The Incredible Machine (album)
The Incredible Machine is the fifth studio album by American country music duo Sugarland. It was released on October 19, 2010, through Mercury Nashville Records.[1] Byron Gallimore along with both members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush teamed up for production of the album.
The Incredible Machine
October 19, 2010
October 2009–April 2010
42:20
Upon its release, The Incredible Machine received mixed reviews from music critics. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling approximately 203,000 units in its first week and has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA. "Stuck Like Glue" served as the lead single, later peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Content[edit]
In many interviews leading up to its release, both Nettles and Bush described the new album as "steampunk movement", best described as a branch of science fiction that imagines a world where humans evolved intellectually, but technology remained set in Victorian times.[2] Nettles described it (emotionally) "as bungee jumping and eating chocolate cake, It's terrifying and gratifying, all at the same time".[2] This description led fans and critics to believe that the album would have "steam engine sounds", and would also be a sharp deviation from the uptempo country for which they're known. Nettles apologized about the confusion in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying "That's really our fault for the way that we explained it, to be honest. It has everything to do with the visual. We wanted another world on stage. We wanted something fun, a visual aesthetic to be inspired by. We chose that one. It has nothing to do with the music".[3]
Blake Boldt of Engine 145 described the first single, "Stuck Like Glue", as "A catchy twang-pop package" and that is "a fun mixture of accordion and mandolin, is a hooky earworm that begins to zero in on Sugarland’s vision of the musical future".[4] Entertainment Weekly described the track "Wide Open" as "a propulsive rocker", and "Stand Up" as "pure inspiration in two-part harmony".[5]
Production and influences[edit]
During the recording of the album, Nettles and Bush had fun because they kept things loose in the studio and in the songwriting. "We had such a good time writing this record because we really allowed ourselves to play".[6] Nettles continued saying, "As artists, we are always wanting to better ourselves and to develop our craft and to get better at not only reaching the human heart, but at . . . stretching ourselves to see who else we can bring into the country world and who else we can speak to. I'm always satisfied, but I don't know that I'll ever be complacent. There are different artists who musically end up following different paths. Some are more of the traditionalists, and I think that's great. We need that in every genre. And then some of us, like Kristian and myself, are more of the pioneers ... the explorers. We want to explore new territory and allow the genre to grow because, as we all know, if we don't grow we stagnate. So, especially now, it's a super fertile time in country music to allow it to grow".[6]
Influences were drawn from English electronic group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD),[7][8] progressive rock musician Peter Gabriel,[7] and the hair metal genre.[8] AllMusic critic Thom Jurek felt that the album also borrowed from Joshua Tree-period U2, and post-New Gold Dream era Simple Minds.[8]
Promotion[edit]
In promotion of the album, the duo began "The Incredible Machine Tour", which kicked off in Primm, Nevada on April 23.[2] The tour visited 63 cities through October 2010.[9] The theme of the tour is inspired by steampunk, a style described by The New York Times as "a subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world, one that embraces music, film, design and ... fashion". Nettles also explained their reasoning behind the theme, saying "It started out as a literary movement in the '80s. Basically, it's based on the concept of 'if' during the Victorian era and the age of inventionism, If instead of moving and evolving toward the cyber-world that we're in now -- with plastic and computer and silicon chips -- what if we just kept it really romantic and organic and made it about steam engines and machines? So this, visually, was a beautiful launching pad for us and also the metaphors that can come from it".[9] Bush commented saying, "We have this real interesting moment -- that I'm not sure it happens a lot of the time in your career -- where we were making an album, but at the same time, we were completely redesigning our presentation of our music. So the album itself reaches a little bit further to each of the new parts of who we are and our influences and the places that we love and was inspired kind of forwards and backwards by the development of the show at the same time".[9] Prior to the release of the album, three promotional singles were released exclusively on Apple's iTunes Store as a "Countdown To: The Incredible Machine".[10] The countdown began on September 28, with the release of "Incredible Machine" and continued with "Wide Open" being released on October 5, and "Little Miss" being released on October 12.[10]
Commercial performance[edit]
The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, and Top Country Albums chart, selling 203,000 copies in its first week of release.[26] In its second week of release, the album dropped to number two on the Billboard 200 selling 89,000 copies.[27] In its third week of release, the album dropped to number three on the Billboard 200, selling 60,000 copies.[28] In its fourth week of release, the album dropped to number eight on the Billboard 200, selling 60,000 copies.[29] As of the chart dated July 2, 2011, the album has sold 1,079,000 copies in the US.[30]
Singles[edit]
The first single, "Stuck Like Glue", was sent to radio stations on July 26, 2010 and debuted at #44 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of August 7, 2010.
It also debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #20 shifting 93,000 downloads, making it the highest debut on that chart by a country music group or duo.[31] Nettles commented on the song, saying it "is just plain, unashamed, Sugar-fun! It sticks in your brain, no pun intended. To me it feels young, hip and of course sassy”![32]
"Little Miss", the second single, was released on November 15, 2010 from The Incredible Machine, peaking at #11 Billboard Hot Country Songs.
"Tonight" followed as the album's third and final single, released on April 11, 2011, peaking at #32 Billboard Hot Country Songs.