It's Got to Be Now
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Boston Globe | favorable |
| Pop Underground | favorable |
It's Got To Be Now is the fourth studio album by the Boston indie rock band Aloud.[1] The album was co-produced by Charles Newman, Benny Grotto, and Aloud.[2]
In a blog post, the band foreshadowed it would be "an album that sounds like a band playing music in a room together", a marked departure from the ornate Exile.[3] It's Got To Be Now is Aloud's first album of new material with a permanent rhythm section since their 2008 album Fan The Fury. It is also the first Aloud album available on vinyl and their debut on Mother West.
Speaking with Vents Magazine before the album's release, Jen de la Osa and Henry Beguiristain remarked mortality, the urgency of living in the moment, and "trying to capture joy in a bottle" would be overarching themes on It's Got To Be Now.[4]
On July 31, 2013, the band announced a Kickstarter campaign to fund the album. Throughout the campaign, live performances of songs "The Wicked Kind", the title track "It's Got To Be Now", "A Little Bit Low", and "Back Here With Me Again" were released. Acoustic versions of "Jeanne, It's Just a Ride!" and "Don't Let It Get You Down" were also posted. The project reached its funding goal on August 21, 2013.[5]
The album's first single, "A Little Bit Low", premiered online in Elmore Magazine on December 20, 2013, with the music video debuting on February 15, 2015.[6] A second single, the title track "It's Got To Be Now", debuted at GroundSounds on February 26, 2014.[7] A music video for the "Back Here With Me Again", the third single, was filmed at Aloud's Boston release show for the album, and was first posted July 22, 2014 on Vanyaland.[8] It was the first video released in connection with It's Got To Be Now to feature the band.
Track listing
It's Got To Be Now
All tracks are written by Jen de la Osa and Henry Beguiristain
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Back Here With Me Again" | 3:02 |
| 2. | "Don't Let It Get You Down" | 3:05 |
| 3. | "The Wicked Kind" | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Jeanne, It's Just a Ride!" | 2:38 |
| 5. | "A Little Bit Low" | 3:06 |
| 6. | "Such a Long Time" | 2:37 |
| 7. | "After the Plague" | 3:18 |
| 8. | "It's Got to Be Now" | 3:05 |
| 9. | "Complicity" | 2:22 |
| 10. | "The Ballad of Emily Jane" | 2:59 |
| 11. | "You Will Know" (digital bonus track) | 3:18 |
This Will Make Sense Later: the It's Got To Be Now demos
An exclusive collection of demos was released to backers who crowdfunded It's Got To Be Now via Kickstarter. The collection contains demos and alternate recordings for all but one song on the album ("Back Here With Me Again") plus the bonus track "You Will Know". Demos of two otherwise unreleased songs, "Edge City" and "(I Just Want) To Be Free", were also included.
All tracks are written by Jen de la Osa and Henry Beguiristain
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Complicity" (demo) | 2:32 |
| 2. | "After the Plague" (studio demo) | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Don't Let it Get You Down" (rehearsal) | 3:32 |
| 4. | "The Ballad of Emily Jane" (demo) | 2:11 |
| 5. | "A Little Bit Low" (rehearsal) | 3:42 |
| 6. | "You Will Know" (demo) | 4:57 |
| 7. | "It's Got To Be Now" (rehearsal) | 3:06 |
| 8. | "Such a Long Time" (demo) | 2:47 |
| 9. | "Jeanne, It's Just a Ride!" (rehearsal) | 2:35 |
| 10. | "The Wicked Kind" (rehearsal) | 3:40 |
| 11. | "Edge City" (demo) | 4:16 |
| 12. | "(I Just Want) To Be Free" (demo) | 4:18 |
Personnel
Aloud
- Henry Beguiristain: lead vocals, guitars
- Jen de la Osa: lead vocals, guitars
- Frank Hegyi: drums, percussion
- Charles Murphy: bass, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Maxwell Butler: organ, piano
- Ryan Cornell: mixing
- Tony Eichler: mastering
- Benny Grotto: producer, recording engineer
- Thayer Harris: additional engineering on "Such a Long Time"
- Charles Newman: producer, mixing
- Mike Tucker: drums, percussion on "Such a Long Time"
- Andy G. Wong: live percussion
References
- ^ Aloud presents their 4th record: It's Got To Be Now, Kickstarter, 2013-07-31
- ^ New music: Exclusive Premiere of “A Little Bit Low” in Elmore Magazine, allthingsaloud.com, 2013-12-20
- ^ Starting the Next Journey: A Certain King of Madness, allthingsaloud.com, 2013-07-31
- ^ Aloud, Vents Magazine, 2014-01-01
- ^ "A Little Bit Low" live at The Monkey Palace, Kickstarter, 2013-08-23
- ^ ELMORE EXCLUSIVE: Hear A New Song From Aloud, Elmore Magazine, 2013-12-20
- ^ Song Premiere: Aloud — "It's Got To Be Now", GroundSounds, 2014-02-26
- ^ Vanyaland Premiere: Watch Aloud take center stage in their new music video, Vanyaland, 2014-07-22
