Gerard Way Shares Details of ‘Sonically Galvanizing’ Debut Album
Former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way will release his debut solo LP, Hesitant Alien, on September 30th via Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Doug McKean (MCR, Tegan and Sara, Goo Goo Dolls), mixed by Tchad Blake (The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys) and inspired by the shoegaze and Brit-pop heroes of Way’s youth.
“I wanted to make the small things sound big,” Way said in a press release. “My intention was to make 100 percent uncompromised art, using the currently least radio-friendly instrument: the guitar. I knew there would be lots of fuzz pedals. I knew I would play Fender instruments. I knew I would look at who my guitar heroes were in art school, Mary Timony and Carrie Brownstein, and I drew a lot of influence from shoegaze and Brit-pop. I want the record to sonically galvanize people.”
Earlier in July, Way talked to NME about Hesitant Alien, saying he was inspired by “struggle, beginnings, finding a newness in the mundane and the abstract.”
“I looked to the Britpop poets like Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn, drawing upon everyday life,” said Way. “I also experimented with the abstract, and looked at Frank Black’s work both with the Pixies, and as a solo artist. There was no concept and no call-to-arms.”
The LP will be available for pre-order at digital retailers starting Tuesday, August 19th, and exclusive album bundles can be pre-ordered on the same day at Way’s website. Those who pre-order will receive an instant free download of new track “No Shows.” The singer will be debuting new material during his first solo shows at two British festivals: Reading (August 22nd) and Leeds (August 23rd).
My Chemical Romance split up in 2013 following an impressive 12-year run. In a recent interview with NME, Way said he never expected the band to continue past their third LP, 2006’s The Black Parade.
“I plan things pretty far in advance, and before we’d even done the first record, I’d written out titles of things,” he said. “I definitely knew I had the title of the second album before we’d even recorded the first… by the time I got to the third album, which didn’t have a name, I felt like that was the end. Basically the time spent after Black Parade was me fighting against that instinct, fighting against myself. The end of Black Parade felt like a very natural end. To go beyond that felt like betraying some sort of artistic command that I had within myself.”
Tracklist
1. “Bureau”
2. “Action Cat”
3. “No Shows”
4. “Casting Shadows”
5. “Millions”
6. “Zero Zero”
7. “Juarez”
8. “Drugstore Perfume”
9. “Get The Gang Together”
10. “How’s It Going To Be”
11. “Maya The Psychic”