Dopamine | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 16, 2015 [1] | |||
Recorded | 2010–2015 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock [2] | |||
Length | 47:18(original edition) 47:43 (digital edition released in November 2015) | |||
Label |
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Producer | Stephan Jenkins | |||
Third Eye Blind chronology | ||||
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Singles from Dopamine | ||||
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Dopamine is the fifth studio album by American rock band Third Eye Blind, released on June 16, 2015. It is the band's first studio album since 2009's Ursa Major . Third Eye Blind worked on Dopamine from 2010 to 2015. The album's first single, "Everything Is Easy", was released on May 8, 2015, along with a cover version of the Beyoncé song "Mine". The album debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, selling over 21,000 copies in its first week.
The band spoke of a fifth album as early as 2009, upon releasing their fourth studio album, Ursa Major . [3] Material had been written and recorded sporadically over the course of six years since their third album, Out of the Vein , resulting in such a wealth of material that the band considered releasing it as a double album, Ursa Major being the main album, and Ursa Minor being a fifth album, containing leftover tracks. [3] Plans went from releasing them as a double album, to releasing them as two separate but companion type fourth and fifth albums, [3] to not releasing Minor at all, as by 2012, frontman Stephan Jenkins announced that the entire idea had been scrapped in favor of writing new material. [4] The change in plans had been a result of changes in band members; [5] much of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor had been written with guitarist Tony Fredianelli, who after the release of Ursa Major, sued the band for missing song-writing credits and publishing royalties for Ursa Major and the Red Star EP. [6] Fredianelli had many of the claims dismissed, but ultimately still won over $400,000 from the band for lost wages in touring in support of Ursa Major. [7] He was replaced by Irish guitarist Kryz Reid. [8] The band also recruited new bassist Alex LeCavalier—the position had previously been filled by various session and touring members—and Alex Kopp, a dedicated keyboardist for the first time in the band's history. [9]
The band started writing and recording new material for the fifth album as early as 2010, initially aiming for an early 2011 release date. [10] The release date eventually slipped into 2012, [11] and then later, by late 2012, Jenkins conceded that he was again suffering from writer's block and was struggling to finish lyrics for songs. [4] He also announced at that time that it would be the band's last album. [4] The only work released from the sessions was the track "If There Ever Was A Time", a track released for free in 2011 in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement happening at the time. [12] In 2012, the band traveled to India to play a four city spanning tour, to "get inspired" for the new album, and to record a music video for a track titled "All the Soul". [13] The video, which was to capture playing the song live on top of a double decker bus in Mumbai traffic, [13] never surfaced, though work on the album did start increasing the following year in 2013, when Jenkins reported he had written 40 to 50 new songs since the band had begun working on new material. [5] [14] Despite this, progress on the album continued to be slow, with the album being delayed from 2013 [15] to 2014 [16] to 2015. [17] The slow pace was attributed to writer's block and the band's extensive touring schedule during the same timeframe. [18] Drummer Brad Hargreaves also noted that their past success had led to many opportunities to take breaks in the music creation process to follow other ventures, and that "if you were to add up all the days we worked on the record, it probably would've taken about a year to make the record." [19]
We don't really have a process. We look at the song we have and go, "Okay, it's ready to go. Let's book the studio." [For] some of them, we'll bring in this session from the demo we did for it, maybe use a couple parts from that, build a song and then overdub a song. Sometimes we get in there with the whole band and just cut it live. We'll cut it live, do overdubs and then we'll chop it up later. I mean, there's no real process. We just kind of gauge [whether we] are conveying the emotion of the song and the lyrics. We try to figure out the best way to arrive at delivering that emotion ... Sometimes Stephan brings in completed songs ... Sometimes he'll just have a verse and a chorus and then we'll get together in a room and write a bridge. Sometimes he'll have a whole song, and then we'll completely rework it. [19]
- Brad Hargreaves, on the creation process with himself and frontman Stephan Jenkins.
One of Jenkins' efforts to overcome his writer's block was to do a "life swap" with a fellow musician who was living in a small dorm-like apartment in a dangerous part of a city, an environment Jenkins had been in while writing the band's self-titled debut album prior to any of the band's fame in the late 1990s. [20] The experience inspired the lyrical content for the track "Back to Zero". [20] The track was completely written lyrically at this time, but completely reworked sonically in the studio later on, in collaboration with Hargreaves. [19] Jenkins was also lyrically inspired by the Beyoncé song "Mine". [21] The band started playing a cover version of the song live at concerts and dress rehearsals in 2014, [22] and in response to positive fan reception, proceeded to record a studio version of the song during the Dopamine sessions. [21] Jenkins put special care into making it sound like a Third Eye Blind song; Hargreaves even believed it to be an original composition of Jenkins upon his first listen to it. [19] The back and forth first verse of the track "Say It" is based on a real conversation Jenkins had with someone else. [23] The track features a spoken word piece in the bridge by K.Flay. [24] The lyrics to that part, written by Jenkins, were meant to represent his own self-doubts regarding the music creation process. [24] Similarly, "Get Me Out of Here" lyrically represented Jenkins' anxiety towards live performance shows, with the composition being made to sound similar to rock operas such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show . [24] The song "Blade" was previously written and performed live under the name "Dream Sequence", as it was inspired by Jenkins' recurring dreams about cutting through the tension of his nightmares. [23] [25] The song specifically describes a dream where Jenkins attempts to stab someone out of jealousy in a dreamlike state, but the other person is unaffected. [23] "Rites of Passage" was inspired by the David Bowie track "Changes", and contains several direct allusions to Bowie's work. [23] After the album's release, Jenkins referred to the album collectively as being about "a search for authenticity and connection in this increasingly isolated and isolating culture." [26]
The band wrapped up their final recording sessions for the album on May 12, 2015, with Jenkins and Reid putting the final touches on the track "Dopamine". [27] The album entered the mixing phase on the same day. [28] Six songs fully recorded in the Dopamine sessions were left unmixed and ultimately not released on the album, with Jenkins planning on releasing them separately upon having time to finish vocals and mixing them after wrapping up touring in support of Dopamine in late 2015. [24]
In 2012, Jenkins outlined how the music was shaping up at that point:
I think it will have a sort of big, open sound with anthem tracks with an Arcade Fire feeling to it and others with a shoegaze kind of feel. Some tracks will be simple, raw sounding." [13]
Prior to the album's release in May 2015, Hargreaves said:
Most Third Eye Blind albums are fairly eclectic sounding — there's acoustic songs, there's rock sounds, there's electronic stuff. I think we've kept that formula going. Our new album, no one is going to mistake it for being a completely different band, but there's quite a bit of evolution on it. I think you can hear it on the first single, 'Everything Is Easy,' and 'Mine.' [29]
In early 2015, the band announced they would be doing an extensive Summer Tour with Dashboard Confessional. [18] Jenkins announced that a single from the fifth album would be released prior to the tour, [30] with an accompanying music video being created in April 2015. [31] On May 8, 2015, the album's official title, Dopamine, and first single, "Everything Is Easy", were publicly announced. [32] "Everything Is Easy" was also made available to stream on the same day. [32] On May 12, the band released a second track from the sessions, the studio version of the Beyoncé "Mine" cover. [33] The song, along with an accompanying music video, was premiered on Tumblr for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , and featured a guest appearance from Pierce the Veil frontman Vic Fuentes. [33] [34]
The album was released on June 16, 2015. [17] The album debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, [35] selling just over 21,000 copies in its first week. [36]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 61/100 [37] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Absolute Punk | [2] |
AllMusic | [38] |
Associated Press | (Positive) [39] |
Rolling Stone | [40] |
The album was generally well received by critics. Absolute Punk referred to the album as "the missing link between Blue and Out of the Vein ", and praised it for being "a testament to [Jenkins]'s talent as a songwriter, as well as to the skills of the band he's assembled here, that he can still make an album that feels like it could have come out during his peak days... He's still capable of writing catchy songs with deep, unique, and often devastating lyrics. Dopamine isn't his best record, and it might be his worst, but for one of the slyest songwriters from the past two decades of pop, 'worst' can still be pretty damn great." [2] Rolling Stone praised the album for melding the band's classic 1990s alternative rock sound with different influences such as The Cure and Arcade Fire. [40] The Associated Press singled out "All the Souls" as a standout track and concluded that "whichever incarnation of Third Eye Blind you prefer, and for many it's the era of the band's hit 'Semi-Charmed Life', this version is tight and the songwriting is clean and captivating." [39] AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that while the departure of long time guitarist Tony Fredianelli "reinforces how Third Eye Blind is very much the Stephan Jenkins show... When the record gets cooking, chorus melodies can soar and riffs can punch, creating an insistent, surging, miniaturized arena rock -- music where the emotions and sound exist on a grand scale but the intent feels intimate." [38]
All tracks are written by Stephan Jenkins, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Everything Is Easy" | Jenkins / Abe Millett | 3:29 |
2. | "Shipboard Cook" | 4:42 | |
3. | "All the Souls" | 2:47 | |
4. | "Dopamine" | 3:39 | |
5. | "Rites of Passage" | Jenkins / Kryz Reid | 4:22 |
6. | "Back to Zero" | 3:29† | |
7. | "Something in You" | Jenkins / Reid / Brad Hargreaves / Alex Kopp | 3:21 |
8. | "Get Me Out of Here" | 4:47 | |
9. | "Blade" | 3:51 | |
10. | "All These Things" | 2:25 | |
11. | "Exiles" | Jenkins / Andrew Dawson | 4:04 |
12. | "Say It" (featuring spoken word by K.Flay; includes coda of "Rites of Passage" as a hidden track) | 6:22 |
† In November 2015, a different version of "Back to Zero", running 3:54, replaced the original version of the song on the digital edition of Dopamine. The only difference between the versions is the addition of a spoken section.
B-sides
Band
Additional musicians
| Production
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Charts (2015) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard 200 [42] | 13 |
U.S. Billboard Alternative Albums [43] | 3 |
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums [44] | 1 |
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums [45] | 3 |
U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales [46] | 7 |
Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label recording contract with Elektra Records in 1996. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1997, with the band largely consisting of Jenkins, Cadogan, Arion Salazar, and Brad Hargreaves (drums). Shortly after the release of the band's second album in 1999, Blue, with the same line-up, Cadogan was released from the band under controversial circumstances.
Stephan Douglas Jenkins is an American singer, guitarist, and the frontman of the alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. He began his musical career in 1992 as part of the short-lived rap duo Puck and Natty, alongside Detroit rapper Herman Anthony Chunn. Following the breakup of the duo, Jenkins and guitarist Kevin Cadogan formed Third Eye Blind in 1993. The band released their eponymous debut studio album in 1997, which went multi-platinum in the United States. Since then, they have released nine more albums: Blue (1999), Out of the Vein (2003), Ursa Major (2009), Dopamine (2015), We Are Drugs (2016), Thanks for Everything (2018), Screamer (2019), Our Bande Apart (2021), and Unplugged (2022). As part of Third Eye Blind, Jenkins has received one Billboard Music Award and eight California Music Awards.
Third Eye Blind is the debut studio album by American rock band Third Eye Blind, released on April 8, 1997, by Elektra Records. The album was collectively written by Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan, while production was helmed by Jenkins and Eric Valentine. Recorded in and around San Francisco at Toast Studios, Skywalker Ranch, and H.O.S., the album incorporates elements of alternative rock, post-grunge, and power pop. Thematically, the album focuses on topics such as relationships, drug addiction, suicide prevention, and the band's experience of being signed to a major record label. Third Eye Blind was promoted with five singles: "Semi-Charmed Life", "Graduate", "How's It Going to Be", "Losing a Whole Year", and "Jumper".
Blue is the second studio album by American rock band Third Eye Blind, released on November 23, 1999. The album's creation was difficult, mainly due to power struggles and arguments between frontman Stephan Jenkins and lead guitarist Kevin Cadogan, leading to a quick but isolated recording experience between members. The album was generally well received by critics, and was certified platinum by the RIAA, but performed below the band's prior album, the multi-platinum Third Eye Blind. While managing to stay together for the creation of the album, shortly after its release, the band fired Cadogan, touring in support of the album with replacement guitarist Tony Fredianelli.
Kevin Rene Cadogan is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Third Eye Blind, he performed with the band from 1993 to 2000. He co-wrote some of Third Eye Blind's most notable hits, including "How's It Going to Be", "Losing a Whole Year", and "Graduate", ten of the fourteen songs on their debut album Third Eye Blind as well as six of the thirteen tracks on his final collaboration with the band in their second album Blue.
"Semi-Charmed Life" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their 1997 eponymous debut studio album. It was released to modern rock radio as the lead single from the album on February 18, 1997, by Elektra Records. Frontman Stephan Jenkins is credited as the sole writer of the song, although guitarist Kevin Cadogan has disputed the song's authorship through litigation. The song was produced by Jenkins and Eric Valentine. An alternative rock and power pop song with a rap-influenced singing style, the lyrics of "Semi-Charmed Life" concern a crystal meth addiction and transition periods in one's life.
"Jumper" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their eponymous debut studio album (1997). The song was written and produced by frontman Stephan Jenkins, with additional production by Eric Valentine. Elektra Records released it as the fifth and final single from the album on August 4, 1998. An alternative rock and acoustic power pop song, "Jumper"'s lyrics concern an act of suicide, as Jenkins urges for a greater amount of human compassion.
"Never Let You Go" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind. It was released on January 4, 2000, as the second single from their second album, Blue. The song peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at number one in Canada. It also reached number 26 in Iceland, number 15 in New Zealand, and number six on the UK Rock Chart.
"Graduate" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their eponymous debut studio album (1997). It was released to radio as the second single from the album in July 1997 by Elektra Records. Frontman Stephan Jenkins and guitarist Kevin Cadogan are credited as co-writers on the song. Production on the song was helmed by Jenkins and Eric Valentine. According to Jenkins, the song is about the band's experience after being signed to a major record label.
"Losing a Whole Year" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their eponymous debut studio album (1997). Elektra Records released the song in Japan as the album's second single on December 15, 1997, and in the United States on February 23, 1998, as the fourth single from the album. The song was written by frontman Stephan Jenkins and guitarist Kevin Cadogan, while production was helmed by Jenkins and Eric Valentine. According to Jenkins, the song is about lamentation due to the end of a relationship.
"Deep Inside of You" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their second studio album, Blue (1999). It was released as the fourth and final single from the album on July 10, 2000, by Elektra Records. According to frontman Stephan Jenkins, the song is about "suicidal tendencies". The song received positive reviews from music critics. The song peaked at number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Blinded" (also known as "Blinded (When I See You)") is a song by American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. It was released in April 2003 as the lead single from their 2003 album, Out of the Vein. It was written by Stephan Jenkins, Arion Salazar, and Tony Fredianelli. The song received positive reviews from music critics and peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart.
Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. The group's discography consists of seven studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, three extended plays, 25 singles, three promotional singles, and 31 music videos. The current line-up consists of Stephan Jenkins, Brad Hargreaves, Kryz Reid, Colin CreeV, and Alex LeCavalier. They have amassed worldwide album sales of over 12 million units.
Ursa Major is the fourth studio album by American rock band Third Eye Blind. Released on August 18, 2009, on the group's own Mega Collider label, Ursa Major was the group's first studio album in over six years. The first single from the album was "Don't Believe a Word", which debuted on the radio June 5, 2009.
Symphony of Decay is an EP by American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. The EP started off under the working title Black as a companion to their platinum selling 1999 album Blue. Its creation was a result of a compromise over the release method of the track "Slow Motion"; the band had wanted it on Blue, while their record label, Elektra Records, opposed its inclusion on such a high-profile full-length album release due to its controversial lyrics. The EP would go through years of delays for a multitude of reasons, including extensive touring, prioritizing the completion of their third studio album Out of the Vein, and complications arising from parting ways with Elektra in 2004. The EP itself was never collectively released, though many of the tracks were eventually released elsewhere.
Ursa Minor is an unreleased studio album by American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. Initially conceived as the second part of a double album to their 2009 release Ursa Major, the album was delayed, and eventually shelved, due to legal issues between frontman Stephan Jenkins and then-guitarist of the band Tony Fredianelli. The subsequent re-staffing the band with mostly new members in 2011 and 2012 led Jenkins to shy away from releasing the material, stating that it no longer represented the current band lineup - though comments from as recent as 2015 have alluded to releasing some of the music online eventually as well.
We Are Drugs is a studio EP by American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. Preceded by the singles "Cop vs. Phone Girl" and "Company of Strangers", We Are Drugs was released on October 7, 2016.
"Cop vs. Phone Girl" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their second extended play, We Are Drugs (2016). It was released as the lead single from the extended play on July 25, 2016, by MegaForce Records. The song addresses the issues of racism and police brutality, specifically focusing on a 2015 incident at South Carolina's Spring Valley High School.
Thanks for Everything is an EP by Third Eye Blind. It consists of seven cover songs and was released on August 24, 2018.
Screamer is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. It was released on October 18, 2019 by Mega Collider Records.
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