''Pioneer'' is the third full-length studio album by
The Maine. The album sold over 12,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 90 on the Billboard 200.
Background
In May and June 2011, the group went on a co-headlining US tour with
Augustana. During the tour, the group debuted several new songs. On June 5, the group revealed that they had started recording their next album before the tour began, and were going to continue following the tour's conclusion.
Recording took place at Sonic Ranch in El Paso, Texas with producer
Colby Wedgeworth
Colby Tyler Wedgeworth (born July 27, 1985, Sacramento, California, United States) is an American pop/alternative music producer based in Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, s ...
.
[ On June 22, the group performed a new track titled "Don't Give Up on "Us"" on ]Fuel TV
Fox Sports 2 (FS2) is an American sports-oriented pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based at the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in the Century C ...
.
Release
In October and November, the group supported Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keybo ...
on their headlining US tour. On October 5, ''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' reported that the group's next album would be titled ''Pioneer'' and was due for released in either late November or early December. On October 27, the group announced that the album would be released in December. In addition, a trailer was released which featured a snippet of a new track titled "Some Days". In November and December, the group went on a headlining US tour. On November 1, "Don't Give Up on "Us"" was made available for streaming. Later that day, the album's track listing and artwork were revealed. On November 6, a lyric video was released for "Don't Give Up on "Us"". On November 9, the group released a video of them making the album. On November 15, "Some Days" was made available for streaming. A lyric video was released for the track on November 21.
On December 2, ''Pioneer'' was made available for streaming, before being released on December 6[ through the band's own label, Action Theory. "Misery" was made available for streaming on December 2, 2011. The album features singles "Don't Give Up On Us" and "Some Days." To promote its release, the group held a livestream event via Stickam called This Is Pioneer. It featured a documentary on the making of the album and a concert where the band performed material from all of their previous albums and EPs. Shortly afterwards, the group performed at the Unsilent Night festival. In January and February 2012, the band supported All Time Low on their UK tour. On January 22, the group released "Take Me Dancing", an outtake from the album, as a free download. On February 5, a lyric video was released for the track. On February 16, a music video was released for the song. Later in February, the group embarked on a European tour.
Between April and June, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from Lydia and Arkells. On July 27, a music video was released for "Like We Did (Windows Down)". A behind-the-scenes video was subsequently released. On September 11, ''Pioneer'' was reissued in the UK through ]Rude Records
Rude Records is an independent and international record label founded in 2000 and based in Milan, Italy. The label's artists are generally considered to fall under the genres of punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, and alternative rock. Over the ...
. Under the new title ''Pioneer & the Good Love'', it featured new artwork and six new songs. The new songs were also released separately on the ''Good Love'' EP, which was released on the same day. A behind-the-scenes video of the group recording the new songs was also released. On September 30, the group performed at the Bazooka Rocks Festival in the Philippines. On October 11, the band released an alternative version of "Like We Did (Windows Down)" under the name "Like We Did (When We Were Lost)". They explained it was "a more abstract take on friendship and adventure". In October and November, the group went on a co-headlining US tour with Mayday Parade
Mayday Parade is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. Their debut EP '' Tales Told by Dead Friends'' was released in 2006, and sold over 50,000 copies without any label support. In July 2007, Mayday Parade released their debut album ...
. They were supported by The Postelles. On October 20, the group released a music video for "Thinking of You".
Track listing
All lyrics written by John O'Callaghan, all music composed by The Maine.
Chart performance
Personnel
; Members
* John O'Callaghan – lead vocals, 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 ...
* Jared Monaco – lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
* Kennedy Brock – rhythm guitar, 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 withou ...
* Garrett Nickelsen – bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
* Pat Kirch – drums, 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 ...
; Production
*Tim Kirch – Art direction, design, management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includ ...
*Adrian Lozano – Engineering
*Dirk Mai – Art direction, design, photography
*The Maine – Composer, engineer, producer
*Kyle Miller – Design
*John O'Callaghan – Art direction, design
*Matt Salveson – Engineering
*Matthew Van Gasbeck – Engineering, keyboard
*Colby Wedgeworth
Colby Tyler Wedgeworth (born July 27, 1985, Sacramento, California, United States) is an American pop/alternative music producer based in Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, s ...
– Engineering, mastering, mixing, producer
References
External links
''Pioneer''
at YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
(streamed copy where licensed)
{{Authority control
The Maine (band) albums
2011 albums
Albums recorded at Sonic Ranch