From the Outside (Hey Violet album)
From the Outside is the second studio album by the American pop rock band Hey Violet, released on June 16, 2017, by Hi or Hey and Capitol Records. It was the band's first album since changing their name from Cherri Bomb to Hey Violet in 2015, and last with rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Miranda Miller. Hey Violet worked on the album between 2016 and 2017, collaborating primarily with producer Julian Bunetta; recording sessions were held mainly at Sarm Music Village in London and Enemy Dojo in Calabasas, California. Musically, From the Outside continues Hey Violet's departure from the sound of their early releases and shifts between various styles including pop, alternative pop, dance-pop, electropop, and pop-punk. Its lyrics are centered around seeing love, relationships and experiences from different perspectives, and explore themes of coming of age, personal authenticity and self-determination.
From the Outside was supported by three singles, which all made appearances on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart; "Guys My Age", "Break My Heart" and "Hoodie". "Guys My Age" also reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Hey Violet's first and only song entry on the chart. The band embarked on headlining tours of North America and Europe in the run-up to the album's release; it debuted and peaked at number 110 on the US Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums chart. Music critics praised its songwriting, themes, production and Rena's performance, though some felt it lacked substance and were disappointed by Hey Violet's departure from their rock sound.
Background
were originally formed in 2008 as Cherri Bomb by guitarist/vocalist Julia Pierce, bassist Rena Lovelis, keyboardist Miranda Miller and drummer Nia Lovelis. Under their former name, the band played a hard rock style, toured extensively, and released their debut album This is the End of Control through Hollywood Records. After Pierce left the band due to creative differences in January 2013, guitarist Casey Moreta was recruited and Rena became their lead vocalist. Moreta, Miller, Nia and Rena spent a year experimenting with Cherri Bomb's sound before deciding to pursue a pop music direction; they subsequently changed their name to Hey Violet in February 2015. Shortly thereafter, the band was signed to Hi or Hey Records, an imprint label of Capitol Records founded by 5 Seconds of Summer, who took the band as their supporting act on their worldwide tours over the next two years. In July 2015, Hey Violet released their debut extended play, I Can Feel It, which showcased a pop-punk sound. A month after the release of their second EP Brand New Moves, which saw them moving in a synth-pop direction, bassist Iain Shipp joined the band, allowing Rena to focus on vocals.Recording and production
Hey Violet wrote and recorded From the Outside over the course of a year and a half. The band worked primarily with producer Julian Bunetta, whom they began collaborating with at the end of 2015 after meeting backstage at one of their shows. Bunetta said he was impressed by the band's energy and wanted to change their tempos to "give people something to dance to rather than jump to". The first songs they wrote together were "Brand New Moves" and "Fuqboi", which were both recorded in 2016 for Brand New Moves and later featured on From the Outside. Hey Violet worked on songs collaboratively, with Bunetta either creating an instrumental or the band discussing what music they listened to and a sound they wanted; Rena said each song's impetus was different. During the album's writing period, the members of Hey Violet drew influence from Cyndi Lauper, The Cure, Melanie Martinez, No Doubt, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and The Weeknd. Lyrical inspiration was drawn from conversations about their personal lives; Rena gave Bunetta her personal journal to read at one point.Most of the album's songs—including "Guys My Age", "O.D.D.", "Where Have You Been ", and "Like Lovers Do"—were written in the space of a week and a half as part of a "crazy writing session" in Palm Springs, Florida, where Hey Violet stayed with ten other songwriters in a rental house. All of the band's members initially attended the sessions together; due to them struggling with the number of people in the room, they later decided that two of them would go at a time and get feedback from the rest of the band thereafter. Rena said that writing was handled by her, Nia, Moreta and Miller, though she and Nia handled much of the writing together. The songs were then sent off to another producer to give them a further perspective, and revised until having the finished version.
Recording sessions for From the Outside were held mainly at Sarm Music Village in London and Enemy Dojo in Calabasas, California; additional sessions were held at Capitol Studios and Chumba Meadows in Los Angeles and Tom Fazio in Palm Springs. Aside of Bunetta, who is credited as its executive producer, the album's production was handled by Cook Classics, DallasK, Jason Evigan, Teddy Geiger, and others. In a November 2016 interview with Billboard, Rena said that Hey Violet had amassed three albums worth of songs and were in the process of deciding which ones to "tweak" and put on the album. By April 2017, they were narrowing down its track listing from 20 to 25 songs. Hey Violet selected songs for the album based on how they thought their fans would react to them live.
Composition
Overview
From the Outside continues Hey Violet's departure from the sound of their early releases and shifts between various styles including pop, alternative pop, dance-pop, electropop, and pop-punk. Chris DeVille of Stereogum described it as "post-EDM pop rock" and said the band often "barely even qualifies as rock at all" on account of their "heavy electronic undercurrent"; he also highlighted its emphasis on synthesizers over guitars, programmed beats and Rena's melodic vocals. Rena said that Hey Violet wanted to push themselves "outside of box", and felt that as "pop is such a general term— could incorporate thousands of different genres".The album's lyrics are centered around seeing love, relationships and experiences from different perspectives, and explore themes of coming of age, personal authenticity and self-determination. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times viewed "sexual agency" as one of the album's running themes, highlighting the songs "Brand New Moves", "Unholy", and "Like Lovers Do", and felt that Rena had an unusual "degree of frankness" compared with other contemporary female pop singers. Steve Horowitz of PopMatters believed its central message was to prioritize personal authenticity above others expectations and felt Hey Violet expressed a desire to "experience everything for the experience itself". Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times described it as dealing with "the stifling expectations placed on young women". Nia derived the album's title from a lyric in the song "Where Have You Been ", though its meaning differs from that of the song in general.
Songs
The opening track of From the Outside, "Break My Heart", is a "breakup anthem" that draws from late 2010s tropical pop and features an EDM beat drop. Rena said the song is about the "darker side of love" and wanting to break up with a significant other after going through various stages in a relationship in order to see their feelings of "desperation and longing". Though conceding it was "a little masochistic", Rena said the song's happy resolution—which sees the couple getting back together—was atypical of Hey Violet's output. "Brand New Moves" is a dance-rock song about attempting to reignite a former relationship with new knowledge gained from experiences. "Guys My Age" was written about Hey Violet's experiences with people who they felt lacked the mental maturity for relationships. Rena said that despite its title, the song was not meant to address people of a specific age or gender. Musically, the song is driven by a "thumping beat" and incorporates trap elements and cooed vocals; Moreta said that its lack of guitar allowed him to experiment with his parts and effects during live performances. "Hoodie" is about holding onto a physical memento of an ex-lover one has not gotten over. Moreta likened "My Consequence" to a 1980s-style ballad; AllMusic's Heather Phares compared the song to Daya. "O.D.D." features a stripped-down acoustic arrangement placed over hip-hop beats and EDM-inspired pitch shifts; DeVille also described it as drawing from dubstep and trip-hop. Lyrically, the song is about self-authenticity, and recognizing that it is okay to be weird and feel that you do not belong.According to Horowitz, "All We Ever Wanted" sees Hey Violet "take shouted pride in being as they really are". Rena called "Fuqboi" an attempt by Hey Violet to "capture the essence of the 'fuckboy'"; the band wrote the song after Bunetta asked about their experiences with them. Mackenzie Hall of Alternative Press called it both "anthemic and tongue-in-cheek". "Unholy" is an electropop song about imagining being with someone else whilst in a relationship; Moreta considered it to be From the Outside darkest song. In the song's intro, Bunetta plays a wrong note on a keyboard, which was kept as the members of Hey Violet liked it. They considered "Where Have You Been " to be nostalgic; Miller felt the song had a vintage feel comparable to the Black Mirror episode "San Junipero". DeVille and Phares described it as synth-pop, with the former comparing it to Chvrches. "Like Lovers Do" depicts someone fantasizing about the potentials of being in a relationship with a man they have seen at a bar. The song alternates between acoustic verses and pop rock choruses, and features a breakdown that DeVille likened to Evanescence covering "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. Moreta felt it was reminiscent of the My Chemical Romance song "Mama". The final track on From the Outside, "This Is Me Breaking Up with You", recalls Hey Violet's early rock sound and was described as an "accidental ode" to it by Miller. Nia said the song was written early on but forgotten until the band were working on its track listing, at which point they thought it would be good to perform live.