''March on Electric Children'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band The Blood Brothers, released in February 2002. Produced by Matt Bayles, the album (which is described in the liner notes as a "short story set to music") was recorded in one week on a $3000 budget and has been described by singer

Jordan Blilie Jordan Blilie (born June 10, 1981) is the American vocalist for the bands Past Lives and Head Wound City, best known as the co-lead vocalist and co-lyricist for The Blood Brothers, from 1997 until their breakup in 2007. Blilie is married to Zo ...

as "crazier" and "more complex" than the band's previous effort, '' This Adultery Is Ripe''.

Concept album

The album has been described by numerous critics as a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, with its characters portrayed more as villains and victims than as heroes. The effort was an attempt by the band to create a storyline with repeating characters that has a bleak outlook on life, emphasizing the consequences of the characters' selfish choices. A common motif utilized throughout the album is the ocean and sea creatures, which was a result of vocalist Johnny Whitney taking an oceanography class during the album's production. The album marks additions to the band's songwriting tools. For example, "Kiss of the Octopus" samples "

The Perfect Drug "The Perfect Drug" is a song by Nine Inch Nails written for the David Lynch film '' Lost Highway''. It was released in 1997 on the ''Lost Highway'' soundtrack as well as a single from the score. Remixes of the song were released as an EP, ''"T ...

" by

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

, and the piano acts as the sole instrument played on "American Vultures". It is also the conclusion to the storyline and wraps up the themes featured in the previous songs. Says singer

Characters

* Mr. Electric Ocean - "the personification of the media and exploitation and

superficiality What social psychologists call "the principle of superficiality versus depth" has pervaded Western culture since at least the time of Plato. Historical sketch Socrates sought to convince his debaters to turn from the superficiality of a worldview ...

... the person that influences the protagonist during the entire record" * The Skin Army - "a representation of our culture as completely superficial and concerned with the exterior, skin, and what is on the outside"

Track listing

Personnel

;The Blood Brothers *

- vocals *

Mark Gajadhar The Blood Brothers was an American post-hardcore band which formed in 1997. The group was based in Seattle's Eastside suburbs and released five full-length albums before their 2007 breakup, as well as numerous side projects on behalf of the me ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Morgan Henderson The Blood Brothers was an American post-hardcore band which formed in 1997. The group was based in Seattle's Eastside suburbs and released five full-length albums before their 2007 breakup, as well as numerous side projects on behalf of the mem ...

- bass, sampler, M1 *

Cody Votolato Cody Votolato (born 20 May 1982) is a musician from Redmond, Washington, best known for being the guitarist in the post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers. He grew up in the eastside suburbs of Seattle. Cody attended Redmond High School with hi ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Johnny Whitney Johnny Whitney (born June 28, 1981) is a singer, author and multi-instrumentalist from Seattle. He is probably most well known for his vocals and keyboarding alongside Jordan Blilie in the post-hardcore band, The Blood Brothers. He is also the ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

;Production and design *

Matt Bayles Matt Bayles (born October 19, 1972) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles (pronounced 'Bay-Less') is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl ...

- producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, mixer *The Blood Brothers - co-producer *Troy T - assistant engineer *Ed B - mastering * Dan Dean - layout concept, design, photographs, art *Morgan Henderson - layout concept, design, photographs, art *Jeffrey Degolier - photographs, art

Release history

References

{{Authority control The Blood Brothers (band) albums 2002 albums Albums produced by Matt Bayles