Fragile Future

Fragile Future
Studio album by Hawthorne Heights
Released August 5, 2008 (US)
August 11, 2008 (UK)
Recorded 2007-2008
Genre Emo, alternative rock, pop punk
Length 41:23
Label Victory
Producer Jeff Schneeweis[1]
Hawthorne Heights chronology

If Only You Were Lonely
(2006)		 Fragile Future
(2008)		 Skeletons
(2010)
Singles from Fragile Future
  1. "Rescue Me"
    Released: July 22, 2008
  2. "Somewhere in Between"
    Released: 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 61/100[2]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]
Alternative Press 3.5/5 link
Billboard (favorable) link
Sputnikmusic 1/5 link

Fragile Future is the third full-length studio album by Hawthorne Heights. It was their final studio album released through Victory Records and was their first album to not feature guitarist and unclean vocalist Casey Calvert, due to his death in November 2007. The album features 12 tracks (excluding bonus tracks).[4] The album was to be released earlier in 2008, but due to an incident with Victory Records, it was postponed. Victory and Hawthorne Heights solved their problems quickly, and the album was released August 5, 2008.[5]

The album debuted at #23 on the Billboard 200, and #4 on the top Independent album chart. The album spent 5 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart.

Overview

In 2007, the band released a demo version of "Come Back Home". A full version of "Rescue Me" was released in July 2008 on the band's official MySpace, which is the first single from the album. On July 22, 2008 "Rescue Me" was released on iTunes. The Album leaked onto the internet on July 31. Following the leak, the band put the full album up for listening on their MySpace page.

Musical style

Fragile Future is seen as a departure from the band's original post-hardcore style, present on their first two albums. The album introduced a friendlier sound, much closer to pop music. Due to the death of unclean vocalist Casey Calvert, there is a noticeable absence of harsh vocals on the record. The album is also the first release by the band to employ guitar solos, which were rarely heard on the band's previous releases, with the exception of "Breathing in Sequence" from If Only You Were Lonely.

Altered track listing

Before release, the track listing for the record was altered. Out of 21 songs written for the album, merely 12 were actually used.[6] In reference to tracks that were intended for the album, band member Eron Bucciarelli said in a 2007 interview:

"There's a song called "The End of the Underground" and "Sugar in the Engine" which I really, really like because they're kind of darker, a little more moody. They're kind of along the lines of our song "Niki FM" in a little way, but it's sort of "Niki FM" to the next level."[7]

"Sugar in the Engine" became the fifth track on the album. The other song mentioned was not used for Fragile Future, but it later became the third track on the band's very next album, Skeletons.[8] The song had its title simplified to "End of the Underground".

Promotional EP

Rhapsody Originals was released as the first EP by Hawthorne Heights. It was recorded by Rhapsody, and released as promotion for the studio album Fragile Future. The EP was released exclusively for Rhapsody on August 26, 2008, and contains three live acoustic songs from Fragile Future, and one from their second studio album, If Only You Were Lonely.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Track listing

  1. "The Business of Paper Stars" - 3:47
  2. "Rescue Me" - 3:08
  3. "Until the Judgment Day" - 3:45
  4. "Somewhere in Between" - 3:22
  5. "Sugar in the Engine" - 4:29
  6. "Desperation" - 3:28
  7. "Four Become One" - 3:55
  8. "321" - 3:40
  9. "Disaster" - 3.01
  10. "Let Go of Everything You Know" - 3:25
  11. "Corps of Corpses" - 3:12
  12. "Come Back Home (Reprised)" - 4:11

iTunes bonus tracks

  1. "321." (Remix) - 3:17
  2. "Desperation" (Remix) - 3:37
  3. "Come Back Home" (Demo) - 3:25
  4. "Disaster" (Demo) - 3:01
  5. "Four Become One" (Demo) - 2:35
  6. "Somewhere in Between" (Demo) [Pre-order only]

Wal-Mart bonus tracks

  1. "Scrantonicity (Summer Sunshine)" - 2:59
  2. "Lost, So Lost" - 3:54
  3. "Rescue Me" (Acoustic) - 3:34
  4. "Somewhere in Between" (Acoustic) - 3:35
  5. "Four Become One" (Acoustic) - 4:04
  6. "Disaster" (Acoustic) - 3:10

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Jeff Schneeweis Artist Direct". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  2. ↑ "Fragile Future Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  3. ↑ Leahey, Andrew (2008-08-05). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  4. ↑ Hawthorne Heights Track Listing/Clip Stream AbsolutePunk.net Retrieved on July 19, 2008
  5. ↑ Hawthorne Heights - Fragile Future AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved on June 15, 2008
  6. ↑ "aprilrock: Hawthorne Heights - Fragile Future (2008)". Aprilrock.blogspot.com. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  7. ↑ "2007 interview with Hawthorne Heights' drummer". Drivenfaroff.com. 2007-07-28. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  8. ↑ http://hawthorneheights.com/ on Feb 5 2010
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Hawthorne Heights - Rhapsody Originals Now Available". Victory Records. 2008-08-26. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  11. ↑ "Rhapsody Originals Session | Hawthorne Heights Album | Yahoo! Music". New.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  12. ↑ "Rhapsody Originals from Hawthorne Heights - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  13. ↑ "Hawthorne Heights Album - Rhapsody Originals Session". Sortmusic.com. 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  14. ↑ "Hawthorne Heights Album: "Rhapsody Originals Session"". Poprockbands.com. 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2012-07-11.