''Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!'' is the debut studio album 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 sub ...

band

Hellogoodbye Hellogoodbye (sometimes styled as hellogoodbye) is an American pop rock band that was formed in Huntington Beach, California in 2001 by singer Forrest Kline. They were signed to Drive-Thru Records and released their first full-length album ''Zom ...

. Produced by

Matt Mahaffey Matt Mahaffey (born June 9, 1973) is an American multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, and recording engineer best known for his band Self and his composer collective Cake In Space. Personal Mahaffey grew up in Kingsport, Tennesse ...

, Jeff Turzo, and

Forrest Kline Forrest Scott Kline (born November 7, 1983, in Ashland, Oregon) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the lead vocalist of the power pop band Hellogoodbye. Early life He is of German descent and spent most of his ...

, the album was released on August 8, 2006 in the United States by

Drive-Thru Records Drive-Thru Records was a California-based independent record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. The label was partially responsible for popularizing the pop-punk/emo merger sound of the early to mid-2000s. After facing financia ...

. The album's

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 ...

, "

Here (In Your Arms) "Here (In Your Arms)" is the lead single from Hellogoodbye's debut album, ''Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!'' (2006), released on August 8, 2006. The song peaked at number fourteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified platinum i ...

", reached number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

in the United States. The album's title is a reference to popular

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

culture and interests during the mid-2000s. The cover artwork was done by LeDouxville. The Japanese release additionally features live versions of "Here (In Your Arms)" and "Homewrecker".

Background

Hellogoodbye was formed in 2002 by vocalist/guitarist Forrest Kline, bassist Marcus Cole, keyboardist Jesse Kurvink, and drummer Chris Profeta. Drive-Thru, which formerly employed Kline as a web design intern at 16, signed the band in 2004. The label's deal with majors MCA (and its successor, Geffen) was nearing its conclusion and the label intended to keep their newest artist signing quiet. Drive-Thru feared the majors might realize Hellogoodbye's potential and attempt to steal them away. The band issued an

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

online EP for free, and although it was intended to remain "under the radar," it attracted commercial attention. "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn" became a minor hit on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and helped the group gain notoriety. The group was chosen by the cast of MTV's '' The Real World: Austin'' to be followed during

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

(SXSW), and their profile began to increase dramatically. This exposure was aided by Drive-Thru's distribution deal with

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

’s

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

, through

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

. Drive-Thru paid $20,000 to promote the EP, which Sanctuary funded retail pricing and positioning.

Recording

The album was recorded at Cracker Tracks in Los Angeles, a home studio that was owned by Matt Mahaffey of the band Self. Kline found his first professional recording not dissimilar from the way he had previously made music, via a computer in his bedroom. Mahaffey and

Jeff Turzo Jeff Turzo, as singer/programming and songwriting/production partner in the electro-rock band God Lives Underwater (GLU), spent the better part of the 1990s as a producer and touring artist, first signed by Rick Rubin to American Recordings in ...

produced and engineered the sessions, with additional production from Kline, and additional

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

editing from Thomas Olson. Mahaffey, Turzo, and Chris James mixed the recordings, before they were mastered by Tom Baker at Precision Mastering. Recording of the album finished in March 2006.

Release

The group went on an east/Midwest tour of the US from late November to mid December 2005 with

The Rocket Summer The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and record producer based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them. H ...

, Hit the Lights, and

Dave Melillo David Andrew Melillo (born June 12, 1988) is the former lead guitarist for Anarbor, and the former bassist for pop rock band Cute Is What We Aim For. His earlier material as a solo artist consisted of acoustic guitar-driven acoustic rock and pian ...

. During this tour the group performed new songs. In February and March 2006, they supported the Academy Is... on their headlining tour. The band supported

Motion City Soundtrack Motion City Soundtrack is an American rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Courtney Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew ...

on the

mtvU MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel was first known as VH1 Uno from 2000 to ...

Campus Invasion tour in April 2006. Following this, they appeared at

The Bamboozle The Bamboozle is an annual three-day music festival which was held in New Jersey from 2003 to 2012, and is scheduled for a 2023 revival by its founder. Every year, new bands competed for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the ...

festival, and went on the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. On June 26, ''Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!'' was announced for release, and the track listing was revealed. The album was initially planned for release in May, before being eventually released in August. It was made available for streaming a few days prior to release on their Myspace profile. The music video for "Here (In Your Arms)" was directed by Fred Savage. By the end of the summer of 2006, the group were regularly selling out 1,000+ venues. Following this, they appeared at the

Bamboozle Left The Bamboozle Left was an annual two-day music festival held in California from 2006 to 2009, based on The Bamboozle festival on the Atlantic coast. 2006 The 2006 festival was held at the Cal Poly Pomona Athletic Field in Pomona, CA, on October 15 ...

festival. In October and November, the band went on a headlining tour with support from Ozma,

Cute Is What We Aim For Cute Is What We Aim For is an American rock band from Buffalo, New York. The band formed in 2005 and has since released two albums: '' The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch'' and ''Rotation''. The band was previously signed with record label ...

Peachcake Peachcake was an American electronic group from Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona. History Early years Originally conceived by Stefan Pruett and John O'Keefe as an informal project with the aim of experimenting with electronic music, Peachcake ...

Reggie and the Full Effect Reggie and the Full Effect is an American rock band, the solo project of James Dewees, the former keyboardist for The Get Up Kids. It has released seven full-length albums, the latest in 2018, and has toured with various associated acts in their pr ...

, and Melillo. In January and February 2007, Hellogoodbye played two shows in Japan, before embarking on a tour of the UK. On March 14, 2007, the band released a "All of Your Love" remix EP featuring "The Jimmy Pop Remix", "Forrest's Remix" and "Self's Remix". From early April to early June, the band went on the Two Months Of Spring Break Tour '99 tour of North America. They were supported by

Boys Like Girls Boys Like Girls is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2005, the group gained mainstream recognition when it released its self-titled debut album which went on to sell over 700,000 albums in the United States earning a ...

the Hush Sound The Hush Sound is an American indie pop band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Initially named "The Hush," the band later changed its name to "The Hush Sound" due to the discovery of a rapper with the same name. The band consists of Bob M ...

and

the Rocket Summer The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and record producer based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them. H ...

. In the midst of this, they appeared at that year's Bamboozle. In October and November, the group co-headlined the Myspace Music Tour with

Say Anything Say Anything may refer to: Film and television * '' Say Anything...'', a 1989 American film by Cameron Crowe * "Say Anything" (''BoJack Horseman''), a television episode Music * Say Anything (band), an American rock band ** ''Say Anything'' (alb ...

. They were supported by

Polysics is a Japanese Techno/Electronic Music band from Tokyo, who dubs its unique style as "technicolor pogo punk". It was named after a brand of synthesizer, the Korg Polysix. The band started in 1997, but got their big break in 1998 at a concert in ...

and Young Love. They ended the year with a tour of the UK in November and December 2007 with Say Anything,

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

, and Go:Audio.

Reception

Critical reception

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' Trevor Kelley gave the album 5 out of 10 in his review, remarking, "While the

synth-punk Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

anthems on the California quartet's debut full-length are infectious blasts, when Kline tries his hand at

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

-y rave-ups ("Stuck to You") and sweeping

orchestral pop Orchestral pop (sometimes called ork-pop for short) is pop music that has been arranged and performed by a symphonic orchestra. It may also be conflated with the terms symphonic pop or chamber pop. History During the 1960s, pop music on radio an ...

("Baby, It's Fact"), his overreach is a tad premature."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Corey Apar called it "a charming album that indeed entertains," while noting it as a "somewhat uneven listen when taken as a whole."

Commercial performance

Selling 40,057 units within its first week, the album debuted at No. 13 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, at No. 1 on the US Independent albums chart and on No. 1 at the US Internet albums chart. This response surprised executives at Drive-Thru, who in response began heavily promoting the band to pop radio. Through the help of RED and Sanctuary, it became a radio hit. By the end of August 2006, the album had sold over 60,000 copies. By December 2006, the album has sold 150,000 copies in the United States. As of April 2007, the album has sold 343,569 copies in the United States. It was released in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2007, where it debuted at No. 17 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

Track listing

All songs written by

, except for additional lyrics on "Figures A and B (Means You and Me)", "I Saw It on Your Keyboard", and "Touchdown Turnaround (Don't Give Up on Me)" from Jesse Kurvink.

''Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! And More!''

The album was reissued in 2008 in the US. Retitled ''Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! And More!'', the CD/DVD combo was released with a new cover art depicting the band at a children's party. In addition to the original album, the CD features a selection of demos and alternate mixes. The bonus DVD includes a 50-minute live concert performed at the Avalon in Boston, Massachusetts on May 6, 2007 during their tour with

The Hush Sound The Hush Sound is an American indie pop band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Initially named "The Hush," the band later changed its name to "The Hush Sound" due to the discovery of a rapper with the same name. The band consists of Bob M ...

and

Personnel

Personnel per booklet. Hellogoodbye *

– vocals, guitar * Jesse Kurvink – keyboards * Chris Profeta – drums * Marcus Cole – bass Additional musicians *

Stevie Blacke Stevie Blacke (born in London, England) is an American producer, musician, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for having composed string arrangements on many hit records. Born in London and raised in Ohio, Blacke grew up w ...

–

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

(track 6) *

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 p ...

– mandolin (track 6), 2nd guitar (track 4) *

– drums (tracks 4 and 6) Production and design * Matt Mahaffey – producer, mixing, engineer *

– producer, mixing, engineer * Forrest Kline – additional production * Thomas Olson – additional

editing * Chris James – mixing * Tom Baker – mastering * Jesse Ledoux – art

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2006 debut albums Hellogoodbye albums Drive-Thru Records albums