''Pacifica'' is the third studio album by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

duo

The Presets The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Moyes (drums, keyboards). Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Recordings, Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs (''Blow Up (EP), Blow Up ...

. The album was released in Australia by

Modular Recordings Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Avalan ...

on 7 September 2012. It was released the following week (14 September 2012) by Casablanca / Universal Republic. The album features the singles " Youth in Trouble", "Ghosts", "Promises", "Fall" and "Push". The album was Triple J's Feature Album, Radar Radio's Feature Album and Fbi Radio's Sunset Album. The album was produced by The Presets and mixed by Tony Hoffer. The track "Ghosts" featured on the soundtrack of '' FIFA 13''. At the

J Awards of 2012 The J Award of 2012 is the eighth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. The announcement comes at the culmination of Ausmusic Month (November). For the fifth year, three aw ...

, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.

Background and release

The Presets recorded the album in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The bulk of the album was recorded at the home studios of

Julian Hamilton Julian Thomas Hamilton (born September 1976) is an Australian singer-songwriter and keyboardist, who, with bandmate Kim Moyes, formed the electronica duo, The Presets in 2003. They have issued four studio albums, '' Beams'' (September 2005), '' ...

and

Kim Moyes Kimberley Isaac Moyes is an Australian musician, producer, mix engineer, composer, songwriter, DJ and one half of the Sydney-based electronica duo, The Presets (with Julian Hamilton). Note: n-lineversion established at White Room Electronic Pub ...

, with additional drum sessions taking place in Los Angeles with Joe Baressi and

Sean Beavan Sean Beavan is a musician, record producer, and audio engineer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, God Lives Underwater, and Slayer. His production style is typically heavy, with heavily saturated guita ...

. The Presets returned to Los Angeles to mix the album with

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 ...

. Writing sessions for the album began as early as 2009. The band worked on as many as 30 songs towards the album. However it was towards the end of 2011 that the bulk of sessions came together. ''Pacifica'' was released in Australia on 7 September 2012. In Australia the album was released on compact disc (the first pressing with a lenticular sleeve), gatefold vinyl album, deluxe box set (featuring, CD, vinyl album, lithograph and expanded artwork), and digital download.

Critical reception

Both singles released from the ''Pacifica'' album made the ARIA charts; " Youth in Trouble" peaked at 13 on the

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

club tracks chart, while accompanying single "

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

" peaked at 16. The album peaked at number three on the ARIA albums chart.

Track listing

Album credits

Joe Barresi Joe Barresi (nicknamed "Evil Joe") is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Chevelle, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive, New Model Army, Ba ...

– engineer *

– engineer * Chris Claypool – assistant * Dave Cooley – mastering * Glen Goetze – A&R *

– engineer, producer *

– additional production, mixing * Analiese Ifould – stylist * Wade Keighran – engineer * Will Larnach-Jones – management *

– engineer, producer * Jun Murakawa – assistant * Jon Nicholson – drum technician * Jonathan Zawada – art direction, design

Background and release

Critical reception

Track listing

Album credits

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References