Symphony Soldier is the second studio album by American rock band the Cab. It was self-released by the band on August 23, 2011. The Cab first rose to prominence at the peak of the mid-2000s emo pop trend with their debut album Whisper War (2008), which was promoted via national tours with Hey Monday and the Hush Sound. The following year, the band lost two members, including guitarist Ian Crawford and bassist Cash Colligan. In addition, the band soon parted ways with their original label, Fueled by Ramen, as well as parting ways with their drummer Alex Johnson.
On June 22, 2011, The Cab announced that they were departing from their label Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records before previewing a 90-second teaser for their second studio album, Symphony Soldier.[6] The group also parted ways with their drummer Alex Johnson.[7] Lead singer Alexander DeLeon went in depth about his departure stating, "he was having a difficult time with things, and we were completely here, as friends and family. Once things started happening and we started talking to him about things, we realized we needed to be friends first before bandmates, you know?."[8] The group had lost Ian Crawford and Cash Colligan two years prior to the album's release,[9] with Crawford leaving the group due to creative differences.[10] However, Crawford was credited for playing guitar on the album.[11] Bassist Joey Thunder also joined the band in 2009, as Colligan's replacement.[8]
Symphony Soldier was entirely funded by the group, and was self-released.[8][12] Most of the music and lyrics for the album were written by band members and features guest artists including, Pete Wentz and John Feldmann co-writing "Grow Up and Be Kids", Bruno Mars with "Endlessly", Adam Levine with "Animal", Martin Johnson with "Bad" and Nasri and Adam Messinger with "Temporary Bliss".[11] It was produced by John Feldmann, and recorded at his home studio, Foxy Studios. Musician Brandon Paddock performed guitar and bass on the LP, with Crawford and Devin Bronson contributing additional guitar. Dean Butterworth, who is best known for his work with Good Charlotte, handled all drum work.[11]
The group was previously writing with S*A*M and Sluggo, Rob Knox and Claude Kelly for the album in 2010, however, the group decided to scrap most of those songs as "it was sounding like an American Idol record," according to DeLeon, which was something the band was not going for.[8] He also revealed that creative differences with Fueled by Ramen was the reason for the delayed album release and felt that since departing from the label, they could do what they wanted.[8]
Release
The album's first single, "Bad," was released to iTunes on July 11, 2011,[13] and was announced by the band on July 18; a music video for the song was later released.[14] Pre-orders were available on the band's webstore, the only place the physical album can be purchased. Their webstore offered 11 options, with prices ranging from $10 to $10,000.[15] The album art and track listing was revealed on July 19.[16] The album was officially released on August 23.[17] In November 2011, the group released "Angel with a Shotgun" as the second single from the album in Singapore only.[18] On April 10, the group released the music video for "La La".[19] A music video for "Endlessly" on November 15, and the video features an appearance from actress Hailee Steinfeld.[20]
Promotion
In support of Symphony Soldier the band toured as headliners and supporters, as well as playing at radio station sponsored shows. They embarked on a US headlining tour for five dates.[21] During this time, the band opened for All Time Low and Simple Plan for their US fall tour in 2011,[22]Avril Lavigne on a Canadian arena concert tour,[23] and Maroon 5 during their Asia Pacific tour in 2012.[24] They also co-headlined the Everything's Fine Symphony Soldier tour during January and February 2012 with The Summer Set, with supporting acts He Is We, Days Difference, and Paradise Fears.[25] They joined Daytrader on the Zumiez Couch tour in June.[26] The band also co-headlined a tour with Parachute in the summer of 2012.[27]
The album received critical praise, with AbsolutePunk particularly giving it a highly positive review with a rating of 95%, calling the album a "masterpiece."[28] Annie Zeleski of Alternative Press gave it 4/5 and said that "For loyal fans of the Cab, Symphony Soldier lives up to expectations; it's the album they've been waiting for since 2008".[1]SputnikMusic reviewer DaveyBoy gave Symphony Soldier a 3.5/5 ("great"), concluding "At 46 minutes, the album is undoubtedly overlong and repetitive, yet there is no real filler, just some redundancy in its mid-section. It is the kind of misstep that is predominantly forgivable when such a young band are looking to extend themselves, as The Cab are on Symphony Soldier". He recommended the tracks "Temporary Bliss", "Angel with a Shotgun", "Another Me", and "Living Louder".[2] Chrysta Cherrie of AllMusic gave the album 3/5 stars and called it "the sound of a band taking control of its destiny and breaking free from the industry standards", adding that "fans as well as new listeners will take pleasure in being along for the ride".[29]
In 2016, Billboard contributor Joe DeAndrea referred to the album as "arguably one of the most ambitious pop-rock records in recent memory."[30]
1 2 3 4 Davey Boy (August 29, 2011). "The Cab – Symphony Soldier". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 3, 2012. Of the multitude of bands plying their trade in the safe, inoffensive and often derided genre of pop-rock (or power-pop if you are so inclined), only a handful truly make a successful profession out of it.
↑ DeLeon, Alexander Michael (June 1, 2009). "Dear friends". symphonysoldier.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2013. Ian Crawford, is no longer going to be pursuing this dream with us. He has made the decision to leave the band,...This was not easy for us, or for Ian, but it needed to happen....His heart was simply not in this genre of music. He didn't want to play pop or music suitable for the radio.
1 2 3 4 Symphony Soldier (booklet). Z Entertainment. 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
