Artificial Heart (album)
Artificial Heart is the eighth studio album by rock musician Jonathan Coulton, released digitally on September 2, 2011 and physically on November 8, 2011. After taking a long hiatus from songwriting after his successful 2006 Thing a Week project, Coulton started production on Artificial Heart after encouragement from John Flansburgh, also the album's producer. Unlike much of Coulton's previous work, Artificial Heart's original lyricism is largely non-comedic and contains few references to geek culture overall, instead opting for heavy themes of betrayal, commitment, abandonment, and surrender.
History
The album began production after Coulton opened a few shows for They Might Be Giants in 2010. Sometime during these shows, Flansburgh suggested to Coulton that he put together a band and record an album professionally, to be produced by Flansburgh. In 2010, Coulton announced that he was about to start recording his first album in four years.Artificial Heart is a collaboration between Coulton and John Flansburgh, who encouraged Coulton to step outside the independent realm of his previous work and try many new things for the album, including recording with a full band in a professional studio. Thus, Artificial Heart is the first Coulton album to be produced by someone other than Coulton himself, the first to be recorded in a studio, and the first to be written for a full band. Artificial Heart is also the first Coulton album to feature guest lead vocals and a duet.
Artificial Heart has become Coulton's first album to chart, placing #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums, #26 on Billboard's Rock Albums, #16 on Billboard's Alternative Albums, and #125 on the Billboard 200.
Track listing
Personnel
- Jonathan Coulton – vocals, guitar, ukulele, other instruments
- Chris Anderson – bass
- Marty Beller – drums
- Mauro Refosco – percussion
- Joe McGinty – keyboards
- Jon Spurney – keyboards
- Suzanne Vega – vocals on "Now I Am an Arsonist"
- Sara Quin – vocals on "Still Alive"
- John Roderick – vocals on "Nemeses"
- Dorit Chrysler – theremin on "Still Alive"
- Stan Harrison – saxophone arrangement and performance on "Sticking It to Myself"
Availability
The first track to be released from the album, Nemeses, was released online via Paste Magazine on July 28, 2011.