Hold On Tight (Hey Monday album) explained

Hold on Tight
Type:studio
Artist:Hey Monday
Cover:Hold on tight cover.jpg
Released:October 7, 2008
Recorded:June 1 – August 3, 2008
Studio:
Genre:Emo pop,[1] pop punk
Length:37:30
Label:Columbia, Decaydance
Producer:S*A*M & Sluggo
Next Title:Beneath It All
Next Year:2010

Hold on Tight is the only full-length studio album by American rock band Hey Monday, released on October 7, 2008.

Production

Hold on Tight was recorded at Fresh Kills in New York City from June 1 to August 3, 2008, with producers S*A*M and Sluggo. Sean Gould served engineer, and recorded guitars with Mike Gentile, while Steve Shebby handled bass recording. Instrumentation on "Candles" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios by Clifford Carter and Peter Cobbin, with assistance from Lewis James. Stephen Harris mixed the album at The Cottage in Killham, UK, before it was mastered by Scott Hull at Scott Hull Mastering in New York City.

Composition

All the songs featured on the album were co-written and produced by: S*A*M & Sluggo, who have worked with many other artists in the past, most notably Gym Class Heroes, Katy Perry and The Academy Is....

Hey Monday's lead singer, Cassadee Pope, explained when the band were writing the songs for the record, they wanted to create something that people could really enjoy and dance to, while still putting their hearts into the songs.[2] Pope states "I feel that in the lyrics of the songs I’ve written for this album, I really was able to do this & the songs really show the diversity I feel I possess."[2]

Release

Hold on Tight was released on October 7, 2008. In October and November, the band supported the Academy Is... on their headlining tour of the US.[3] In December, the band supported All Time Low on their Christma-Hanu-Kwanza tour in the US.[4] On April 2, 2009, a music video was released for "How You Love Me Now".[5] In April and May, the band supported Fall Out Boy on the Believers Never Die Tour Part Deux in the US.[6] The band appeared at The Bamboozle festival in early May.[7] Between mid-October and early December, the band went on a US tour alongside All Time Low, We the Kings and the Friday Night Boys.[8]

Reception

Hold on Tight made headway in the Top Heatseekers chart peaking at number 11. By October 2009, the album's sales stood at 64,000.[9] Critical response to the album was overall positive. Andrew Leahey of AllMusic guide gave the album a favorable review, stating, "There's certainly some filler here, particularly toward the album's conclusion, but Hold on Tight is still stacked with enough T.G.I.F. nuggets to make it an endearing, engaging debut."

Cleveland.com ranked "Homecoming" at number 96 on their list of the top 100 pop-punk songs.[10]

Track listing

Writing credits per booklet.

Charts

Chart (2008)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers[11] 11
Chart (2009)Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[12] 71

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[13] Hey Monday

Additional musicians

Production and design

References

Citations
Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hey Monday Bio. AllMusic.
  2. http://www.accessallareas.net.au/artists/Hey_Monday.php "Hey Monday- Access All Areas Artist Interview"
  3. Web site: The Academy Is… announce dates with We The Kings, Carolina Liar and Hey Monday. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 18, 2008. July 23, 2017.
  4. Web site: All Time Low Announces the "Christma-Hanu-Kwanza" Tour. Melodic. Dallas. November 12, 2008. May 30, 2017. May 29, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170529165642/http://melodic.net/?page=news&id=11875. dead.
  5. Web site: Hey Monday post "How You Love Me Now" video. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. April 2, 2009. August 8, 2017.
  6. Web site: Fall Out Boy / All Time Low / Cobra Starship / Metro Station / Hey Monday. Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Paul, Aubin. January 14, 2009. June 2, 2017.
  7. Web site: Bamboozle set single-day lineups. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 8, 2009. July 31, 2017.
  8. Web site: All Time Low & We The Kings Announce Fall Tour. Melodic. Dallas. July 27, 2009. June 2, 2017. May 29, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170529165840/http://melodic.net/?page=news&id=13896. dead.
  9. Bell; Harding 2009, p. 57
  10. Web site: The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time. https://web.archive.org/web/20220303183529/https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/03/the-100-greatest-pop-punk-songs-of-all-time.html. Cleveland.com. Smith, Troy L.. March 2, 2022. March 3, 2022. March 3, 2022.
  11. "Hold on Tight - Hey Monday :Billboard album information"
  12. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090319130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20090320-0000/issue992.pdf "ARIA Top 100 Albums - Week Commencing 2nd March 2009"
  13. Hold on Tight. Hey Monday. 2009. booklet. Decaydance/Columbia Records. 88697319592.