Blood, Sweat & 3 Years

Blood, Sweat & 3 Years is the fourth studio album by American electronic music group Cash Cash, released on June 24, 2016 by Big Beat Records and Atlantic Records.[1] It is their first full-length album since signing to Big Beat, following the release of the Overtime and Lightning EPs. Blood, Sweat & 3 Years includes collaborations with singers Anjulie, Bebe Rexha, Chrish, Christina Perri, Dev, Jacquie Lee, Jenna Andrews, John Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls, Julia Michaels, Michael Fitzpatrick of Fitz and The Tantrums, Neon Hitch, and Sofia Reyes; rappers B.o.B, Busta Rhymes, Nelly, and Trinidad James; DJ Digital Farm Animals; and groups Little Daylight and Night Terrors of 1927.

Blood, Sweat & 3 Years
Studio album by Cash Cash
Released	June 24, 2016
Recorded	2013–16
Genre	Dance
Label	Big Beat Atlantic
Producer	Cash Cash Digital Farm Animals
Cash Cash chronology
Lightning EP (2014) Blood, Sweat & 3 Years (2016)
Singles from Blood, Sweat & 3 Years
"Aftershock" Released: January 29, 2016 "How to Love" Released: April 29, 2016 "Millionaire" Released: June 3, 2016 "Broken Drum" Released: June 17, 2016

Singles

"Take Me Home", featuring guest vocals from singer Bebe Rexha, was released on July 15, 2013, originally from the band's 2013 EP Overtime. It was later included on Blood, Sweat & 3 Years as its first single. It reached number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first (and, to date, only) charting single in the U.S. It also reached number 6 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[2] It also peaked within the top ten in Australia and the UK. The music video premiered on December 18, 2013.[3] "Lightning", featuring guest vocals from Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik, was released on March 24, 2014. It was originally from the band's 2014 EP Lightning, but was later included as the second single from Blood, Sweat & 3 Years. Unlike "Take Me Home", "Lightning" did not chart. The lyric video premiered on August 11, 2014.[4] "Surrender", featuring uncredited guest vocals from singer and songwriter Julia Michaels, was released on September 16, 2014 as the third single from the album. Although it did not chart on the Hot 100, it did reach number 19 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[2] The music video premiered on January 15, 2015.[5] "Devil", featuring guest vocals from rappers Busta Rhymes and B.o.B and singer Neon Hitch, was released on August 7, 2015 as the album's fourth single. It reached number 28 on the Dance/Electronic songs chart,[2] and number 110 in the UK. "Escarole" was released on December 11, 2015 as the album's fifth single. "Aftershock", featuring guest vocals from singer Jacquie Lee, was released on January 29, 2016 as the album's sixth single. The music video premiered on March 16, 2016.[6] "How to Love", featuring guest vocals from Mexican singer Sofia Reyes, was released on April 29, 2016 as the album's seventh single. It debuted at number 21 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The music video premiered on the same day.[7] "Millionaire", their collaboration with British DJ Digital Farm Animals, featuring guest vocals from rapper Nelly, was released on June 3, 2016 as the album's eighth single. It debuted at number 22 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The music video was released on June 27, 2016.[8] "Broken Drum", featuring guest vocals from Michael Fitzpatrick of Fitz and The Tantrums, was released on June 17, 2016 as the album's ninth single, accompanied by a music video.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Renowned for Sound	[11]
We Got This Covered	[12]

Alexendra Blair from Dancing Astronaut wrote that Cash Cash have "delivered a quality pop music release on which any song could be a confetti-drenched closer" by praising their track production and the appearance of quality collaborators such as Christina Perri and Michael Fitzpatrick of Fitz and The Tantrums. She then criticised Nelly's performance on "Millionaire" by describing it as a "whitewashing of the rapper's sometimes gritty and often wryly wrought vocal style" and felt that "Devil" was "hollow with a sanitized inauthenticity" despite strong verses from B.o.B and Busta Rhymes.[13] AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung gave the album a 4/5 rating and stated that it was a "celebration of the many facets of dance in the 2010s EDM era, from trap to tropical and everything in between". He complimented their "impressive list of guests for the effort" and said that the brightest moments of the record came courtesy of the female vocalists, who bring a "carefree and breezy energy to balance the machismo".[10] Connor Jones from We Got This Covered felt like the album "plays more like a loose collection of songs than a cohesive whole", due to some tracks being released back in 2013 which causes them to feel mismatched when listened to. He continued by stating that the record feels repetitious and formulaic regarding its female led vocal collaborations, even with the presence of many excellent tracks. The critic concluded by writing that tracks like "How To Love" which "strike the right balance between radio friendly pop and crowd pleasing dance rhythms" works best in Blood, Sweat & 3 Years, and praised the "crystal clear mixing" and "excellent synth work" on the record.[12]

Daniel Patrin of Renowned For Sound granted the record a 2/5 rating and stated that it consisted of "calculable, artificial pop music with forced momentum", mimicking the works of Afrojack and Swedish House Mafia which made it lack "any real aspects of individualism".[11]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Cash Cash, except "Millionaire" produced by Cash Cash and Digital Farm Animals.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"How to Love" (featuring Sofia Reyes)	Samuel Frisch Alex Makhlouf Jean Paul Makhlouf Jennifer Decilveo Ilsey Juber	3:38
2.	"Broken Drum" (featuring Fitz of Fitz and The Tantrums)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Michael Fitzpatrick	3:18
3.	"Millionaire" (with Digital Farm Animals featuring Nelly)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Eldra DeBarge Jason Epperson Nicholas Gale Cornell Haynes, Jr. Etterlene Jordan Lavell Webb	3:06
4.	"Hero" (featuring Christina Perri)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Christina Perri	3:18
5.	"Devil" (featuring Busta Rhymes, B.o.B & Neon Hitch)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Neon Hitch Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. Trevor Smith	3:29
6.	"Aftershock" (featuring Jacquie Lee)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Erin Beck	3:25
7.	"The Gun" (featuring Trinidad James, Dev & Chrish)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Leah Haywood Ashton Parson Devin Tailes Nicholas Williams	3:22
8.	"Turn" (featuring Little Daylight)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Matt Lewkowicz Nikki Taylor Eric Zeiler	3:39
9.	"Escarole"	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf	4:01
10.	"Lightning" (featuring John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf John Rzeznik	3:34
11.	"Arrows in the Dark" (featuring Anjulie)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Anjulie Persaud	3:38
12.	"We Will Live" (featuring Night Terrors of 1927)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Jarrod Gorbel	3:50
13.	"Bada Boom"	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf	4:02
14.	"Take Me Home" (featuring Bebe Rexha)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Brandon Lowry Bebe Rexha	3:25
15.	"Sweat" (featuring Jenna Andrews)	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Jenna Andrews	3:33
16.	"Surrender"	Frisch A. Makhlouf J. Makhlouf Tal Meltzer Julia Michaels Jonas Patterson Lindy Robbins Linus Wiklund	3:28
Total length:			56:46

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[14]	125
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[15]	3

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Worldwide	June 24, 2016	CD digital download	Big Beat Atlantic

References

1. Kat Bein (April 28, 2016). "Cash Cash Announces Debut Album, Premieres Infectious 'How to Love' Single: Exclusive". Billboard.
2. "Cash Cash - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
3. "Cash Cash - Take Me Home ft Bebe Rexha [Official Video". YouTube. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
4. "Cash Cash - "Lightning" ft John Rzeznik (Official Lyric Video)". YouTube. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
5. "Cash Cash - Surrender (Official Video)". YouTube. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
6. "Cash Cash - Aftershock ft Jacquie Lee (Official Video)". YouTube. 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
7. "Cash Cash - How To Love ft Sofia Reyes (Official Video)". YouTube. 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
8. "Cash Cash & Digital Farm Animals - Millionaire feat. Nelly (Official Video)". YouTube. 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
9. "Cash Cash - Broken Drum feat. Fitz of Fitz and the Tantrums (Official Video)". YouTube. 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
10. Yeung, Neil. "Blood, Sweat & 3 Years - Cash Cash". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2017-12-15.
11. Daniel, Patrin (2016-07-10). "Album Review: Cash Cash – Blood, Sweat & 3 Years". Renowned For Sound. Archived from the original on 2016-08-08. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
12. Jones, Connor (2016-06-22). "Cash Cash – Blood, Sweat & 3 Years Review". We Got This Covered. Archived from the original on 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
13. Blair, Alexendra (2016-06-26). "Cash Cash stake their claim with 'Blood, Sweat, & 3 Years' [Album Review]". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
14. "Cash Cash Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
15. "Cash Cash Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2016.