''Solarize'' is the second studio album of American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

duo

Capital Cities A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...

, released on August 10, 2018, under

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. It was preceded by the 2017 EP ''Swimming Pool Summer'', of which five of the tracks were integrated on this release. The album includes a collaboration with

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

, who had previously expressed an interest in signing the duo before the release of their debut album '' In a Tidal Wave of Mystery'' in 2013.

Critical reception

Neil Z. Yeung of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that the "sun-washed set of futuristic synth-disco positively shimmers, providing an ideal soundtrack to smooth romancing and sweaty body-moving", finding it to be "less indie-precious" than their debut album and that it "smooths the digital edge of their early sound in favor of warm tones, hypnotic beats, and a focus on a full album experience as opposed to a collection of singles".

Track listing

All songs written and produced by Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian, except where noted.

Personnel

Featured artists

* Sebu Simonian – vocals (tracks 1–14), programming (tracks 1–12, 14) * Ryan Merchant – vocals (tracks 1–14), programming (tracks 1–10, 12, 14), guitar (tracks 3, 11), bass (tracks 3, 11) * Jim Svejda – voiceover (track 9)

Additional musicians

* Aaron Prather – drums (tracks 2, 7) * Nick Merwin – guitar (tracks 2, 7, 13) * Will Artope – trumpet (tracks 2, 6–8, 13) * Artyom Manukyan – cello (track 2) * Manny Quintero – bass (tracks 2, 7–8, 12–13) * Sacha – rap vocalist (track 3) * Jacob Scesney – saxophone (tracks 4, 10) * Adam Friedman – bass (track 5), guitar (track 5) * Justin Thomas – vibraphone (track 7) * Anna Margo – vocals (track 8) * Krikor Sarafian – guitar (track 8) * Channing Holmes – drums (track 12)

Production

* Sebu Simonian – production * Ryan Merchant – production * Adam Friedman – co-production (track 3), additional production (track 5) *

The Ceasars The Ceasars is a group of three Italian music producers: Paolo "Ceasar" Catoni, Marco "PStarr" Pistella and Francesco Rigon. History The trio was originally known (until 2012) as Ceasars Productions and their production is divided between Ita ...

– co-production (track 6) *

Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), better known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won two Grammy Awards from 19 nomi ...

– co-production (track 7) *

Sermstyle Jamie Michael Robert Sanderson (born 24 November 1987 in South Shields, England), known professionally as Sermstyle, is a British singer, songwriter, record producer, and remixer who lives and works from Los Angeles. Recognition Sermstyle was ...

– additional production (track 13) *

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixer (track 13) * John Hanes – assistant mixer (track 13) * Andrew Mendelson – mastering (tracks 1–12, 14) * Mike Marsh – mastering (track 13) * João Lauro Fonte – artwork

References

2018 albums Capital Cities (band) albums Capitol Records albums {{2010s-pop-album-stub