''Strange Desire'' is the debut studio album released by 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 ...

act

Bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

, led by guitarist

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...

. The album was released on July 11, 2014, through

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

, and produced the singles " I Wanna Get Better", "Shadow" and "Rollercoaster".

Release

" I Wanna Get Better" was released digitally as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from ''Strange Desire'' on February 18, 2014. It has peaked at number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart and number ten on the

Hot Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

chart, becoming Bleachers' most successful single to date. The song's music video – directed by actress and filmmaker

Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...

, Antonoff's then girlfriend – premiered on March 27, and depicts Antonoff as a troubled therapist. "Shadow" was made available for streaming on April 29, before being released as the album's second single on May 6. On May 15, ''Strange Desire'' was announced for release in July. Antonoff said the name was "the 2 words that perfectly title what this Bleachers album is as a documentation of my life as I can remember it at this point". "Rollercoaster" was released as the third single on June 10 and was also made available upon pre-ordering ''Strange Desire'' on the iTunes Store. "Like a River Runs" was made available for streaming on June 27. ''Strange Desire'' was released on July 15 through

, and was made available for streaming the following day. Following the release, the group performed at a number of festivals:

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

Osheaga The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival () is a multi-day music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages with various audience capacities. Translated ...

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

, Outside Lands Music, Boston Calling Music and ACL Music. "Rollercoaster" was released to radio on September 9. In late November, the group released ''Strange Desire (The Demos)'' for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

Black Friday, consisting of six album demos. In March and April 2015, the group embarked on a headlining US tour, dubbed Bleachers Come Alive!, with support from

Joywave Joywave is an American band from Rochester, New York, formed in 2010. Their lineup consists of Daniel Armbruster (vocals), Joseph Morinelli (guitar), and Paul Brenner (drums). The band first became known for its collaboration with electronic mus ...

and

Night Terrors of 1927 Night Terrors of 1927 was an American pop duo from Los Angeles, California, signed to Atlantic Records. The duo composed of Jarrod Gorbel (ex-front man for Brooklyn outfit The Honorary Title) and former Rilo Kiley guitarist Blake Sennett. In 2 ...

. Following this, the band appeared at

Rock in Rio Rock in Rio is a biennial Brazilian multi-day music festival held at City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Ten incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeir ...

festival in May. In June and July, the group went on a mixture of US, European and Canadian shows. In July and August, the group went on a co-headlining US tour with

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

, titled Charli and Jack Do America Tour. On August 12, a music video was released for "Like a River Runs". The group was scheduled to go on a second leg of their tour with Charli XCX in September and October. However, on August 22 it was announced that the leg had been cancelled amid creative and personal differences.

Track listing

''Strange Desire (Japanese Edition)'' Notes * signifies an additional producer.

Personnel

– programming, drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, piano, vocals, string arrangement ("I'm Ready to Move On/Wild Heart Reprise") * Cyrus Grace Dunham – spoken word ("Wild Heart," "I'm Ready to Move On/Wild Heart Reprise," "Who I Want You to Love") * John Hill – programming, drums, guitars, keyboards *

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

– programming, keyboards *

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...

– synths, electric guitars, drums *

Sara Quin Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...

– background vocals *Jon Shiffman – drums *

Emile Haynie Emile Haynie (born July 13, 1980), often credited simply as Emile, is an American record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, his range of production includes alternative rock, hip hop, indie and pop music. Haynie has worked with seve ...

– programming *

Rachel Antonoff Rachel Antonoff is an American fashion designer based in New York City. She is known for presenting her designs in creative ways, including in the form of a murder mystery, as a "sock hop," and in a dollhouse. In 2015, director and actress Lena D ...

– background vocals *

Andrew Dost Andrew Paul Dost (born April 10, 1983) is an American musician and singer; he is a member of the indie bossa nova/jazz band Metal Bubble Trio, in which he is the lead singer. He was formerly a member of the indie rock band Anathallo from 2003 t ...

– background vocals *

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actor. She began her career as a child actor, starring in the films '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994), '' One Fine Day'' (1996), ''Independence Day'' (1996), and '' Hope Floats'' (1998), ...

– background vocals *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

– vocals * Kurt Uenala – programming *

– background vocals *

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

– spoken word ("I'm Ready to Move On/Wild Heart Reprise") *Little Ricky Antonoff – guitar *Phillip Peterson – cello, string arrangement ("Who I Want You to Love") *Victoria Parker – violin

Charts

''Strange Desire'' debuted at No. 11 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 21,000 copies in its first week of release.

Release history

''Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2''

''Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2'' is the first compilation album by American indie pop act

, released on September 25, 2015, as a companion to ''Strange Desire''. The album features every song from Bleachers' debut album covered by female artists, most of which signed with

. Its title references ''Terrible Thrills, Vol. 1'', a compilation album released in 2010 by Antonoff's previous band

Steel Train Steel Train was an indie rock band from New Jersey. They performed at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Coachella, ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', and ''Late Show with David Letterman'', and toured with several acts, including Tegan and Sara, Fun, Ben ...

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut albums Bleachers (band) albums Albums produced by John Hill (record producer) RCA Records albums Albums produced by Vince Clarke Albums produced by Jack Antonoff Albums produced by Greg Kurstin