Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (album) explained

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Type:	studio
Artist:	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Cover:	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Album Cover.jpg
Released:	July 23, 2013
Length:	56:57
Label:	Vagrant Rough Trade Communion Gentleman of the Road
Producer:	Alex Ebert
Prev Title:	Here
Prev Year:	2012
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Next Year:	2016

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is the third album by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. It was released on July 23, 2013 in North America and was released on July 29, 2013 around the world through Vagrant Records, Rough Trade Records and Communion Records. Frontman Alex Ebert stated that "These songs mean everything to me - It's the rawest, most liberated, most rambunctious stuff we've done."^[1]

On May 22, 2013, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros posted "Better Days", the first single from the upcoming album on their Soundcloud and Tumblr pages.^[2]

On July 15, 2013, the band made the whole album available for streaming online through NPR.^[3]

The band uploaded a music video for their second single, "Life Is Hard", on their YouTube channel on September 19, 2013. The music video, filmed in The Box Theatre in New York, was performed in front of a live audience on August 25, 2013.^{[4] [5]}

Personnel

• Alex Ebert – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, string arrangements, keyboards, electric bass, basketball, melodica
• Jade Castrinos – vocals, acoustic guitar, tambourine
• Christian Letts – electric and acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar, mandolin, marching bass drum, vocals
• Stewart Cole – trumpet, synths, piano, alto horn, flugelhorn, baritone horn, cornet, hammond and lowrey organs, Wurlitzer, clavinet, pump organ, recorder, vocals
• Mark Noseworthy – electric and acoustic guitar, 11 string guitar, ronrocco, tenor banjo, slide guitar, electric 12-string guitar, mandolin, vocals
• Crash – vocals
• Orpheo McCord – percussion, drums, marimba, vocals
• Nora Kirkpatrick – accordion, organ, keys, omnichord, vocals
• Josh Collazo – drums, concert toms, percussion, alto saxophone, vocals
• Seth Ford-Young – electric bass, upright bass, vocals

With:

• Aaron Arntz – piano on "Better Days" and "If I Were Free"
• Nico Algietti – electric guitar on "Remember to Remember", "Please", acoustic on "Life Is Hard"
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – piano on "Life Is Hard"
• Aaron Embry – piano and organ solo on "This Life"
• Nathaniel Markman – violin on "They Were Wrong" and "Remember to Remember"
• Fred Bows and Susie Park – violins on "Two", "Life Is Hard", and "In the Lion"
• Matt Linesch – engineer/mixer

Reception

On Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros holds an average score of 61, based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The album debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Folk Albums chart,^[6] selling around 18,000 copies in its first week. It has sold 60,000 copies as of March 2016.^[7]

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[8]	10
UK Albums (OCC)^[9]	51
US Billboard 200^[10]	14
US Americana/Folk Albums^[11]	1
US Independent Albums^[12]	2
US Rock Albums^[13]	3
US Tastemaker Albums^[14]	3

External links

• Announcement of album
• Summer tour

Notes and References

1. Web site: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros detail new album, summer tour . Consequence of Sound . 2013-05-07 . 2013-12-03.
2. Web site: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Better Days . Edwardsharpeandthemagneticzeros.tumblr.com . 2013-12-03.
3. Web site: Thompson . Stephen . First Listen: 'Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros' . NPR . 2013-07-14 . 2013-12-03.
4. Web site: Moskovitch . Greg . Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Unveil Video For New Single 'Life Is Hard' . Musicfeeds.com . 25 September 2013 . 5 January 2014.
5. Web site: Hudson . Alex . Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros "Life Is Hard" (live video) . Exclaim.ca . 19 September 2013 . 5 January 2014.
6. Folk Album . August 10, 2013 . Billboard .
7. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023201/http://hitsdailydouble.com/new_album_releases . March 4, 2016 . Upcoming Releases . Hits Daily Double . HITS Digital Ventures .
8. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros > Billboard Canadian Albums . Billboard .
9. Web site: Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros . 20 July 2013 . Official Charts Company.
10. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros > Billboard 200 . Billboard .
11. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros > Americana/Folk Albums . Billboard .
12. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros > Independent Albums . Billboard .
13. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros > Rock Albums . Billboard .
14. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros > Tastemaker Album. Billboard .