Talking Is Hard

Talking Is Hard is the third studio album by American rock band Walk the Moon. It was released on December 2, 2014, by RCA Records. The first single released from the album was "Shut Up and Dance," which became an international hit for the band, reaching number one on the Billboard Alternative chart and the Billboard Rock Songs chart, as well peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It also charted in the Netherlands and Sweden.

Talking Is Hard
Studio album by Walk the Moon
Released	December 2, 2014
Recorded	2014
Studio	Rancho Pagzilla (North Hollywood, California)
Genre	New wave dance-rock power pop pop rock synth-pop
Length	43:11
Label	RCA
Producer	Tim Pagnotta
Walk the Moon chronology
Walk the Moon (2012) Talking Is Hard (2014) What If Nothing (2017)
Singles from Talking Is Hard
"Shut Up and Dance" Released: September 10, 2014 "Different Colors" Released: May 5, 2015 "Work This Body" Released: February 23, 2016

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Background and release

Walk the Moon revealed the track list for the album on November 10, 2014.[2] The album was made available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon on November 17, 2014.[3] It was released by RCA Records on December 2, 2014.[3] An expanded edition of the album was released in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2015.[4]

"Shut Up and Dance" was released to digital retailers on September 10, 2014, as the album's lead single.[5] It was a commercial success, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Rock Songs chart for 27 consecutive weeks.[6][7] "Different Colors" was sent to alternative radio stations as the second single on May 5, 2015.[8] The third and final single, "Work This Body", impacted alternative radio stations on February 23, 2016.[9]

Music

The album's drum tracking was completed over a span of ten days at a studio in North Hollywood. Drummer Sean Waugaman primarily used a 1965 Ludwig black oyster pearl drum kit with Paiste 602s, Signatures, and Zildjian Constantinople cymbals.[10] The album has been described as new wave and very '80s-inspired.[11] Nick Petricca called "Shut Up and Dance" a 'dork rock' anthem and it was inspired by songs like "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" (Pat Benatar) and "Jessie's Girl" (Rick Springfield), "real heart-on-your-sleeve kind of anthems".[11]

Artwork

The album cover for Talking Is Hard features a photograph of the band members taken by Shervin Lainez.[12] In an interview with guitarist Eli Maiman, the final cover used was "just supposed to be a promotional shot" and that the band had "a whole other cover planned that didn’t have [them] on it at all".[13]

Track listing

Talking Is Hard – Standard edition[14]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"Different Colors"	Nicholas Petricca Kevin Ray Sean Waugaman Eli Maiman	Pagnotta	3:42
2.	"Sidekick"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman	Pagnotta	2:55
3.	"Shut Up and Dance"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Ben Berger Ryan McMahon	Pagnotta	3:19
4.	"Up 2 U"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Berger McMahon	Pagnotta	3:23
5.	"Avalanche"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Tim Pagnotta	Pagnotta	3:40
6.	"Portugal"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman	Pagnotta	4:01
7.	"Down In the Dumps"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman	Pagnotta	4:25
8.	"Work This Body"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman John Ryan	Pagnotta	2:57
9.	"Spend Your $$$"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman	Pagnotta	3:22
10.	"We Are the Kids"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Ryan	Pagnotta	3:37
11.	"Come Under the Covers"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman	Pagnotta	3:51
12.	"Aquaman"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Matt Radosevich	Pagnotta	3:59
Total length:				43:11

Talking Is Hard – UK edition (bonus tracks)[4]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Boyfriend"	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Blake O'Brien	2:58
14.	"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (Live at Sirius XM)	David Byrne Chris Frantz Jerry Harrison Tina Weymouth	3:53
15.	"Shut Up and Dance" (Live at Sirius XM)	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Berger McMahon	3:15
Total length:			53:12

Talking Is Hard – Deluxe Google Play edition (bonus tracks)[15]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"Shut Up and Dance" (Acoustic)	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman Berger McMahon	Pagnotta	3:14
2.	"Different Colors" (Acoustic)	Petricca Ray Waugaman Maiman	Pagnotta	3:24
Total length:				49:57

Promotion

• Walk the Moon (as of March 2015) are embarking on a Talking Is Hard Tour.[16]
• They have performed the album's lead single, "Shut Up and Dance", on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,[17] The Ellen DeGeneres Show,[18] and Jimmy Kimmel Live.[19]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Talking Is Hard.[20]

Locations

• Recorded at Rancho Pagzilla, North Hollywood, California
• Mixed at The Casita, Hollywood, California
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City

Personnel

• Nick Petricca – vocals, keyboards, percussion, programming, songwriting
• Kevin Ray – bass, vocals, songwriting
• Sean Waugaman – percussion, vocals, songwriting
• Eli Maiman – guitar, vocals, programming, songwriting
• Ben Berger – songwriting, vocal production, co-production
• Ryan McMahon – songwriting, vocal production, co-production
• Jarett Holmes – programming, recording, digital editing
• Tim Pagnotta – production, recording
• Brian Phillips – digital editing
• Allen Casillas – digital editing
• Ryan Gillmor – digital editing
• Mauro Rubbi – drum technician
• Andrew "Muffman" Luftman – recording assistant
• Kuk Harrell – vocal recording
• Marcos Tovar – vocal recording
• Blake Mares – assistant engineer
• Robert Cohen – assistant engineer
• Neal Avron – mixing
• Scott Skrzynski – mixing assistant
• Joe LaPorta – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2014–15) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 85 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 31 French Albums (SNEP)[23] 126 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[24] 148 Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 37 UK Albums (OCC)[26] 53 US Billboard 200[27] 14 US Digital Albums (Billboard)[28] 7 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[29] 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] 3 US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[31] 10

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position US Billboard 200[32] 32 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[33] 16 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Canada (Music Canada)[34] Gold 40,000 United States (RIAA)[35] Platinum 1,000,000 sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, formats, label, and editions

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Edition(s)
Australia	November 28, 2014	CD digital download	Sony	Standard
Germany
Ireland
Italy
New Zealand
Canada	December 2, 2014
United States			RCA
United Kingdom	June 15, 2015

References

1. Monger, James Christopher. "Talking Is Hard – Walk the Moon". AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
2. "WALK THE MOON". Facebook. November 10, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
3. "Walk The Moon Announces 2015 'Talking Is Hard Tour'". RCA Records. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
4. "Talking Is Hard on iTunes". June 15, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
5. "Shut Up and Dance – Single by WALK THE MOON". iTunes Store (US). Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
6. "Walk the Moon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
7. "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs". Billboard. October 10, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
8. "Alternative". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
9. "Alternative". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
10. "Drummer Blog: WALK THE MOON's Sean Waugaman on Recording the New Album". Modern Drummer Magazine. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
11. "Related Questions: WALK THE MOON, 'Shut Up and Dance' « Radio.com". radio.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-04.
12. "Shervin Lainez Music Photography". Retrieved October 14, 2019.
13. Holroyd, Charlotte (March 17, 2015). "In Conversation With…WALK THE MOON". Bitter Sweet Symphonies. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
14. "Talking Is Hard on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
15. "TALKING IS HARD (Google Play Deluxe Edition)". Retrieved November 20, 2015.
16. Natalie Kuchik. "Walk The Moon to head out on 2015 'Talking Is Hard' tour". AXS.
17. "Walk the Moon Performs on "The Tonight Show" (Watch Now)". Headline Planet.
18. "Amy Poehler & Bill Hader, Walk the Moon". EllenTV.
19. "WALK THE MOON Bring The Party To 'Jimmy Kimmel': Watch Their Raucous Rendition Of "Shut Up + Dance" - Idolator". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com.
20. Talking Is Hard (inlay cover). Walk the Moon. RCA Records. 2014. p. 16.CS1 maint: others (link)
21. Ryan, Gavin (June 27, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Ed Sheeran X Returns To No 1". Noise11. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
22. "Walk the Moon Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
23. "Lescharts.com – Walk the Moon – Talking Is Hard". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
24. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2015-08-31" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
26. "Walk the Moon | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
27. "Walk the Moon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
28. "Walk the Moon Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
29. "Walk the Moon Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
30. "Walk the Moon Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
31. "Walk the Moon Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
32. "Top Billboard 200 Albums Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
33. "Top Rock Albums Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
34. "Canadian album certifications – Walk the Moon – Talking Is Hard". Music Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
35. "American album certifications – Walk the Moon – Talking Is Hard". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 6, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.