Hesitant Alien is the debut studio album by Gerard Way, former lead singer of the American alternative rock band My Chemical Romance, released in the US on September 29, 2014 and on September 30 worldwide. It was officially announced in May 2014, although demos of the songs "Zero Zero" and "Millions" have circulated since 2012. The album was produced by Doug McKean, known for his work as recording engineer on a number of projects with producer Rob Cavallo, including several releases by My Chemical Romance. Hesitant Alien received mostly positive reviews, and was a moderate commercial success reaching No. 16 on the US Billboard 200 and some international charts. To support the album, Way assembled a touring band made up of select musicians who contributed to the album and were called "The Hormones".
Background
On March 22, 2013, My Chemical Romance officially disbanded. This was followed by the release of a greatest hits album entitled May Death Never Stop You a year later. Having recently signed with Warner Bros. Records, Gerard went on to announce the beginning of his solo career with the release of an advance-single, "Action Cat", on June 11, 2014.[8] This was accompanied by a new website featuring concept artwork for the album and a new logo.[9] The album's first single, "No Shows", was released on August 18, 2014.[10] "Millions", the second single, was released on November 17, anticipated by a music video released on October 6.[11]
Release
Hesitant Alien was released on September 29 in the UK, and a day later in the U.S.[5] Pre-orders for both the vinyl and CD versions of the album became available in August, featuring a T-shirt and promotional zine created specifically for the pre-orders.[12] On September 29, 2014, Way premiered Hesitant Alien on the online platform VyRT during a listening party with album commentary.[13] On Record Store Day 2016, Way released two exclusive, unreleased tracks from Hesitant Alien titled "Don't Try" and "Pinkish".[14]
The album has received very positive reviews. David McLaughlin from Rock Sound magazine stated that some of the songs from the album were some of the best Way has written to date, labelling the album as alternative rock. He also stated that it is nothing like the efforts made into the albums of My Chemical Romance.[20] Jason Pettigrew from Alternative Press said: "Now in his late-30s, he’s going back to the things that turned him on, pretentious ’70s glam-rock, fractured ’80s post-punk and all the English sonic conventions of ’90s Britpop and shoegazer noise", and that the album "has enough requisite cool and clamor to insure he stays both relevant and remarkably vibrant".
Hesitant Alien topped the "Ten Essential Albums Of 2014" list in Alternative Press.[17] The album was included at number 24 on Rock Sound's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.[22] The album was included at number 4 on Kerrang!'s "The Top 50 Rock Albums Of 2014" list.[23]