The Lonely Position of Neutral
The Lonely Position of Neutral is the debut album by American rock band Trust Company. It was released on July 22, 2002 internationally and on July 23, 2002, in the United States; a version including two bonus tracks was released on February 19, 2003. The Lonely Position of Neutral is Trust Company's most successful album to date and was certified gold for sales in excess of 500,000 copies. The track "Drop to Zero" was also known as "The Lonely Position of Neutral" back when the band was known as 41Down, and was later remade for this album.
The album's lead single, "Downfall," was released in 2002. It gained the band its breakthrough popularity for both its infectious melody and unusual music video. The track reached number six on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts, and earned a spot at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. The video features front-man Kevin Palmer walking down a street, with everything behind him blown away by wind. It found significant airplay on MTV2. "Running from Me" was the second single from the album and released in the same year. Its video features the band wearing strange masks and unveiling them in the pouring rain. The third single, "The Fear," was released in 2003.
Critical reception
Jason D. Taylor of AllMusic commended the band for sticking with the nu-metal formula to create tracks that are recognizable and contain elements of pop punk but was unsure of their career long-term when compared to similar acts like Linkin Park, concluding that "This is a shame, because those willing to give this album a chance will find one of the most infectious alternative metal albums of 2002." Rolling Stones Barry Walters was adamant of the instrumentation throughout the album, saying that it follows "modern-rock-radio conventions" but said that "the singing's understatement and harmonic sophistication help the band transcend overblown corporate rock and embrace sensitive emo pop."Track listing
Personnel
Credits for The Lonely Position of Neutral adapted from the liner notes.;Trust Company
- Kevin Palmer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- James Fukai – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Josh Moates – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jason Singleton – drums, backing vocals
- Jason Harter, Trust Company – art direction
- Miriam Santos Kayda – photography
- Don Gilmore – co-writing on "Falling Apart" and "Hover"
- Danny Lohner – producer
- Don Gilmore – producer, engineer
- Les Scurry – production coordinator
- John Ewing Jr. – engineer
- Joey Paradise – assistant engineer
- Jordan Schur – executive producer
- Vlado Meller – mastering at Sony Music Studios, NYC
- Andy Wallace – mixing at Soundtrack Studios, NYC
Jeff Rabhan – management
Charts
Album| Chart | Peak position |
| US Billboard 200 | 11 |
;Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
| 2002 | "Downfall" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 2002 | "Downfall" | US Modern Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 2002 | "Downfall" | US Billboard Hot 100 | 91 |
| 2002 | "Downfall" | UK Singles Chart | 89 |
| 2002 | "Running from Me" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 24 |
| 2002 | "Running from Me" | US Modern Rock Tracks | 22 |
Certifications
Appearances in media
- "Downfall" was used as the theme for the WWE pay-per-view Vengeance and later appeared in the Mercy Reef pilot teaser. It was also featured the video games BMX XXX in 2002, Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure in 2003, and MX Unleashed in 2004; it was later made as a downloadable song in the music rhythm game Rock Band on March 2, 2010.
- "Falling Apart" was used for the WWE pay-per-view Royal Rumble.
- "Take it All" was featured in the Xbox exclusive game Breakdown by Namco in 2004. It is played during the ending credits, and is also included in the game's promotional video that is unlocked once the game is finished.