Straight Jacket by Cities & States
I wrote and recorded every stitch of this record between July and December 2013 in my Salem, MA home. I immersed myself in the process of writing music and lyrics, and tried to be as positive and non-judgmental as possible. Without the proper material, a craftsman cannot work on his/her craft, and by categorizing my songs as malleable/transient, I was able to consciously dive into an uncharted territory. As long as I moved forward, there would be positivity.
Following my recording session, I was lucky enough to have my good friend Earl Jhainish Sinnatamby mix the album in his loft studio. The songs really took shape during this process. We tinkered, we stripped away unnecessary frequencies, we laughed, we cried, and developed an everlasting bond that only two people in such circumstances could.
On April 1st, 2014 I took the album to Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering in Newton, MA. We worked until 4AM, and "Straight Jacket" was unofficially born.
On this May 13, 2014 a 10:00AM EST, I present Cities & States' debut album "Straight Jacket".
Tracklist
| 1. | Piece Of Cake | 3:24 |
| 2. | Feel That Way | 3:46 |
| 3. | Nothing We Can Do Now | 3:07 |
| 4. | Circumstances | 4:01 |
| 5. | Roller Coaster | 4:44 |
| 6. | Natural Blonde | 4:11 |
| 7. | Something Wrong | 4:24 |
| 8. | Ostrich | 2:59 |
| 9. | Yellow High Heels | 3:00 |
| 10. | Sex Appeal | 3:31 |
| 11. | Slow Motion | 4:08 |
Credits
Joshua Richard: Music, Lyrics, Recording Engineer
Earl Jhainish Sinnatamby: Mixing Engineer, confidante
Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA
Assistant Mastering Engineer: Maria Rice
Artwork:
Concept by Sam Brown & Josh Richard
Photo taken by JP Ivie
Graphic Design by Dave DiAngelis
License
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.
Cities & States' sophomore album, aptly named "Sophomore Slump", is a massive work displaying the breadth of Richard's palette, Sinnatamby's engineering mastery, and Bickerton's command of the kit. This collaboration has revealed a palpable necessity for expression, and a greater need for exploring the far corners of an endless musical landscape. Step inside their world with "Ambulance Racer"!