Astoria (Marianas Trench album)

Astoria
Studio album by
Marianas Trench
ReleasedOctober 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)
Recorded2014–15
Genre
Length57:11
Label
ProducerJosh Ramsay
Marianas Trench chronology
Something Old / Something New
(2015) 		Astoria
(2015) 		Phantoms
(2019)
Singles from Astoria
  1. "One Love"
    Released: September 14, 2015
  2. "This Means War"
    Released: February 16, 2016
  3. "Who Do You Love"
    Released: September 8, 2016
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Melodic [3]
AllMusic[4]

Astoria is the fourth studio album recorded by Canadian rock band Marianas Trench. It was released on October 23, 2015, through 604 Records (in Canada) and Cherrytree Records and Interscope Records (internationally).[5][6][7] The album represents the band's official return to the music scene after promotion of their previous album, Ever After (2011), ended in 2013, and was preceded by the retrospective EP, Something Old / Something New earlier in 2015.[8]

Background

[edit]

In 2011, Marianas Trench released their third studio album, Ever After, which produced five top-50 singles, including lead single "Haven't Had Enough", which became the group's highest charting single to date (since the creation of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 in 2007) at number 9. After releasing the last single from that era, "By Now", in 2013, the group returned to the studio to record their next album. During the promotion for Ever After, lead singer and songwriter, Josh Ramsay, also achieved mainstream success as a songwriter and producer on fellow Canadian Carly Rae Jepsen's No. 1 hit "Call Me Maybe" (2012).[9][10] This helped pave the way for the band signing an American record deal with Cherrytree Records and promoting to a broader audience.[9]

The group released "Pop 101" featuring hip hop artist Anami Vice on July 29, 2014 as the intended lead single for the then-unnamed fourth album.[11][12] A second single, "Here's to the Zeros", was released in December 2014, with the full album expected the following spring (2015).[13][14] The album's release was later pushed back to the fall. When the band officially announced Astoria, they ultimately decided not to include either of these tracks, as they no longer fit the tone of the record.[8][15][16] Both of these buzz singles, along with two previously-unreleased songs recorded before their debut album, Fix Me (2006), were instead released as a four-track extended play fittingly titled Something Old / Something New that was released on May 26, 2015.[15][17]

Concept

[edit]

Similar to their previous two albums (2009's Masterpiece Theatre and 2011's Ever After), Astoria is conceived as a loose concept album, with a cohesive theme and transition tracks bridging the individual songs composing the album.[8] According to Ramsay, this album is inspired by 1980s fantasy and adventure films, and The Goonies (1985) in particular.[5] That film inspired the title (as it was set in Astoria, Oregon), the album's artwork, as well as the title of their accompanying US tour (Hey You Guys!!).[5]

Promotion

[edit]

Marianas Trench headlined a total of 5 tours across the US, Canada and Europe, in support of the album.

US

The band toured the US (as well as two dates in Québec) on the Hey You Guys!! Tour with Mainland (November 3, 2015 - February 14, 2016)[7][16] and the SPF 80’s Tour with Skylar Stecker (July 8 - August 14, 2016)[12][18]

Canada

The band toured Canada on the Never Say Die Tour with Walk off the Earth (March 9 - April 8, 2016)[13] as well as The Last Crusade Tour with Shawn Hook (November 3, 2016 - February 12, 2017)[19][20]

Europe

The band toured Europe on the Final Countdown Tour with Club Drive (May 1-23, 2017)[21][22]

They also uploaded a video to their official Vevo channel regarding the making of the album.[23]

Singles

[edit]

"One Love" was released on September 14, 2015 as the official lead single for the album.[24] It entered the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 at number 60 on the chart dated October 3, 2015.[25] The song has been described by critics as more pop than the group's earlier music and has also been favorably compared to previous ballad singles "Good to You" and "Fallout".[26][27] "One Love" was serviced to American hot adult contemporary radio through 604 Records on November 9, 2015.[28]

A second official single, "This Means War", was serviced to Canadian radio on February 16, 2016.[29][unreliable source?] It was the group's first single to not enter the Canadian Hot 100.

"Who Do You Love" was released as the third official single on September 8, 2016.[30]

Promotional singles

[edit]

The thirteenth track, "Wildfire", was released to iTunes on October 2, 2015 as a promotional single supporting pre-orders of the album.[31]

Track listing

[edit]

All music and lyrics by Josh Ramsay.[32]

No.TitleLength
1."Astoria"6:57
2."Burning Up"4:05
3."Yesterday"4:14
4."One Love"4:01
5."August Burns Red"0:46
6."This Means War"3:24
7."Hospital Bells"0:38
8."Dearly Departed"4:19
9."Hollywood Renaissance"1:08
10."Shut Up and Kiss Me"3:12
11."Who Do You Love"3:52
12."Never Say Die"0:29
13."Wildfire"4:04
14."While We're Young"4:00
15."Forget Me Not"3:48
16."And Straight On Til Morning"0:34
17."End of an Era"7:40
Total length:57:11

Personnel

[edit]

Personnel per booklet.[32]

Chart performance

[edit]

Album

[edit]
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 56
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 2
US Billboard 200[35] 53

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak chart positions
CAN
[36] 		CAN
AC
[37] 		CAN
CHR
[38] 		CAN
Hot AC
[39] 		US Adult
[40]
2015 "One Love" 50 14 20 16 35
2016 "This Means War" — 38 37 38 —
"Who Do You Love" 56 15 31 9 —
"—" denotes a recording that failed to chart or was not released to that format.

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[41] Platinum 80,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Near - Find Local and in your local area". alternativeaddiction.com.
  2. ^ "Review: Marianas Trench - Astoria". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  3. ^ Anastasia, Nick (October 17, 2015). "Marianas Trench - Astoria". Melodic. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  4. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Astoria – Marianas Trench". AllMusic. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Jane, Lauraa (September 15, 2015). "Marianas Trench To Release New Album 'Astoria'". Highlight Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Astoria by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Astoria by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  8. ^ a b c DeAndrea, Joe (June 2, 2015). "Marianas Trench - 06/02/15 - Interview". Absolute Punk. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  9. ^ a b Payne, Chris (April 24, 2013). "Marianas Trench's Josh Ramsay On Band's U.S. Breakthrough, Crafting 'Call Me Maybe'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  10. ^ Lederman, Marsha (August 15, 2015). "Call me Maybe helps dreams come true for co-founder of 604 Records". The Globe and Mail. The Woodbridge Company. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Pop 101 (Barely feat. Anami Vice) - Single by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Virgin Radio 96 :: Marianas Trench - Pop 101 :: New Music Blog New Music - Article". 96 Virgin Radio. Bell Media. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Here's To the Zeros - Single by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. 25 December 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Today's Best Music max 104.9 :: New Music For A New Year :: New Adds New Adds - Feed Story". Max 104.9. Bell Media. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  15. ^ a b Sternall, Allison (May 28, 2015). "NEWS: Marianas Trench Announce New Album To Be Released Later This Year". Confront Magazine. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ a b Josh Ramsay (May 27, 2015). "Detective Mittens on Twitter: "That's right. All new. RT @NorthsideLala: @JoshRamsay so here's to the zeros and Pop 101 wont be on the album? It'll be all brand new?"". Twitter. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Something Old / Something New - EP by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  18. ^ "Marianas Trench's "SPF 80s Tour" – GALLERY". Digital Tour Bus. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  19. ^ Pape, Hendrik (2016-08-31). "Marianas Trench and the Last Crusade set to invade Canada this fall!". Sound Check Entertainment. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  20. ^ Wong, Syd (March 21, 2017). "Marianas Trench: The Last Crusade". medium.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  21. ^ K, Edyta (2017-04-02). "Feature: Marianas Trench, Out Of The Abyss". RockShot Magazine. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  22. ^ "We're thrilled to announce that @ClubDriveBand will be joining us for all our UK Tour dates!". x.com. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  23. ^ MarianasTrenchVEVO (September 21, 2015). "Marianas Trench - The Making Of Astoria". Retrieved 3 October 2015 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ "Marianas Trench: One Love - Music on Google Play". Google Play. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  25. ^ "Canada Singles Top 100 (October 3, 2015) - Music Charts". aCharts.co. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  26. ^ Witherow, Barbara (September 14, 2015). "Marianas Trench releases new single 'One Love'". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  27. ^ Sternall, Allison (September 15, 2015). "LISTEN: Marianas Trench Release New Single 'One Love'". Confront Magazine. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  28. ^ "R&R :: Going For Adds :: Hot COol blaster". Radio & Records. Archived from the original (Week Of: November 9, 2015) on 2015-11-10. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  29. ^ Marianas Trench (February 16, 2016). "Marianas Trench - #ThisMeansWar is out today at radio in Canada!..." Retrieved 17 February 2016 – via Facebook.
  30. ^ "» Marianas Trench – Who Do You Love (Single)". 604 Records. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  31. ^ "Wildfire - Single by Marianas Trench". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  32. ^ a b Astoria (Booklet). Marianas Trench. 604. 2015. 25396 06932.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. ^ Ryan, Gavin (October 31, 2015). "ARIA Albums: 5 Seconds of Summer Top Australian Chart". Noise11. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  34. ^ "Marianas Trench Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  35. ^ "Marianas Trench Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  36. ^ "Marianas Trench - Chart history (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  37. ^ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada AC for Marianas Trench. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  38. ^ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Marianas Trench. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  39. ^ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada Hot AC for Marianas Trench. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  40. ^ "Marianas Trench - Chart history (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  41. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Marianas Trench – Astoria". Music Canada. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
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