Heavy Love (Man Overboard album)

Heavy Love is the fourth studio album by American rock band Man Overboard. It was released on June 30, 2015 by Rise.

Heavy Love
Studio album by
Man Overboard
ReleasedJune 30, 2015
RecordedEarly 2015
StudioThe Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado
GenrePop punk[1]
Length39:15
LabelRise
ProducerBill Stevenson, Jason Livermore
Man Overboard chronology
Passing Ends
(2014)		 Heavy Love
(2015)

Background

In May 2013, Man Overboard released Heart Attack through Rise.[2] Between March and May 2014, Man Overboard supported All Time Low on their A Love Like Tour in the US.[3] Shortly afterwards, Man Overboard went on the Heart Attack tour in North America throughout May and June.[4] It was the band's first headlining tour in a while,[4] following a break – their longest in five years.[5] During this break, some of the band members' relatives had died and a few of the members had gotten married.[5]

The group released Passing Ends, an acoustic EP, in October 2014.[6] The EP was "the biggest reflection" of the group's activities at the time and was the first time the group recorded material since their previous album[5] Heart Attack (2013). In an October interview with Alternative Press, vocalist/guitarist Zac Eisenstein revealed the band were writing and demoing.[7] While working out where to take their new material, Man Overboard was unsure how to "do justice to the emotions we were feeling", Collier revealed.[5] In March and April 2015, the group supported Bayside on their headlining US tour.[8]

Recording and composition
It's one thing to be a good sound engineer or producer, but to do both and keep things moving at a comfortable pace is a whole other skill set to have. Bill has it all.[5]

– Guitarist Justin Collier, discussing working with Stevenson, 2015

For the band's previous releases, they would write material on tour, then demo it after the tour had finished and then take the songs into the studio.[5] For this new album, Bill Stevenson had the band play the songs live in the studio, instead of having them multitrack and listening to the finished result.[5]

In early 2015[7] Heavy Love was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado.[9] It was the first time the band traveled far away from home to record.[10][nb 1] The album was produced by Stevenson[9] and Jason Livermore, the former of which was a member of the Descendents. Members of Man Overboard grew up listening to the Descendents and were big fans.[5] Guitarist Justin Collier called it "surreal" working with Stevenson.[5] Stevenson gave the band creative control and helped keep the recording process in motion.[5] Collier mentioned that the group were "figur[ing] out how to transition back into being a rock band".[5]

On occasion, Eisenstein would be unsure about a particular guitar riff and say to Stevenson "Where do I draw the line between what I want to play and what people think I should play?"[10] Stevenson would reply with "You draw it right fucking now, record your part!"[10] Stevenson "pushed us by not pushing us, just allowing us to be creative", according to Eisenstein.[10] Eisenstein revealed that there was nothing to distract the band "since we weren't going home to our family and friends every night".[10] He likened it to "going on a little vacation".[10]

Eisenstein mentioned that the group were attempting new ideas on the record.[11] Eisenstein also mentioned that they were evolving as songwriters, thanks to Stevenson.[11] The band was "achiev[ing] new sounds" that they had not previously gone for.[11] At the same time, the sound of the band's previous albums is present.[5] "Reality Check" was made in the vein of their earlier material from when they first formed.[11] "The Note" was written a couple of weeks prior to recording.[10] "She's in Pictures" was inspired by The Beach Boys.[10]

Release

On May 11, 2015 Heavy Love was announced for release and "Borderline" was made available for streaming.[12] A day later, music videos for "Splinter", "Now That You're Home", and "Borderline" were released.[13] On June 3, a music video was released for "Cliffhanger".[14] "Reality Check" was previewed by Billboard on June 17.[11] On June 25, the album was made available for streaming.[15] Heavy Love was released on June 30[16] through Rise.[12][nb 2] Following this, the band was set to play on the 2015 edition of Warped Tour.[14] The band had the idea of releasing the album around Warped Tour as it was "the best opportunity for bands in our world to promote a record", according to guitarist Wayne Wildrick.[5] On July 2, a music video for "She's in Pictures" was released.[18] The band played in Japan in August and in Australia and New Zealand in September, supporting The Story So Far.[19] In November, the band went on a tour of the US east coast with support from A Loss for Words, Northbound and WATERMEDOWN.[20]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk9/10[21]
Alternative Press[22]
Idobi Radio7/10[1]
Sputnikmusic3.7/5[23]

Alternative Press reviewer Greg Pratt states, the album "move[s] [the band] forward ever so slightly ... But much of the album is still mainly a solid homage to Blink[-182]".[22] Mischa Pearlman of Rock Sound said the band were "firmly shutting the door on their adolescence" with the new album.[24] Pearlman considered it "the start of a new and promising chapter" for the band.[24]

The album charted at number 15 in the US on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart[25] and at number 35 on the Independent Albums chart.[26]

Track listing
  1. "Now That You're Home" – 3:05
  2. "Borderline" – 3:02
  3. "Reality Check" – 3:21
  4. "Splinter" – 3:34
  5. "The Note" – 3:58
  6. "Cliffhanger" – 3:11
  7. "She's in Pictures" – 2:37
  8. "Invisible" – 3:26
  9. "Deal" – 2:28
  10. "Anything" – 3:19
  11. "For Jennie" – 3:23
  12. "A Love That I Can't Have" – 3:45

iTunes bonus track

  1. "The First Degree" – 3:18

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Billboard Hard Rock Albums[25] 15
US Billboard Independent Albums[26] 35
gollark: Anarchy spreadsheets: apparently a thing now.
gollark: Anyway, boron carbide/citrine person, you seem like a... reasonably okay person, based on my interaction with you here, so don't... internalize people's criticism excessively, or something.
gollark: Anyone who pings me without a good reason will be subject to an orbital laser strike.
gollark: You can just say things here, he might even read them.
gollark: CEASE this messaging of directness.

References

Footnotes

  1. Previously, the band traveled to North Jersey to record Real Talk (2010) and Man Overboard (2011), and outside of Philadelphia to record Heart Attack (2013).[10]
  2. U.S. Rise RISE 290-2[17]

Citations

  1. Reandelar, Dana (June 25, 2015). "Album Review: Man Overboard – Heavy Love". idobi.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  2. "Man Overboard Reveal New Album Details". Rock Sound Magazine. March 3, 2013. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  3. Horansky, TJ (January 20, 2014). "All Time Low announce A Love Like Tour with Man Overboard, Handguns". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  4. Crane, Matt (March 3, 2014). "Man Overboard announce headlining tour with Transit, Forever Came Calling, Knuckle Puck". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  5. Nattress, Katrina (June 25, 2015). "Man Overboard Talk 'Heavy Love' and Working With Bill Stevenson". Myspace. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  6. DeSisto, Danielle (October 14, 2014). "Man Overboard premiere new song "Stood Up"". idobi.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  7. Kraus, Brian (October 23, 2014). ""We had a pretty rough year" —Man Overboard get serious for the future". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  8. Sharp, Tyler (November 20, 2014). "Bayside, Senses Fail, Man Overboard, Seaway tour announced". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on December 18, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  9. Pierangelo, Hannah (May 12, 2015). "Man Overboard Announce New Album 'Heavy Love'". idobi.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  10. Denning, Jake (17 June 2015). "Man Overboard - 06/17/15". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  11. Payne, Chris (June 17, 2015). "New Man Overboard Track! Check Out the Super Infectious 'Reality Check'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  12. Sharp, Tyler (May 11, 2015). "Man Overboard progress pop-punk on lead single from new album, 'Heavy Love'". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  13. Sharp, Tyler (May 12, 2015). "Man Overboard unveil trio of music videos for three new singles". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  14. Sherman, Maria (June 3, 2015). "Listen to Man Overboard's Defiant New Song "Cliffhanger" - Fuse". Fuse. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  15. Brodsky, Rachel (June 25, 2015). "Man Overboard Are Weighed Down By 'Heavy Love' on New Album". Spin. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  16. Leanne (May 11, 2015). "Man Overboard announce 'Heavy Love'". punknews.org. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  17. "Heavy Love - Man Overboard - Release Information, Reviews and Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  18. Lloyd, Gav (July 2, 2015). "There Are Some Right Shenanigans Going On In This New Man Overboard Video". Rock Sound Magazine. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  19. Leanne (May 11, 2015). "Tours: The Story So Far". punknews.org. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  20. Bazley, John (September 4, 2015). "Man Overboard announce shows with A Loss For Words, more". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  21. Kovach, Becky. "Man Overboard - Heavy Love". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  22. Pratt 2015, p. 98
  23. Boy, Davey (June 28, 2015). "Review: Man Overboard - Heavy Love - Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  24. Pearlman 2015, p. 84
  25. "Man Overboard (Hard Rock Albums)". billboard.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  26. "Man Overboard (Independent Albums)". billboard.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.

Sources

  • Pearlman, Mischa (August 2015). Bird, Ryan (ed.). "Reviews". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (202). ISSN 1465-0185.
  • Pratt, Greg (June 1, 2015). Pettigrew, Jason (ed.). "Man Overboard – Heavy Love". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. (324). ISSN 1065-1667.
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