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Hesitant Alien

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Hesitant Alien
Studio albumby
Gerard Way
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2014(2014-09-29)
Recorded2014
StudioLightning Sound Studio (Hidden Hills, California)
Sonic Ranch (Tornillo, Texas)
Genre
Length38:51
Label
ProducerDoug McKean
SinglesfromHesitant Alien
  1. "No Shows"
    Released: August 18, 2014
  2. "Millions"
    Released: November 17, 2014

Hesitant Alienis the debut studio album byGerard Way,lead singer of the AmericanrockbandMy Chemical Romance,released in the US on September 29, 2014 and on September 30 worldwide. It was officially announced in May 2014, although demos of the songs "Zero Zero" and "Millions" have circulated since 2012. The album was produced by Doug McKean, known for his work as recording engineer on a number of projects with producerRob Cavallo,including several releases by My Chemical Romance.Hesitant Alienreceived mostly positive reviews, and was a moderate commercial success reaching No. 16 on the USBillboard200and some international charts. To support the album, Way assembled a touring band, "The Hormones".

Background

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On March 22, 2013,My Chemical Romanceofficially disbanded. This was followed by the release of a greatest hits album entitledMay Death Never Stop Youa year later. Having recently signed with Warner Bros. Records, Gerard went on to announce the beginning of his solo career with the release of an advance-single, "Action Cat", on June 11, 2014.[8]This was accompanied by a new website featuring concept artwork for the album and a new logo.[9]The album's first single, "No Shows",was released on August 18, 2014.[10]"Millions", the second single, was released on November 17, anticipated by a music video released on October 6.[11]

Release and promotion

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"No Shows" was released to radio on August 25, 2014.[12]Hesitant Alienwas released on September 29, in the UK, and a day later in the U.S.[5]Pre-orders for both the vinyl and CD versions of the album became available in August, featuring a T-shirt and promotional zine created specifically for the pre-orders.[13]On September 29, 2014, Way premieredHesitant Alienon the online platformVyRTduring a listening party with album commentary.[14]The following month, Way and The Hormones appeared as themusical gueston an episode ofConan.[15]They also toured extensively throughout the world in 2014 and 2015, and performed at several festivals.[16]In February and March 2015, Way performed atSoundwave festivalin Australia.[17]OnRecord Store Day 2016,Way released two exclusive, unreleased tracks fromHesitant Alientitled "Don't Try" and "Pinkish".[18]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.4/10[19]
Metacritic75/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
Alternative Press[22]
American Songwriter[6]
Billboard[3]
The Guardian[23]
Mojo[24]
NME8/10[4]
The Observer[25]
Q[26]
Rolling Stone[27]

Hesitant Alienreceived generally positive reviews from critics. AtMetacritic,which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 75 out of 100, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews" based on 15 reviews.[20]David McLaughlin fromRock Soundmagazine stated that some of the songs from the album were some of the best Way has written to date, labelling the album as alternative rock. He also stated that it is nothing like the efforts made into the albums ofMy Chemical Romance.[28]Jason Pettigrew fromAlternative Presssaid: "Now in his late-30s, he’s going back to the things that turned him on, pretentious ’70s glam-rock, fractured ’80s post-punk and all the English sonic conventions of ’90s Britpop and shoegazer noise", and that the album "has enough requisite cool and clamor to ensure [sic] he stays both relevant and remarkably vibrant".[22]

Hesitant Alientopped the "Ten Essential Albums Of 2014" list inAlternative Press.[22]The album was included at number 24 onRock Sound's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.[29]The album was included at number 4 onKerrang!'s "The Top 50 Rock Albums Of 2014" list.[30]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Bureau"Gerard Way2:38
2."Action Cat"Gerard Way3:07
3."No Shows"
4:12
4."Brother"Gerard Way4:31
5."Millions"
3:28
6."Zero Zero"Gerard Way2:49
7."Juarez"
2:50
8."Drugstore Perfume"Gerard Way4:50
9."Get the Gang Together"
  • Gerard Way
  • Don Blum
3:40
10."How It's Going to Be"
3:44
11."Maya the Psychic"Gerard Way3:02
Total length:38:51
Japanese bonus track[31]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Television All the Time"Gerard Way3:34
Total length:42:25

Personnel

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The Hormones

[edit]

Additional musicians

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  • Jason Freese–horn(on tracks 3 and 9)
  • Tom Rasulo – percussion(on track 2)
  • Mikey Way– backing vocals(on track 5)
  • Sabina Olague – spoken word(on track 7)

Production

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  • Doug McKean – production
  • Tom Rasulo – engineer
  • Andrew Law – assistant engineer
  • Gerardo "Jerry" Ordonez – assistant engineer
  • Zach Mauldin – assistant engineer
  • Lance Sumner – assistant engineer
  • Tchad Blake – mixing
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Gerard Way – art direction
  • Norman Wonderly – art direction

Charts

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Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 29
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 17
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] 37
Scottish Albums(OCC)[35] 13
UK Albums(OCC)[36] 14
UK Rock Albums[37] 1
U.S.Billboard200[38] 16
U.S.BillboardAlternative Albums[38] 1
U.S.BillboardTop Rock Albums[38] 4

Release history

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Region Date Label Format Catalog
Worldwide September 30, 2014 Warner Bros. DL —[39]
September 29, 2014 Reprise CD 9362493721[40]
LP 9362493722[41]

References

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Citations
  1. ^ab"Gerard Way talks independence, alternative influences & making art - Fuse".Fuse.RetrievedOctober 29,2015.
  2. ^"Gerard Way Explains Why He Went Britpop With 'Hesitant Alien' - Rolling Stone".Rolling Stone.20 August 2014.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
  3. ^abcLarson, Jeremy (September 30, 2014)."Album Review: Former My Chemical Frontman Gerard Way Graduates to Glossy Britpop on 'Hesitant Alien'".Billboard.Archived fromthe originalon October 3, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
  4. ^abWright, Lisa (September 24, 2014)."Gerard Way – 'Hesitant Alien'".NME.Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
  5. ^abc"Gerard Way - Hesitant Alien".TeamRock.9 September 2014.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
  6. ^abMaxwell, Emily (September 30, 2014)."Gerard Way: Hesitant Alien".American Songwriter.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
  7. ^"Gerard Way Announces First Solo Album Hesitant Alien For September 2014 Release".music.mxdwn.com.2 August 2014.RetrievedOctober 29,2015.
  8. ^"Gerard Way premieres new song," Action Cat "".Alternative Press.11 June 2014.Retrieved14 November2014.
  9. ^"My Chemical Romance Singer Gerard Way Releases Debut Solo Album 'Hesitant Alien' See Full Tracklist Here".Hallels.com.Retrieved14 November2014.
  10. ^"Alter The Press!: Gerard Way Premieres New Song" No Shows "on BBC Radio One".Alterthepress.com.Retrieved14 November2014.
  11. ^Jon Stickler."Gerard Way Posts Video For New Single Millions".Stereoboard.com.Retrieved14 November2014.
  12. ^"FMQB Airplay Archive: SubModern Rock".Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated.RetrievedOctober 31,2016.
  13. ^Gerard Way."Gerard Way".Gerardway.com. Archived fromthe originalon 24 August 2014.Retrieved14 November2014.
  14. ^"Gerard VyRT Listening Party".My Chemical Romance. September 29, 2014.RetrievedOctober 3,2014.
  15. ^"Gerard Way performs 'No Shows' on 'Conan' – watch".NME.17 October 2014.
  16. ^"Gerard Way Gigography, Tour History & Past Concerts – Songkick".
  17. ^Sharp, Tyler (August 20, 2014)."Slipknot, Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Of Mice & Men, more announced for Soundwave 2015".Alternative Press.Alternative Press Magazine, Inc.RetrievedJune 13,2017.
  18. ^"AP staff picks for Record Store Day 2016".Alternative Press. 14 April 2016.Retrieved23 April2016.
  19. ^"Hesitant Alien by Gerard Way reviews".AnyDecentMusic?.RetrievedDecember 20,2019.
  20. ^ab"Reviews for Hesitant Alien by Gerard Way".Metacritic.RetrievedNovember 14,2014.
  21. ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas."Hesitant Alien – Gerard Way".AllMusic.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
  22. ^abcPettigrew, Jason (September 9, 2014)."Gerard Way – Hesitant Alien".Alternative Press.Archived fromthe originalon October 1, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
  23. ^Simpson, Dave (September 25, 2014)."Gerard Way: Hesitant Alien review – a confident, swaggering set of songs".The Guardian.RetrievedNovember 14,2014.
  24. ^"Gerard Way: Hesitant Alien".Mojo(252): 120. November 2014.
  25. ^Khomami, Nadia (September 28, 2014)."Gerard Way: Hesitant Alien review – My Chemical Romance goes Britpop".The Observer.RetrievedJanuary 9,2018.
  26. ^"Gerard Way: Hesitant Alien".Q(340): 120. November 2014.
  27. ^Spanos, Brittany(September 29, 2014)."Hesitant Alien".Rolling Stone.RetrievedNovember 14,2014.
  28. ^McLaughlin, David (October 2014)."Gerard Way - Hesitant Alien".www.rocksound.tv.No. 192. Rock Sound. Rock Sound.Retrieved15 September2014.
  29. ^Bird, ed. 2015, p. 26
  30. ^Emily (March 18, 2015)."The Top 50 Rock Albums Of 2014".Kerrang!.Archived fromthe originalon July 21, 2015.RetrievedJuly 26,2015.
  31. ^"ヘジタント・エイリアン / ジェラルド・ウェイ thời đại を駆け bạt けてきたマイ・ケミカル・ロマンスのフロントマンによる, キャリア sơ のソロ・アルバム! Bỉ のアート・センスの tổng てをぶつける, ジェラルド・ウェイ sắc を tiền diện に áp し xuất した khoái tác の đăng tràng! Nhật bổn tiên hành phát mại. Nhật bổn bàn のみボーナス・トラック1 khúc thâu lục".CDJapan.
  32. ^"Australiancharts.com – Gerard Way – Hesitant Alien".Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  33. ^"GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 40, 2014".Chart-Track.IRMA.
  34. ^"Charts.nz – Gerard Way – Hesitant Alien".Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  35. ^"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  36. ^"Gerard Way | Artist | Official Charts".UK Albums Chart.Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  37. ^"2014-10-11 Top 40 Rock & Metal Albums Archive - Official Charts".Official Charts Company.Retrieved14 November2014.
  38. ^abcHesitant Alien - Gerard Way - AwardsatAllMusic
  39. ^"Gerard Way Hesitant Alien (Digital Download - Warner Bros. #)".AllMusic.com.AllMusic.RetrievedSeptember 15,2014.
  40. ^"Gerard Way Hesitant Alien (CD - Reprise #9362493721)".AllMusic.com.AllMusic.RetrievedSeptember 15,2014.
  41. ^"Gerard Way Hesitant Alien (LP - Reprise #9362493722)".AllMusic.com.AllMusic.RetrievedSeptember 15,2014.
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2015). "Top 50 Albums of the Year".Rock Sound(195). London: Freeway Press Inc.ISSN1465-0185.
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