HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''If I'm the Devil...'' is the fourth and final studio album by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Letlive Letlive, stylized letlive., is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band's final lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jason Aalon Butler (son of Aalon Butler, vocalist, and guitarist of the soul group Aalon), guitaris ...
, released globally through
Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...
on June 10, 2016. Recorded throughout 2015, it is their first album since the departure of guitarist and percussionist Jean Nascimento, who had been a member of the band from 2007 to 2014.


Background

On September 25, 2015, the band posted a tweet confirming that they had completed their fourth album and that it would be released in 2016. On the same day, they also confirmed that further additions to their 'Renditions' project/album would be put on hold temporarily in order to focus on the new album. On November 3, 2015, in a Revolver magazine online article, letlive. disclosed that their fourth studio album would be entitled ''If I'm the Devil...''. The album was officially announced on April 6, 2016, on which day the album's artwork, track listing and release date were revealed. Pre-orders for the album became available on iTunes and Google Play shortly after. The first single from the album, "Good Mourning, America" was also released on the same day.


Writing and recording

In an interview with Rock Sound, lead vocalist Jason Aalon Butler commented on record's sound, stating "it's a Letlive record, so obviously there's always going to be an element of aggression and rock 'n' roll present, but there is a lot of new stuff going on musically. There are elements of new wave, as well as some really dark
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
and
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
influences, and even some indie references. We've always mixed things up and experimented, and this record is no different." Writing the album proved to be difficult for the band members, who engaged in conflict over musical differences. Jason Aalon Butler, in an interview with Revolver Magazine, stated that "we got into a bunch of arguments when we were writing this record. Some of us wanted to do our punk songs and some of us wanted to do our more rock songs. Me, I wanted to do some shit that sounded like Kanye estmeets Royal Blood or something. But then we started to let go and just said, 'Fuck it, let's write the song and see how we feel about it when it's done.'" These musical differences resulted in an album that was "like a more advanced version of the sort of rock and soul approach that we've been trying to follow. We finally got to really explore using all these other instruments and sounds in our music - there are acoustic elements, there are electronic elements like
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
or
A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...
might have used, there’s things like the sound of us slapping desks and walls... we just tried everything". Butler also commented on the vocals he had tracked for the album, stating that "I'm singing a lot more than I'm screaming - which I'm very excited about because it's something I've wanted to do for the past few years." Lyrically, the album is described as being "easily the most politically and socially-minded record e'vedone." The track "Reluctantly Dead" has a particular focus on authority figures that abuse their power. Butler stated that "in the song, I put myself in the eyes and the heart of that type of person and I try to understand that they're still human at their core. I think if I can realize that these people are human beings, too, then maybe I can work toward creating some sort of change." The chorus of opening song ''I've Learned To Love Myself'' contains the line "I've learned to love myself, I've learned to love my self-abandonment" which is reference to the track ''Younger'' from the band's last album where a similar line can be found in the bridge.


Track listing


Personnel

; letlive. * Jason Aalon Butler –
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
* Ryan Jay Johnson –
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
* Jeff Sahyoun –
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s,
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...
, backing vocals * Loniel Robinson –
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
; Production * Justyn Pilbrow -
Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
* Dan Korneff - Mixing, Mastering


Charts


References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Letlive albums Epitaph Records albums