Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (album)


Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness is the self-titled debut album released by American indie pop act Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, led by singer, songwriter, and pianist Andrew McMahon. The album was released on October 14, 2014, through Vanguard Records, led by the first single "Cecilia and the Satellite", officially released August 12, 2014.

Background

The third Jack's Mannequin record People and Things was released in October 2011 through Warner Bros. imprint Sire Records. The album was made between 2009–2011, during which time there was a leadership change at Warner Bros. As a result, the album was recorded on three separate occasions. Throughout the making of the album, vocalist/pianist Andrew McMahon felt that it was time to move on to another project. He considered it the final part of the Jack's Mannequin story that was initially meant to only last for a single record. In February 2012, McMahon started dropping suggestions that the band's break up was imminent. Sometime afterwards, McMahon ended his partnership with Warner Bros. due to creative differences, and left his management. He took a step back from the music industry, moved out of Los Angeles to San Clemente, and spent his time focussing on his marriage, mental health and confidence.
In September, "Wrecking Ball Heart" was posted online, a track that McMahon viewed as both the final Jack's Mannequin song and his first solo song. Jack's Mannequin played their final show in November. Following this, McMahon spent the next few months in studios doing pop writing and writing songs for the TV show Smash. After this, he worked on songs for a solo EP; The Pop Underground EP was released in April 2013. McMahon then earned a support slot for O.A.R. on their headlining US tour between June and August. Around this time, McMahon received an Emmy nomination for Smash and found new management, who suggested he take time off from touring to work on new songs. Following this, he stayed alone in a cabin in Topanga Canyon, near Los Angeles, California, in August. He spent the weekdays writing for his debut solo album, and the weekends at home with his pregnant wife. He worked 10 hours per day, sat at his piano, and wrote batches of songs every week. He collectively spent two months in the cabin.

Production

Following his time in Topanga Canyon, McMahon started working with producer Mike Viola in his Echo Park garage studio. McMahon took what he enjoyed while making the EP, namely the concept for getting into a studio and working on something in a timely manner, and applied it to the album's sessions. In December 2013, McMahon and Viola came up with a demo of "High Dive". The demo featured piano, programmed drums and guitar; after muting the guitar track, the pair were surprised at the clarity of the piano against the rest of the recording. It dawned on the pair that they could work around the production without needing to have too many layers to focus on. It subsequently became the production template for the rest of the album. A friend of McMahon's liked the work of James Flannigan, and suggested that McMahon work with him. The two of them, alongside Flannigan's writing partner Anders Grahn, collaborated in a room in Hollywood.
After an impressive session, Flannigan was invited to help complete the album with McMahon and Viola. When the trio met for the first time, McMahon cautioned them that he might have to leave at a moment's notice as his wife was due to give birth any day. His daughter Cecilia was born in February 2014; despite this, sessions continued into April. After half-to-three-quarters of album had been recorded, McMahon and his manager contacted Vanguard Records, and started working with them. McMahon, Flannigan and Viola worked in a variety of production areas and studios all over Los Angeles to finish off the album, namely Barebones Studios, Big Evil, Rusk Studios, LAFX, Spendlove Studios, and Limbo Studios in the UK.
McMahon handled piano and singing while he and Flannigan played keyboards, and Viola added bass. Viola and Flannigan sung backing vocals; Viola added guitar on "Black and White Movies". Flannigan contributed programming, with additional programming from Viola and Jake Sinclair, who also did additional production. Patrick Warren came up with string arrangements for "High Dive and "Rainy Girl"; McMahon self-produced the latter of these two at Gat 3 with engineer Glenn A. Tabor III. "See Her on the Weekend" was co-produced by Zac Clark and Jay McMillan. Sinclair mixed the final recordings at Infrasonic Sound, before they were mastered at the same studio by Pete Lyman.

Composition

Similar to The Pop Underground, McMahon wanted to merge contemporary instrumentation, such as synthesizers and programming, with classic instrumentation, such as piano, bass and drums. He purposely didn't want any guitar, which helped establish its own sound. While working on the album, McMahon said he was influenced by Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, M83 and Passion Pit. The album's title refers to McMahon being out of the major label system and a band, and his subsequent attempts to find his way back. The album discusses where McMahon was in his life at the time, and tackles some themes from Jack's Mannequin's Everything in Transit, namely returning to southern California and starting a new life. McMahon wrote some material from a Sliding Doors -esque perspective: “I found myself asking, ‘What would have come next if I hadn’t encountered that bizarre chapter of my disrupted 20s?’" McMahon co-wrote half of the album's material with Viola, while the remainder was self-written or co-written with Sam Hollander, Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra, Flannigan, Grahn, Andrew Goldstein and Brian Lee.
McMahon co-wrote "Canyon Moon" in four hours with Hollander and Griffin, the latter McMahon had known since the early days of touring with Something Corporate. The trio made a demo of the track and forgot about it until McMahon later re-listened to the demo and re-wrote parts of it. Though McMahon said the song wasn't about him directly, it talks about a person leaving Los Angeles in a similar manner that he did after disbanding Jack's Mannequin. "Cecilia and the Satellite" was written with the foresight that him and his wife were expecting their first child. It was one of the last songs written for the album, and summarizes McMahon's life up to that point. While on the way to a studio, McMahon heard Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" and wanted to pick apart its anatomy with Viola. After noticing how vivid the song's lyrics were, they began writing "High Dive". McMahon tackled it from the viewpoint of him and his wife splitting up and her moving on, he said it was about loving a person "so much that you'll take anything they're willing to give even if it's not enough."
McMahon's weekend trips to see his wife inspired the creation of "See Her on the Weekend". It talks about long-distance love and occupying time until Friday. "Black and White Movies" was one of the earliest songs McMahon wrote with Viola in his garage; he saw it as an "answer" to the work he did with Jack's Mannequin: Everything in Transit "was all about summer and California", whereas "Black and White Movies" was "after the tourists left and the beach houses get shut down." "Driving Through a Dream" started as a psychedelic piece before McMahon reigned it in and wrote about an urge to escape life and drive in a desert. "Halls" was written about a specific moment during the first Jack's Mannequin tour while on a stop in Arizona. He had broken up with his girlfriend and attempted to reconnect. "Rainy Girl", alongside "See Her on the Weekend", was amongst the earliest material written during McMahon's stay in Topanga. It talks about him being enthusiastic about meeting his child. "Maps for the Getaway" is about.

Release

In July, McMahon began performing under the moniker Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. He explained that the wilderness part of the name was "mostly an abstract one. Since putting Jack’s behind me, I have forced myself into strange spaces seeking new stimulus." The name was taken from a journal that McMahon had started after moving out of Los Angeles titled In the Wilderness. His live band consisted of McMillan on drums, Mikey Wagner on bass and keyboards, and Clark on keyboards. Later that month, he played a few headlining shows with support from My Body Sings Electric and Wild Party. "Cecilia and the Satellite" was made available for streaming on July 18 via McMahon's SoundCloud profile. Following this, McMahon supported Gavin DeGraw and Matt Nathanson on their co-headlining US tour in July and August.
On August 12, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness was announced for release in October. In addition, the album's artwork was revealed, and "Cecilia and the Satellite" was released as a single. "High Dive" was released as a single on September 2, as was "Canyon Moon" on September 23. "See Her on the Weekend" was made available for streaming through MTV on September 29, before being released as a single the following day. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness was made available for streaming on October 6 through Billboard website, before being released on October 14 through independent label Vanguard Records. Following this, McMahon went on a headlining US tour in October and November. On December 5, a music video was released for "Cecilia and the Satellite", directed by Olivier Agostini.
It was followed by a "Day in the Life" video on February 25, 2015, again directed by Agostini. This version features McMahon, his wife and his daughter spending time together while on tour, before watching McMahon perform at a show. In August, McMahon embarked on an Australian tour. McMahon performed "Cecilia and the Satellite" on Conan on September 29, and again for Today on October 2. "High Dive" was released to alternative radio stations on October 13. The Canyons EP was released on November 20, and featured stripped-down versions of "Maps for the Getaway", "Cecilia and the Satellite", "Halls" and "High Dive", produced by John Alagia. On December 7, a music video was released for "High Dive", directed by Rich Ragsdale.

Reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100, the album received an average score of 78, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".

Track listing

Writing credits per booklet.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.
Musicians
Production