''Strange Desire'' is the debut studio album released by American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

act Bleachers, led by guitarist

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was pr ...

. The album was released on July 11, 2014, through

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, and produced the singles "

I Wanna Get Better "I Wanna Get Better" is the debut single by American indie pop act Bleachers, released on February 18, 2014 through RCA Records. The song is from their debut studio album '' Strange Desire'', and was written and produced by frontman Jack Antonoff ...

", "Shadow" and "Rollercoaster".

Release

" was released digitally as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from ''Strange Desire'' on February 18, 2014. It has peaked at number one on the '' Billboard'' Alternative Songs chart and number ten on the

Hot Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alterna ...

chart, becoming Bleachers' most successful single to date. The song's music video – directed by actress and filmmaker

Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (, born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series ''Girls (TV series), Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy ...

, Antonoff's then girlfriend – premiered on March 27, and depicts Antonoff as a troubled therapist. "Shadow" was made available for streaming on April 29, before being released as the album's second single on May 6. On May 15, ''Strange Desire'' was announced for release in July. Antonoff said the name was "the 2 words that perfectly title what this Bleachers album is as a documentation of my life as I can remember it at this point". "Rollercoaster" was released as the third single on June 10 and was also made available upon pre-ordering ''Strange Desire'' on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. "Like a River Runs" was made available for streaming on June 27. ''Strange Desire'' was released on July 15 through

, and was made available for streaming the following day. Following the release, the group performed at a number of festivals:

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

Osheaga The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (french: Festival musique et arts Osheaga) is a multi-day indie music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages ...

, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands Music, Boston Calling Music and ACL Music. "Rollercoaster" was released to radio on September 9. In late November, the group released ''Strange Desire (The Demos)'' for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

Black Friday, consisting of six album demos. In March and April 2015, the group embarked on a headlining US tour, dubbed Bleachers Come Alive!, with support from

Joywave Joywave is an American indie rock band from Rochester, New York, formed in 2010. Their lineup consists of Daniel Armbruster (vocals), Joseph Morinelli (guitar), and Paul Brenner (drums). The band first became known for its collaboration with ele ...

and

Night Terrors of 1927 Night Terrors of 1927 was an American pop duo from Los Angeles, California, signed to Atlantic Records. The duo composed of Jarrod Gorbel (ex-front man for Brooklyn outfit The Honorary Title) and former Rilo Kiley guitarist Blake Sennett. In 20 ...

. Following this, the band appeared at

Rock in Rio ''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...

festival in May. In June and July, the group went on a mixture of US, European and Canadian shows. In July and August, the group went on a co-headlining US tour with

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

, titled Charli and Jack Do America Tour. On August 12, a music video was released for "Like a River Runs". The group was scheduled to go on a second leg of their tour with Charli XCX in September and October. However, on August 22 it was announced that the leg had been cancelled amid creative and personal differences.

Track listing

''Strange Desire (Japanese Edition)'' Notes * signifies an additional producer.

Personnel

– programming, drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, piano, vocals, string arrangement ("I'm Ready to Move On/Wild Heart Reprise") * Cyrus Grace Dunham – spoken word ("Wild Heart," "I'm Ready to Move On/Wild Heart Reprise," "Who I Want You to Love") * John Hill – programming, drums, guitars, keyboards *

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

– programming, keyboards *

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

– synths, electric guitars, drums *

Sara Quin Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

– background vocals *Jon Shiffman – drums *

Emile Haynie Emile Haynie (born July 13, 1980), often credited simply as Emile, is an American music producer from Buffalo, New York. His range of production includes alternative rock, hip hop, indie and pop music. Haynie has worked with several prominent ar ...

– programming *

Rachel Antonoff Rachel Antonoff is an American fashion designer based in New York City. She is known for presenting her designs in creative ways, including in the form of a murder mystery, as a "sock hop," and in a dollhouse. In 2015, director and actress Lena D ...

– background vocals *

Andrew Dost Andrew Paul Dost (born April 10, 1983) is an American musician, singer and is member of the indie rock band Fun., in which he plays several instruments, mainly the piano. He was formerly a member of the indie rock band Anathallo from 2003 to 200 ...

– background vocals *

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She began acting in commercials as a child, making her film debut at the age of six in the romantic drama '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994). She achieved recognition as ...

– background vocals *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has i ...

– vocals * Kurt Uenala – programming *

– background vocals *

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

– spoken word ("I'm Ready to Move On/Wild Heart Reprise") *Little Ricky Antonoff – guitar *Phillip Peterson – cello, string arrangement ("Who I Want You to Love") *Victoria Parker – violin

Charts

''Strange Desire'' debuted at No. 11 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 21,000 copies in its first week of release.

Release history

''Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2''

''Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2'' is the first compilation album by American indie pop act Bleachers, released on September 25, 2015, as a companion to ''Strange Desire''. The album features every song from Bleachers' debut album covered by female artists, most of which signed with

. Its title references ''Terrible Thrills, Vol. 1'', a compilation album released in 2010 by Antonoff's previous band

Steel Train Steel Train was an indie rock band from New Jersey. They have toured with The Juliana Theory, Tegan and Sara, Girl in a Coma, Ben Folds, The Fray, Silversun Pickups, Hanson, The Format, Gomez, O.A.R., Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, Bare ...

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut albums Bleachers (band) albums Albums produced by John Hill (record producer) RCA Records albums Albums produced by Vince Clarke Albums produced by Jack Antonoff Albums produced by Greg Kurstin