''Factory Reset'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician

Tilian Pearson Tilian Pearson (born July 12, 1987), also known mononymously as Tilian, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer born in Clearwater, Florida. From 2012 to 2024, he was the clean vocalist for American post-hardcore band Da ...

, released on April 23, 2021, through Future Friends and

Rise Records Rise Records is an American record label currently based in Beaverton, Oregon, mainly focusing on alternative rock, heavy metal, and punk rock music artists. History Rise was founded in 1991 by Craig Ericson in Nevada City, California. He relea ...

. The album serves as a follow-up to his third studio album, '' The Skeptic'' (2018). Similar to ''The Skeptic'', the album was produced by

Kris Crummett Kris Crummett is an American record producer and owner of Interlace Audio in Portland, Oregon. Crummett started recording in 2002. He has worked with many notable indie music record labels, including Rise Records, Epitaph Records, Fearless Records ...

, who also performed drums, while Tilian performed guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, and handled additional production. It was writhen and recorded at the musician's home recording studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, while engineering was handled at Crummett's Interlace Audio Studio in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The album shares the same

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

and electro-pop musical styles from its predecessor while including elements of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

, trap, and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

. The album's lead single "Dose" was released on December 11, 2020. "Anthem" was released as the second single on February 26, 2021. The third and fourth singles, "Is Anarchy A Good Hobby?" and "Caught In the Carousel", were each released in March and April, respectively. A remix of "Breathe" by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n producer and DJ Mars Monero was released on February 11, 2022. A headlining US tour was scheduled to take place in February and March 2022, however never transpired due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuing other musical endeavors.

Background

In August 2018,

Tilian Tilian Pearson (born July 12, 1987), also known mononymously as Tilian, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer born in Clearwater, Florida, Clearwater, Florida. From 2012 to 2024, he was the clean vocalist for American p ...

announced his third studio album, '' The Skeptic'', which was released the following month on

, his first release on the label after parting ways with independent record label Vital Recordings. The album debuted at No. 21 on the

Digital Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

, No. 13 on the Current Rock Albums chart, No. 9 on the

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

chart, No. 6 on the Current

Alternative Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart and charted atop the Alternative New Artist Albums chart. In support of the album, he toured on a headlining US tour from August 23 to September 23, 2018 with support from

Royal Coda Royal Coda is an American rock music, rock band based in Sacramento, California, founded by lead guitarist Sergio Medina. They are known for their amalgamation of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and post-hardcore. The band currently consists ...

, Andrés, and Sunsleep. The following year, he embarked on The Skeptic Tour from July 26 to August 22, 2019, in North America, with support from Landon Tewers of

The Plot In You The Plot in You is an American metalcore band formed in Hancock County, Ohio in 2010. Originally a side project of former Before Their Eyes member Landon Tewers, the group is composed of Tewers, guitarist Josh Childress, bassist Ethan Yoder an ...

, Brent Walsh of

I the Mighty I the Mighty is an American rock band based out of San Francisco, California, formed in 2007. As of 2019, the band has released two singles, four EPs, and four studio albums. Their debut wide-release album, ''Satori'', peaked at #10 on the ''Bi ...

, and RVLS. On August 9, 2019, he released the electro-pop song "Half". Tilian also featured on American rock project Bilmuri's cover of Halsey's "

Graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

Recording

In an interview with ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

'',

expressed how the

affected the writing process for his fourth solo studio album and inspired him to begin sessions earlier than intended. "I was going to do it later, but I'm just riting the albumnow. I have full capabilities here at home just to make an album. I'm seeing that you can use text, e-mail, and

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen * ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli * ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film * ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...

, or whatever it may be ..I think I could do a full album without leaving." In another interview, Tilian said that songs for the album "started coming together as complete ideas" in July and August while quarantining due to the

. The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by longtime collaborator

, who also performed and recorded drums and percussion. Pearson performed vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, and synthesizers on the album, as well as additional

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

and production.

Polyphia Polyphia is a primarily instrumental progressive rock band based in Plano, Texas, formed in 2010. The group consists of guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage, bassist Clay Gober, and drummer Clay Aeschliman. Initially rooted in a metal-focused ...

guitarist Tim Henson performed guitar parts and served as producer for the album's ninth track "Imagination".

Promotion

On December 11, 2020, the lead single, "Dose", was released. The second single, "Anthem", was released on February 26, 2021, accompanied with its music video, directed by Dillon Novak. "Is Anarchy a Good Hobby?" was released as the third single on March 26, 2021, along with its music video. Another song, "Caught in the Carousel", was released to streaming platforms on April 21. A remix of the interlude track "Breathe" done by

n DJ and record producer Mars Monero was released on February 11, 2022.

Tour

The Factory Reset Tour was announced on August 24, 2021. Originally, the 22-date tour was scheduled to begin on February 25, 2022 and conclude on March 26, 2022 with support from

, Tillie, and Moxy. On January 28, the tour was postponed to November 2022, however never transpired.

Sound and musical influence

''Factory Reset'' has been described as

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, electro-pop,

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, and

psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...

Track listing

Personnel

Production *

– vocals, production, programming, composing, guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizers *

– mixing, mastering, audio engineer, programming, drums, percussion * Tim Feerick – audio engineer (on track 6) * Matt Malpass – production (on track 8) * Tim Henson – production (on track 9) Additional personnel * Louis Baltazar – guitar (on track 6) * Tim Henson – guitar (on track 9) * Natasha Chomko – album artwork * Paige Margulies – photography

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums Tilian Pearson albums Rise Records albums Albums produced by Kris Crummett