The Thrills Extended break and Teenager Why did The Thrills go on an extended break? in an effort to evolve their sound. How long did they stay on break? I don't know. Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? Teenager was released in Ireland
What was special about the album Teenager?
What was special about the album Teenager?
The band took an extended break after their second album, in an effort to evolve their sound. New material was written, and recording sessions took place in New York during 2006. Failing to meet the band's standards, many of these new songs were ultimately discarded, and remain unreleased. "We were definitely striving for a new standard," Deasy said in 2007. "We were willing to scrap months of work on songs, which is one of the reasons it took so long. We recorded maybe 30 songs." During an interview with indie music magazine Under The Radar in October 2007, Deasy stated: "We wrote about 30 songs for this album, and a lot of the songs we discarded. They weren't poor songs. They were perfectly good songs, but they were songs that could have fit on the first or the second album a little too easily." More new material was written, including "Midnight Choir" which became the opening track for Teenager and was also released as a single. At the suggestion of R.E.M., the five relocated to a renovated morgue (owned by Canadian musician Bryan Adams) in inner-city Vancouver to record their third album with Tony Hoffer, who had previously produced their debut album. Teenager was released in Ireland on 22 July 2007 and Central Europe on 25 July 2007. It failed to light up the British and Irish charts, but received mixed reviews, getting a Metacritic score of 71%, positive reviews from the BBC, 7/10 from the NME, a 6.9/10 from Pitchfork and a 2/5 review from The Guardian. A special CD/DVD edition of Teenager - which contained a film-length documentary about the band entitled The Thrills: The End of Innocence - was given limited release in the UK only. CANNOTANSWER
It failed to light up the British and Irish charts, but received mixed reviews, getting a Metacritic score of 71%, positive reviews from the BBC, 7/10 from the NME,
The Thrills are an Irish pop band, formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their break came with their debut album, So Much for the City, which became an Irish number one and charted at number 3 on the UK. The band's sound has been described as "inspired by classic American pop of the late '60s and early '70s" by Rovi and "an ocean-soaked, harmony-heavy homage to California's dreamy dreams, shaking ground, and unrelenting sunshine" by Pitchfork Media.

Early history and So Much for the City

The Thrills were formed in the Dublin suburb of Blackrock in the mid-1990s, when neighbours Conor Deasy and Daniel Ryan formed the Cheating Housewives with friends Kevin Horan, Padraic McMahon and Ben Carrigan. Several of the members attended primary school together at Hollypark Boys School in Foxrock. In 1999, the band spent four months living in San Diego, during which time they wrote several of the tracks that would eventually appear on their debut album So Much for the City (such as "One Horse Town"). Upon returning to Dublin, they began writing and demoing more material, hoping to secure a record deal – which they soon did with local label Supremo Records, home of fellow Irish band Chicks. The relationship with Supremo produced no releases and was short-lived; when they were dropped by the label several months later, the band members pointedly chose not to inform their parents.

During a trip to San Francisco in 2001, the band decided to change their name to The Thrills. Later that year they recorded six songs over the span of two demos. The second demo made a favourable impression on Johnny Davis of Bright Star Recordings and BMG Publishing. Through Davis, indie label Rough Trade Records became aware of the band and was impressed, offering the Thrills the money to record another demo. The Rough Trade demo was recorded, but by then label interest in the band had grown rapidly, with up to thirty A&R men and record personnel attending the band's next musical showcase gig. In September 2002, The Thrills signed with Virgin Records, attracted by the promise of artistic freedom and the label's decision to allow them to record their debut record in Hollywood with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air).

After releasing their debut EP in November 2002, the band flew to Los Angeles in December 2002 to record their debut album So Much for the City. So Much for the City was released in 2003, debuting at No. 1 in Ireland, No. 3 in the UK and going platinum in both the UK and Irish Album Charts. The album was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Prize but lost to Dizzee Rascal's 'Boy in da Corner'. The album also won the 2003 Q Award for Best New Act, and Best New Act at the 2003 Irish Meteor Awards.

In 2004 The Thrills won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.

Let's Bottle Bohemia
The Thrills' second album Let's Bottle Bohemia was released in September 2004. It was recorded in L.A. (where their first album had also been recorded) – this time with Dave Sardy as producer, featuring orchestration by Van Dyke Parks and a guest mandolin performance by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. The album enjoyed similar success to the band's debut, entering the charts at number one in Ireland and number nine in the U.K. – largely on the back of the single "Whatever Happened To Corey Haim?".

That same year, the band took part in the Band Aid 20 charity assemble, and performed the song "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" at the Live 8 Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push charity concert, which is also featured on the DVD release of the event. The band also performed a medley with Ronnie Wood of their single "The Irish Keep Gatecrashing" and the Rod Stewart song "Maggie May" at the Irish Meteor Awards 2005.

The band performed a medley of songs from the album on the U.S. television series The OC in the episode entitled "The Ex-Factor".

Extended break and Teenager

The band took an extended break after their second album, in an effort to evolve their sound. New material was written, and recording sessions took place in New York during 2006. Failing to meet the band's standards, many of these new songs were ultimately discarded, and remain unreleased.

"We were definitely striving for a new standard," Deasy said in 2007. "We were willing to scrap months of work on songs, which is one of the reasons it took so long. We recorded maybe 30 songs." During an interview with indie music magazine Under The Radar in October 2007, Deasy stated: "We wrote about 30 songs for this album, and a lot of the songs we discarded. They weren’t poor songs. They were perfectly good songs, but they were songs that could have fit on the first or the second album a little too easily."

More new material was written, including "Midnight Choir" which became the opening track for Teenager and was also released as a single. At the suggestion of R.E.M., the five relocated to a renovated morgue (owned by Canadian musician Bryan Adams) in inner-city Vancouver to record their third album with Tony Hoffer, who had previously produced their debut album.

Teenager was released in Ireland on 22 July 2007 and Central Europe on 25 July 2007. It failed to light up the British and Irish charts, but received mixed reviews, getting a Metacritic score of 71%, positive reviews from the BBC, 7/10 from the NME, a 6.9/10 from Pitchfork and a 2/5 review from The Guardian. A special CD/DVD edition of Teenager – which contained a film-length documentary about the band entitled The Thrills: The End of Innocence – was given limited release in the UK only.

Post-Teenager

The band was dropped by EMI in 2008 after the poor performance of their Teenager album, which only charted at No. 48 in the UK.

In an August 2010 interview with the Irish Times, Ben Carrigan confirmed that the Thrills remain on indefinite hiatus. At the time, Carrigan was working on his debut solo record entitled The Greatest Narrators, which was released on 23 September 2011. The first single from this album ("You Knew It All Along") was released on 19 August 2011.

While promoting his album in September 2011, Carrigan said of the Thrills: "We’re just on a hiatus. We haven’t done anything since 2008, when we toured Australia. We never split up, but we're all working on other projects. In time, I'm sure we'll get back together. It just got a bit crazy for a while because we were away from home, so we needed to take a break." During an interview with Hot Press in late October 2011 Carrigan stated: "It's like a past life now, the whole Thrills thing, to be honest. Which is kind of nice because it’s good to always feel like you’re moving forward as opposed to looking back and wondering what might have been."

On 22 August 2011, Virgin Records (the Thrills' former label) released a 'best of' compilation entitled 2002–2007. The compilation contained no previously unreleased or bonus material; all the tracks had been previously released in the Thrills' first three studio albums. To date, 2002–2007 has not been released in stores; the disc is only available through Amazon's UK site. A digital-only edition is available on Amazon's US site.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Other contributions
 WFUV: City Folk Live VII (2004) – "Santa Cruz"
 Music from the OC: Mix 2 (2004, Warner Bros./Wea) – "Big Sur"
 Eklektikos Live (2005) – "Say it Ain't So"
 The Acoustic Album (2006, Virgin) – "Santa Cruz"

References

External links
 

Irish indie rock groups
Music in Dublin (city)
Musical groups established in 2001
Virgin Records artists
People from Blackrock, Dublin
TEENAGER is the second EP by South Korean rock singer, Jung Joon-young, released by CJ E&M on June 26, 2014, as the follow-up to his 1st mini album, which was released in October, 2013.

It contains 6 tracks such as the title track “Teenager.” and other tracks “내가나에게To Me,” “친구Friends,” “이빨Lip Service,” “Hold On,” and “돛단배Sailboat.” All songs in this album were composed and produced by Jung Joon Young himself. He also participated in the design and production of the album's concept, cover picture, and all other minor details regarding the album.

Since Teenager is filled with alternative rock genre which is not a mainstream in Korean music industry, it hasn't been a big hit compare to his 1st mini album which topped on numerous online charts. However it did relatively well on the physical sales; it ranked third on Gaon weekly album chart in its first week of release as well as tenth on the monthly chart in its first month. It has sold over 10,000 copies within its three weeks of release.

As he stated about this album: "I know some aren't into rock, but I'm glad to be doing what I want to do. I know rock is not a popular genre, but it can be, if my music is widely heard." Regardless of the record charts, he is satisfied with his album just like his fans and supporters who really want him to do the music that he wants to do.

Background and release
On June 19, 2014, CJ E&M announced that Jung Joon Young will be releasing his second mini album Teenager on June 26 of the year.

It had already been eight months since the release of his 1st mini album, he finally has returned as a rocker after spending most of the time on TV, appearing in a number of TV reality programs. Though Some fans were even worried that his image would become stuck as a TV figure and not a musician due to his frequent television appearances on entertainment shows rather than musical activities and the delay of his next album, he didn't hasten to release the second album and just focused on making it perfect, as he referred that “It took me about eight months to prepare this album, which I felt was a very short period of time; but since the preparation process was really fun, I did not feel pressured to rush the new release."

While he was preparing for his 2nd mini album, “TEENAGER”, he tried to let his fans participate in making his album 
and share the concept of album. He asked his fans to join in filming his music video as extras and opened up comeback site to share photos of their teenage years on Instagram with the hashtag #IAMATEENAGER for a spot on the site.

Starting on June 19, he unveiled all four teaser images that carry youthful spirit with the mischievous expression and contain special messages for the upcoming album, one a day, to complete a puzzle that consists of four pieces of images at last.

On June 22, Jung Joon Young revealed the track list for “Teenager” through the street mural in Hongdae, a neighborhood known for its lively music and artistic scene.

After dropping of the MV teaser on June 23, he released the MV for his lead single 'Teenager' ahead of the release of his 2nd mini album, on June 25.
The music video represents the concept of the album, ‘a dreaming adult’, properly by portraying Jung Joon-young as an office worker who has the free spirit of a teenager. Unable to withstand the suffocating atmosphere of the office, he escapes to rock out in front of his adoring fans with the song "TEENAGER".

On June 26, 2014, his 2nd mini album, titled “TEENAGER” was released.

Promotion
On June 26, the day of releasing his 2nd mini album “TEENAGER”, a showcase for Jung was held in a unique seminar format on at Seoul's IFC Mall. He was dressed in a suit, just like he would be at a business seminar. He introduced his album and works under the title "Jung Joon Young's Self Presentation". During the showcase, Jung performed three of the album's singles: “Hold On,” “내가 나에게To Me” and the album's lead single “Teenager” with full of burning rock spirit.

Starting from KBS's “Music Bank” on June 27, he has been promoting the title track "TEENAGER", on several music shows such as Mnet's M! Countdown, SBS MTV's The Stage of Big Pleasure, MBC's Music Core and Show! Champion.

He has been meeting his fans through some signing events and especially through more frequent live concerts including “Someday in July”, “Collaboration Concert with Eddie Kim” and “Let’s Rock Festival”.

He has also been performing his album live abroad. After holding his first oversea showcase with 800 fans successfully on July 13, 2014 in Taiwan as well as making a successful American concert debut at K-CON 2014 with charismatic performances on August 10 of that year, he is planning to tour Asia including in major Chinese cities and Japan to promote his album.

Music and Lyrics

Music and style
“Teenager” includes a total of six alternative rock songs all composed and produced by Jung Joon Young himself. He got a chance to further develop his musical ability as well as broaden the musical range by creating all tracks in this album. Junggigo and Park Asher have also participated in the album by writing the lyrics to the songs. Pia members Kim Ki Bum and Yang Hye Sung who are Korea's best instrumentalists have also joined Jung Joon Young as the main session band for his album, giving off a strong rock sound.

CJ E&M staff stated: "The second mini album is Jung Joon Young's everything - his past, present, and future. This album is truly by him and made for him. No detail has gone past Jung Joon Young." CJ E&M also revealed that the album is in the alternative rock genre which is Jung Joon Young's favorite since childhood, with the six tracks each showing a different range in the spectrum of the genre. Instead of going with music to satisfy the general public, he explored his music interests through his album. He explained that his 2nd mini album “Teenager” is “more rock” and “less mainstream” compared to his 1st mini album.“This album is harder rock than my first album,” “I really didn’t care much about mass appeal in this album. I think the mass appeal doesn’t really match my musical style. So I enjoyed this album even more and I even liked it better when it was released. Although there would be those people who wouldn’t like some of the tracks, I hope there would be those who would have better thoughts about rock music when they hear my songs,” through the showcase.
	
Every individual single composed by himself is naturally connected and organically united as a cohesive whole with lyrical melodies and sensibility of alternative rock in this album.

Lyrical themes
The concept of Jung Joon Young's new album is "dreaming adult" which seems to be a perfect fit for him. He is storytelling his own story and experiences throughout this album sincerely. He mentioned that “The songs embody the idea of an adult who continues to dream on; as children, we would dream about growing up and what things will be like when we are adults,” “I think even as adults, we have dreams that are always changing so I wanted to express the notion that we are always dreaming children at heart.” during the interview with Koreaherald. In addition, each song brings each unique message like dreams, love, friendship, and loneliness. As an album producer, he made a decision about the concept of the album and chose the songwriters to ask them to write the lyrics that are well suited to the songs.

Singles
내가 나에게(To Me) is an alternative rock song which is added the mood of trendy style of music along with brass instruments, sound effects, and rap. It has the message that It's better to pursue the dream instead of following the money through the lyrics such as “ Why change your own color / why chase your green dollar.” It has attempted rap rock approach with a fast, rhythmic beat and he has used a megaphone to emphasize the chorus line during his live performance on the stages.

The lead single TEENAGER beautifully combines alternative rock music and string arrangements. Conceptually based on the fictional Lost Boys adage of never wanting to grow up, this song is all about trying to recapture one's youth through rock and roll. He stated that he had the most fun with the work evocative of his own teenage years while he was creating this song and he made efforts on completing it perfectly.

이빨(Lip Service) embodies the originality of alternative rock and highlights each musical instrument's color. It expresses the displeasure about flattery and hypocrisy and tells a message that people those who lie finally can get hurt back by their own words.

친구(Friends)is the hardest rock song among six tracks in this album. It is focused on the sounds of musical instruments including electric guitar and especially concentrated on the arrangement and composition to make a clean finish. Lyrically, it describes longing for his friends in other countries far apart from him. It took him only thirty minutes to compose this single after he had met his friends again in the Philippines.

Hold On is characterized by natural sounds of musical instruments. It represents his wish that somebody holds on to him and comforts him when he feels lonely. He confesses that when he is contented and on the spotlight, on the other hand he feels depressed and alone.

돛단배Sailboat is focused on the sound of piano and string arrangement whereas other tracks are concerned with guitar solo. He mentioned that Sailboat is his favorite song among all tracks in this album just like 아는번호(Missed Call) in his 1st Mini Album. So this song delivers quite similar mood like in 아는번호(Missed Call), which is his favorite taste. This song was inspired by the scene of the river during his trip in Paris and it describes the tears as the river that flows continually to the sea for the expression of deep sorrow.

Track listing

Music videos

Charts

Single chart
Teenager

Album chart : TEENAGER

Album Sales

Music Show

Release history

References

2014 albums
Korean-language albums
Stone Music Entertainment EPs Teenager is the third album from Irish band The Thrills. It was released on July 22, 2007 in Ireland and three days later in Europe. The first single from the album was "Nothing Changes Around Here". The second release taken from the album was "The Midnight Choir" which was released as a download-only single. Teenager reached No. 48 on the UK Albums Chart.

The album was demoed and written in Ireland, with the band recording and mixing the album in Vancouver and California.

The Thrills were dropped by EMI after the poor sales performance of Teenager.<ref name=Lauria>Lauria, Peter and Garrity, Brian (15 January 2008). Hands' Pink Slips, The New York Post, Retrieved on 2 July 2008.</ref>

The cover photograph, Wild Horses, 1979, is by Joseph Szabo.

Track listing
 "The Midnight Choir" – 3:41
 "This Year" – 2:55
 "Nothing Changes Around Here" – 4:12
 "Restaurant" – 3:27
 "I Came All This Way" – 3:40
 "Long Forgotten Song" – 3:16
 "I'm So Sorry" – 2:52
 "No More Empty Words" – 3:23
 "Teenager" – 3:25
 "Should've Known Better" – 3:30
 "There's Joy to Be Found … The Boy Who Caught All the Breaks" – 6:34
Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
  "The End of Innocence" – 3:24 
 "Suzanne" – 3:07
 "One Horse Town" – 3:14

Personnel

Musicians
Conor Deasy (Vocals, Harmonica, Acoustic Guitar)
Daniel Ryan (Guitars, Bass, Mandolin, Banjo, Backing Vocals)
Pádraic McMahon (Bass, Guitars, Backing Vocals)
Kevin Horan (Piano, Organs, Backing Vocals)
Ben Carrigan (Drums and Percussion)

Mixing and production
Tony Hoffer (who produced So Much for the City'') produced and mixed the entire album except for Track 3, which was mixed by Bob Clearmountain.

Release history

References

The Thrills albums
2007 albums
Albums produced by Tony Hoffer
Virgin Records albums