What We Live For

What We Live For is the second studio album by American pop rock band American Authors, produced by returning collaborators Aaron Accetta and Shep Goodman. Running at 42 minutes and comprising twelve tracks, the album was released worldwide by Island Records on July 1, 2016. The album marks the third major release by the band under the American Authors moniker, and largely continues the sound of their debut album, Oh, What a Life.

What We Live For
Studio album by
American Authors
ReleasedJuly 1, 2016
Recorded2014–16
Genre
Length42:21
LabelIsland
Producer
American Authors chronology
Oh, What a Life
(2014)		 What We Live For
(2016)		 Seasons
(2019)
Singles from What We Live For
  1. "Go Big or Go Home"
    Released: May 18, 2015
  2. "Pride"
    Released: December 11, 2015
  3. "What We Live For"
    Released: April 1, 2016
  4. "I'm Born to Run"
    Released: February 14, 2017

What We Live For debuted at number 60 on the Billboard 200 and spawned four singles: "Go Big or Go Home", "Pride", "What We Live For" and "I'm Born to Run". To promote the album, the band went on a U.S. tour to promote the record ahead of its release.

Background and recording

We’re really feeling the pressure of, ‘OK, how do we take what people know and love about us from the first album, but really give it where we’re at today and kind of take it to the next level, for who we are as people, and who we are as musicians right now'

— Frontman Zac Barnett, discussing feelings about the band's second album.[1]

In March 2014, American Authors released their debut studio album, Oh, What a Life, after many years releasing extended plays under the moniker The Blue Pages.[2] American Authors enjoyed considerable success with the album, gaining significant exposure, especially through adult contemporary radio.[3] Their success is largely due to the commercial boom of their hit single, "Best Day of My Life",[2][4] which by April 2015 had been certified certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, marking sales exceeding three million.[5] Drummer Matt Sanchez described the band's achievements; "truthfully, most people don’t realize we’ve been a band for about eight years, so success seems like it’s come in marathon form and we still got a long way to go."[6] Heading into the creative process for their follow-up album, the band expressed a preference to preserve most of the sound that made "Best Day of My Life" and Oh, What a Life commercially successful, but with a more mature feel, citing the need to reflect the growth of the band as artists.[1]

Songwriting and early recording sessions for the band's follow-up to Oh, What a Life began as early as on tour in 2014. While serving as a supporting act on the Native Summer Tour, the band entertained the idea of co-writing a song with OneRepublic's frontman Ryan Tedder, hoping to add what American Authors frontman Zac Barnett as "the Ryan Tedder touch".[7] The band continued to write and record new songs for the album during their time on the 13th Annual Honda Civic Tours and tours throughout 2015, with some songs even being premiered and exercised live in their tours, such as "Nothing Better" and "Pride".[lower-alpha 1][10] Principal recording commenced in early to mid 2015,[11] and was primarily recorded with producers Aaron Accetta and Shep Goodman, who had previously worked with the band on their eponymous extended play and Oh, What a Life. While the band had an extensive set of songs at the beginning of the sessions, enough to create an album outright, the band exercised their material and continued to write and record new songs well into 2016.[11]

Composition
The album features biographical themes concerning the band's perspective on their present and future. (Pictured: American Authors performing in November 2014)

What We Live For largely continues the sound of the band's debut studio album, Oh, What a Life. Lead singer Zac Barnett stated that "we tried to take a lot of the stuff that our fans like and love about us from Oh, What a Life and take that to the next level as far as sounds go. [We] brought back some of the old instruments like mandolin and banjo, but also experimented with a lot of different sounds like vocal samples. We brought back a lot of piano [and] bigger harmonies."[11] Lyrically, the album builds on Oh, What a Life's biographical themes, which followed the band's origins and journey; What We Live For documents the band's experiences during the present and their perspective on the future.[11]

Promotion

"Go Big or Go Home", which would ultimately appear as the seventh track on the final album, was released in May 2015 as a single, after the band's last single promoting Oh, What a Life, "Luck", was released a year previously.[12] "Pride" also appeared on a single in December 2015,[13] and was also solicited as a promotional single to United States adult contemporary radio thereafter.[14] What We Live For was officially unveiled by the band and Island Records on March 2, 2016, with pre-orders for both a digital download and compact disc version of the album being made available the same day.[14][15] The album's opening two tracks, "What We Live For" and "I'm Born to Run" were also made available to purchase in April 2016, on the album's page on iTunes.[16] Supporting the album, the band embarked on a 19-date tour of the United States from March through to May 2015, performing songs appearing on the new album live, in the lead-up to its release.[15] It was announced through the band's Facebook page that the album's release date was pushed nearly two months from their original date, saying they are "putting the finishing touches" on their album and planned to release new music videos before their album was available in stores.[17]

Reception

Critical
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]

Soundtrack appearances

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."What We Live For"
2:58
2."I'm Born to Run"
3:26
3."Pride"
3:11
4."Right Here Right Now"
3:01
5."Nothing Better"
3:38
6."Replaced"
3:32
7."Go Big or Go Home"
2:49
8."Mess with Your Heart"
4:03
9."No Love"
3:33
10."Pocket Full of Gold"
3:00
11."Superman"
4:08
12."Mind Body Soul"
5:02
Total length:42:21

Personnel

American Authors

  • Zac Barnett – lead vocals, guitar
  • James Adam Shelley – lead guitar, banjo, mandolin
  • Dave Rublin – bass, keyboard
  • Matt Sanchez – drums, percussion

Production

Charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[20] 60
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[21] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[22] 6
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[23] 6

Release history
Region Date Label Format Catalog no.
Australia[24] July 1, 2016 Island Digital download N/A
France[25]
United Kingdom[26]
United States[lower-alpha 4]
  • CD
  • digital download
 SUK 5093901 (CD)
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References

Notes

  1. Citations for live performances of "Nothing Better"[8] and "Pride"[9]
  2. The writing credits attributed to "What We Live For", "Right Here Right Now", "Nothing Better", and "Go Big or Go Home" are sourced from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' songwriting credits database, which can be found at this link.
  3. The writing credits attributed to "I'm Born to Run", "Pride", "Replaced", "Mess with your Heart", "No Love", "Pocket Full of Gold", "Superman" and "Mind Body Soul" are sourced from the All Music' songwriting credits database, which can be found at this link.
  4. Citations for United States release of What We Live For: Compact Disc,[27] Digital[16]

Citations

  1. Stern, Andrew (September 1, 2015). "This band of college dropouts has a monster hit single -- but people still don't know who they are". Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  2. Lopez, Korina (February 2, 2014). "On the Verge: American Authors write their own ticket". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  3. Trust, Gary (March 3, 2014). "Chart Highlights: American Authors Are 'Best' On Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  4. Corner, Lewis (April 8, 2014). "American Authors 'didn't like hit at first'". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  5. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA - American Authors, "Best Day of My Life"". Recording Industry Association of America. April 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  6. Jason, Andrew (August 14, 2014). "American Authors On Fargo, Success And Touring With One Republic". Fargo Monthly Magazine. Spotlight Media LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  7. Baltin, Steve (June 3, 2014). "American Authors Look to Add 'Ryan Tedder Touch' to Next Album". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  8. "American Authors Setlist at House of Blues, San Diego, CA, USA". Setlist.fm. October 2, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  9. "American Authors Setlist at Iron City, Birmingham, AL, USA". Setlist.fm. August 2, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  10. Hudelson, Molly (August 11, 2014). "Exclusive: Interview with American Authors' Zac Barnett". AXS TV. 2929 Entertainment. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  11. Eitel, Zoe (May 2, 2016). "American Authors talks 'the next level'". The Columbia Chronicle. Columbia College Chicago. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  12. Marcus, Ezra (May 18, 2015). "American Authors Return with 'Go Big or Go Home': Listen". Radio.com. CBS Local Digital Media. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  13. "Pride - Single by American Authors". iTunes Store AU. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  14. Island Records staff (March 2, 2016). "American Authors Announce New Album & Tour". Island Records. Universal Music Group. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  15. ABC News Radio Music News Group (March 2, 2016). "American Authors Announce New Album Title, Release Date & Tour Dates". ABC News Radio. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  16. "What We Live For by American Authors". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  17. "Hey guys! We are still putting the finishing... - American Authors". Facebook.
  18. Yeung, Neil Z. "What We Live For - American Authors". AllMusic. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  19. "Madden NFL 17 Soundtrack". EA Sports. Electronic Arts Inc. August 3, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  20. "American Authors Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  21. "American Authors Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  22. "American Authors Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  23. "American Authors Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  24. "What We Live For by American Authors". iTunes Store AU. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  25. "What We Live For by American Authors". iTunes Store FR. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  26. "What We Live For by American Authors". iTunes Store GB. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  27. "What We Live For - CD". Best Buy. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
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