release through
The End Records
The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music.
Early years (1998–2005)
The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping sm ...
.
Background and recording
On February 10, 2014, it was announced that the band had signed with
The End Records
The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music.
Early years (1998–2005)
The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping sm ...
for the release of their eighth studio album.
The band entered producer Tony Hoffer's studio, The Hobby Shop in
Highland Park, CA
Highland Park is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, located in the city's Northeast region. It was one of the first subdivisions of Los Angeles and is inhabited by a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
History
The area was set ...
, in the summer of 2013 to record the album.
Singer/guitarist Kevin Griffin described the process with Hoffer to
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
in June 2014:
"Tony's aesthetic is different than maybe ours -- production-wise. He wants to have less elements do more. Our default when we produce...is like, 'We need more guitars!"...And Tony is like, 'No we're going to do one guitar and make it sound great and interesting."
In an interview with
Pollstar
''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017.
History and profile
Founded in 1981 in Fre ...
published on March 26, 2014, bassist
Tom Drummond explained the gap between the band's 2009 release
Paper Empire and ''All Together Now'':
"We decided that we were going to put this out on our own terms. Nobody was going to tell us we had to put one out right now and then we’d rush through a bunch of songs to put out. We didn’t want to do that. We wanted to make the album we wanted to make ... So we took our time with it, we hired the right producer and we’re very excited about it."
The band aimed for a sound that would please old fans and at the same time attract new ones. "We made an album that was poppier and more concise songwriting," says lead singer and songwriter Kevin Griffin. "We wanted to give our old fans something familiar, but we wanted to attract new fans."
Promotion
In support of the album, the band is touring the US during the summer and fall of 2014.
One week before its release, ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' premiered the album in its entirety via online stream.
On September 21, 2014, the band's performance from
Anaheim's House of Blues
House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...
was streamed live through
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...
.
Release
On June 3, 2014, it was announced that the album would be released on September 9, 2014.
On July 11, 2014, the artwork and track listing for the album were unveiled.
Singles
The
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from ''All Together Now'', titled "Crazy Lucky", was released on March 25, 2014.
According to singer/guitarist Kevin Griffin, the song is about "the serendipitous nature of a relationship -- just how it's happenstance, how we meet people and the significant events over the course of our lives are so random."
The song peaked at No. 38 on the US
Adult Top 40
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
chart.
On August 5, 2014, the second single from the album, "Gonna Get Better", was released.
Album
''All Together Now'' was released on September 9, 2014, through
The End Records
The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music.
Early years (1998–2005)
The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping sm ...
.
Critical reception
''All Together Now'' has received mostly positive feedback from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Fred Thomas of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
rated the album three and a half stars out of five, writing that it "finds (the band) at characteristic heights of wistful FM radio pop songwriting."
Track listing
Chart performance
Singles
''Billboard'' Music Charts (North America)
Album
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2014 albums
Better Than Ezra albums
The End Records albums
Albums produced by Tony Hoffer