Changing Tune
Changing Tune is the third studio album and major label debut by English rock band Lower Than Atlantis. Preceded by the non-album single "If the World Was to End", the band went on their first ever headlining tour in the UK in January 2012.
Changing Tune
Background[edit]
Lower Than Atlantis released "If the World Was to End" as a single in January 2012.[2] The song was produced by John Mitchell, who bassist Dec Hart and drummer Eddy Thrower had known for longer than the rest of the band.[3] Following this, they went on their first headline tour in the UK.[4] On the final night of the tour, 27 January, the band announced they had signed to major label Island Records.[5] Island's promise of more income is what convinced the band sign with the label.[6] Duce revealed that despite the increase of income "Nothing's really changed" for the band except for "the financial backing that we didn't have before".[6] Everything the band has done previously was with their own money.[6] The band supported Young Guns in Europe in February and March.[7]
Recording and sound[edit]
Island suggested to that the band went into pre-production with a producer.[3] The band were against this idea as they claimed that no one else knows how they should sound apart from themselves.[3] The group rented out a room for a week and guitarist Ben Sansom brought in his computer, which the band recorded into live.[3] Changing Tune was recorded in early 2012 at Rockfield Studios[8] with Mitchell and Ben Humphreys producing.[9][nb 1] Humphreys and Josh Tyrell helped with recording and engineering.[9] Rockfield Studios was a residential studio, which the band preferred as they had previously needed to drive.[3] Duce revealed that their previous releases were "rushed, on a shoestring budget and against the clock."[8] The drum tracks were recorded in "two and half days... three days", according to Thrower.[3] With Changing Tune, the group had the time and equipment to use to their advantage.[8] The band were able to work at any time of their choosing, whereas on previous occasions, the group had to work between 10 and 6.[8] Sansom said that the album combines the sounds of Far Q (2010) and World Record (2011) – the latter of which Sansom thought the band "only covered a small ground" with the pop-rock songs found on it.[11]
For the album, the band used several different guitars and amplifiers as they had time to experiment.[11] This in turn made it take longer for the band to track guitars.[3] The band had recorded 16 tracks,[6] all of which were written by Duce,[12] but were credited to the band as a whole.[9] The band spent more time on "Prologue" than on the other tracks on the album.[3] Duce wanted the song "to really make an impact."[3] The first half on the song was recorded outside of the studio.[3] A theremin can be heard on the track, but this was played through an app on Duce's phone.[3] "War with Words" is about Duce experiencing writer's block.[13] "Scared of the Dark" had been written by Duce shortly before the band had entered the studio.[3] Mitchell played Rhodes piano on the track.[9] He claimed that the band didn't intend to record it for the album.[3] Thrower didn't initially want to add drums to it, making it sound like the other slow songs on the album.[3] Madeleine Poncia of Dear Prudence sings additional vocals on the song.[9] In an April interview with NME, Duce said that recording was done "a couple of weeks ago" and that it was to be mixed "later this week."[6][nb 2] Mixing was performed by Mitchell, while Harry Hess mastered it.[9]
Release[edit]
On 11 June 2012, Changing Tune was announced and the track listing was revealed.[8] Duce came up with the title, while Sansom described that it was about "changing your tune in the positive and being more up-beat about situations".[11] On 9 July, the artwork was revealed,[14] which was created by Paul Jackson.[9] It was the band's vision of a "70s acid trip".[15] "Love Someone Else" was released as a single on 17 July.[16] The music video for it was released on 26 July[17] and was directed by Luke Bellis.[18] Despite the video's concept being set in an American diner, it was filmed in the UK.[19] At the end of July, the band supported Blink-182 for three shows.[20] In early August, the band performed at the Hevy Festival.[21] On 15 August, a lyric video was released for "Normally Strange".[22] Following this, the group appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.[23] On 28 August, the band made "Normally Strange" available for free download via their Facebook page.[24]
Changing Tune was delayed from its 10 September release date,[25] and its subsequent 17 September date,[26] as a result of manufacturing issues.[27] It was eventually released on 1 October.[28] A version with additional tracks and a DVD was also released. Lower Than Atlantis went on a headlining tour in the UK in October 2012 with The Dangerous Summer, Don Broco and Transit.[8] The band then toured Europe in November.[11] On 6 January 2013, the music video for "Go on Strike" was released.[29] The video was also directed by Bellis.[30] The band then supported All Time Low in the UK for the first half of February.[31] For the second half, the band toured Europe with Blitz Kids.[32] "Go on Strike" was released as a single on 8 February.[33] The band toured the UK in April with Dinosaur Pile-Up, The Xcerts and Blitz Kids supporting[34] on The F*** It to the Man Tour.[35] It was their biggest headlining tour to date.[36] The music video for "Something Better Came Along", directed by Daniel Broadley,[37] was released on 8 April.[38] The video was filmed at a decommissioned tube station in Walthamstow, London.[39] It was released as a single on 29 April.[34]