''Nervous System'' is the third

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

and major-label debut by American singer and songwriter

Julia Michaels Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

, released by Republic Records on July 28, 2017. Most of the tracks on the EP were composed by Michaels and her frequent writing partner,

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

, as well as the songs producers,

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is als ...

, Stargate and

Mattman & Robin Mattman & Robin is a Swedish songwriting and production duo composed of Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson. They are published by Wolf Cousins, a publishing company administered by Warner Chappell Music. In 2016, they won a Grammy A ...

. Musically, it is a pop record and lyrically it explores a former romantic relationship of Michaels'. It is Michaels' first EP to have a commercial impact. The album's first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, " Issues", was released on January 13, 2017, and peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. " Uh Huh", the second single from ''Nervous System'', was released on June 2, 2017. " Worst in Me", the third single from the EP, was released on September 18, 2017.

Background and recording

From 2013 to 2016, Julia Michaels became well known for writing songs for

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani and several other artists. When she wrote and recorded the song " Issues" in January 2016, after a fight with her boyfriend, she showed the song to

Charlie Walk Charlie Walk (born September 2, 1968) is an American music executive and entrepreneur. He was the president of Republic Records from 2016–2018, and the president of Epic Records from 2005–2008. In 2018, he appeared as a judge on the Fox rea ...

. Two months later, he signed her a record contract with Republic Records. She had no idea that "Issues" would be a hit, so she decided to record the rest of her EP in April and May 2017. She said to Music Choice:

"I did a mini-album because this is all very new to me, and I didn't wanna do an EP because I feel like that's too little. I feel like that's a chapter and I feel like an album is the book, and I'm not ready for the book".

All the tracks of the EP are brand new songs, Michaels did not bring any rejected songs from other artists or old songs that she wrote. Michaels composed most of the songs with her writing partner

and Stargate,

and

produced and helped write the songs.

Songs and lyrical content

The record opens with the singer's lead single " Issues", a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

song talks about a relationship between people who have "issues", but love each other enough to work past them. The second single of the EP, " Uh Huh", is described by Mike Wass of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' as "brighter, bolder and more instant" than "Issues", as well labeling the chorus as "obscenely catchy". In "Worst in Me" Michaels discusses a troubled relationship. ''Variety'' opined that the relationship described in the song is similar to the one in "Issues", but that in "Worst in Me", Michaels is "less hopeful about how it'll turn out". "Make It Up to You" is an uptempo dance-pop track that talks about Michaels' "wickedness" toward her lover, but in the end, she feels sorry for him. The fifth track on the record, "Just Do It" is a midtempo song that starts with a simple bass melody before incorporating elements such as synthesizers,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

elements and guitars. "Pink" is described by Michaels as "the most twerky song of the album" and "very explanatory". The last track, "Don't Wanna Think", is the only song on the record written entirely by Michaels and is a

piano ballad A ballade (from French '' ballade'', , and German ''Ballade'', , both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the , or to a o ...

that follows a basic sequence of F–C–Am–F as its

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

Critical reception

Katherine St. Asaph, writing for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'', rated the EP 6.6 out of 10, writing that "the songs are refreshingly unique but their impact is varied." She complimented Michaels' "modest persona and writing style she likens to therapy." Chris Willman of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that the EP "reveals Michaels as a gifted enough singer and confession-inclined enough songwriter that leaving out the middleman was definitely the way to go." Willman called the EP "even more promising than her resume." Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic called the EP a "seven-song set of forward-thinking pop."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Nervous System''. Recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered at * Los Angeles, California * Suffolk, United Kingdom * New York City * Partille, Sweden * Stockholm, Sweden Performers and production *

– vocals ; background vocals ;

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

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 keybo ...

– production, instrumentation, programming * Stargate – production, instrumentation, programming *

– background vocals * Dave Schwerkolt –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

* Chris Sclafani – engineering *

Spike Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sh ...

– mixing * Michael Freeman – assistant engineer mix * Geoff Swish – assistant engineer mix *

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

– mastering * Randy Merrill – mastering *

– production, programming, drums, bass, synths ;

, claps ; piano ; toms ;

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 strin ...

;

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

* Sam Holland – engineering * Cory Bice – engineering * Jeremy Lertola – assistant engineering * Jon Sher – engineering * Mattias Bylund – strings recording, strings editing, string arrangement, strings * Mattias Johansson –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

* Jungen B. Linderholm –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

* Benjamin Rice – recording

Charts

References

{{Julia Michaels 2017 EPs Albums produced by Benny Blanco Albums produced by Mattman & Robin Albums produced by Stargate Julia Michaels albums Republic Records EPs