''Stir the Blood'' is the third studio album by New York–based

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

The Bravery The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best known ...

. The album was released on December 1, 2009, and features the singles "

Slow Poison "Slow Poison" is a 2009 song by the American indie rock band The Bravery. It was the first single from their album ''Stir the Blood''. It peaked at #23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and at #40 on the Rock Songs chart.

" and "I Am Your Skin".

Production

To record the album, the band had to leave New York behind and head upstate and into the woods. The group set up shop for ''Stir the Blood'' at Dreamland Recording: a recording facility in an old 1800s church which, years ago, housed the

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for an unnamed project and

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

as they recorded "

Love Shack "Love Shack" is a song by American new wave band the B-52's from their fifth studio album, ''Cosmic Thing'' (1989). It was released on June 20, 1989, and was produced by Don Was. The song was a comeback for the band following their decline in p ...

". There, as most of the band came in and out, Endicott stayed in a neighboring house for several months as he helmed the producer's desk for the new record, alongside

John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...

(

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

, for example). Songs like "Slow Poison", "She's So Bendable", "I Am Your Skin" and "Hatef--k" came about as Endicott picked through riffs recorded here and there from the band's tour in support of 2007's '' The Sun and the Moon''. Endicott claims "there is a dark tone to this album" and that "there's an angry undertone to it". "I was pretty pissed off when I wrote a lot of the songs", says Endicott. He also claims that while the lyrics, which also focus on "intimacy", may be dark, the music stays upbeat.

Singles/music videos

The first single released, "Slow Poison", has reached numbers 24 and 40 on the US alternative songs and rock songs charts. The second single, "I Am Your Skin", was released in November 2009 on

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. A music video for the song "Hatef--k" was released in October 2009. A music video for the song "Slow Poison" was released in November 2009. A music video for the song "Sugar Pill" was also released in November 2009.

Album art

The cover of the album features a detail from 'Carrion Call' by British artist Polly Morgan.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by

Sam Endicott Samuel Bingham Endicott (born August 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and director. He is best known as the lead vocalist of The Bravery with whom he recorded three studio albums. Career At age 11 Endico ...

, except where noted. #"Adored" – 3:42 #"Song for Jacob" – 3:23 #"Slow Poison" – 3:31 #"Hatef--k" – 2:55 #"I Am Your Skin" – 3:01 #"She's So Bendable" (M. Hindert) – 2:21 #"The Spectator" – 3:50 #"I Have Seen the Future" – 3:15 #"Red Hands and White Knuckles" – 3:21 #"Jack-O'-Lantern Man" – 2:50 #"Sugar Pill" – 3:17

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
bonus tracks

"Slow Poison" (Villains Remix) #"Slow Poison" (Drop the Lime Remix) #"Slow Poison" (Of Montreal Remix)

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
bonus tracks

"Slow Poison" (Lego My Echo Remix) #"Slow Poison" (Roy G and the Biv Remix)

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *Michael Zakarin – lead guitar, backing vocals *John Conway – keyboards, backing vocals *

Mike Hindert Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

– bass, backing vocals *Anthony Burulcich – drums, backing vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stir The Blood 2009 albums Island Records albums The Bravery albums