Tightrope (EP)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Tightrope'' is an EP by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band Walk the Moon. It was released digitally on January 22, 2013, by
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 contains six songs, four of which were previously unreleased. A 2-color
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
version of the EP was later released 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 ...
on April 20, 2013. The EP was named after the opening track of the same name. It was a moderate success, debuting at number 54 on the US ''Billboard'' 200.


Background

The
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
to ''Tightrope'' was the fifth song on Walk the Moon's first major label studio album, '' Walk the Moon'' (2012). It was sent to US
alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
stations on September 11, 2012, by
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 ...
as the EP's
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 ...
. The second song on the EP, "Anywayican", was first released as the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
for the " Anna Sun"
7-inch vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...
single. The artwork for the ''Tightrope'' EP was created by Mike Perry, while its packaging was designed by Meghan Foley. According to Chris DeVille of ''
Columbus Alive ''Columbus Alive'' (also presented as ''ALIVE''), was a free online news site serving Columbus, Ohio. The site focused on local music, art, dining, film and culture. Formerly distributed in print form each week on Thursdays, the final print vers ...
'', the songs for ''Tightrope'' were recorded in a day. Guitarist Eli Maiman told ''NKD Mag'' that there is "a lot of variety to the way" the band would write their music, saying: "Nick writes all the lyrics, but the music is a mixed bag. We don't have a set process yet, which may be a function of being such a young band."


Music

The ''Tightrope'' EP consists of six tracks, which includes an acoustic version and the original cut of its title track, a pair of new original songs, a B-side from the 2012 self-titled album, and a live take of
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads
' "
Burning Down the House "Burning Down the House" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads, released in July 1983 as the first single from their fifth studio album ''Speaking in Tongues''. Inspiration and composition "Burning Down the House" is a new wave, funk ...
". The music on the EP was compared to the likes of
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 ...
bands
Matt and Kim Matt and Kim (sometimes stylized MATT and KIM) are an American Indie rock#Indie electronic, indie electronic duo from Brooklyn, New York City. The group formed in 2004 and consist of Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums). The ...
and
Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...
. Kiki Van Son of ''NKD Mag'' wrote that while Walk the Moon's "new material is composed of the same loud, infectious choruses" present in their previous work, "the music is rooted in older styles of rock". Speaking to ''Billboard'' about the new originals, frontman Nicholas Petricca described "Drunk in the Woods" as a song that goes "a little harder than hat theyusually do" and thought "Tête-à-tête" would follow Walk the Moon's quirky streak a little further. Regarding the particular Talking Heads cover included at the end of the tracklist, Petricca said: "Their stuff is just dripping with personality. And there's a human factor, beautiful imperfections. We've messed around with a few different Talking Heads covers over the years. This is one that stuck."


Release and promotion

Prior to the release of the EP, "Tête-à-tête" was leaked by the band early via
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
on January 18, 2013. Their cover of "Burning Down the House" premiered exclusively on ''Billboard'' magazine's website that same day. The ''Tightrope'' EP was digitally released via RCA Records on January 22, 2013, with a 2-color
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
edition being issued 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 ...
on April 20, 2013. All of the EP's tracks were later included on the expanded edition of Walk the Moon's self-titled album. A video featuring their live performance of "Burning Down the House" was uploaded to Walk the Moon's
Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...
channel on March 25, 2013. ''Tightrope'' is currently unavailable on either digital or vinyl format.


Critical reception

In a positive review, ''
Alternative Addiction ''Alternative Addiction'' was an American daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus was on Alternative rock. It was in operation from 1999 to 2020. History The website was ...
'' gave the ''Tightrope'' EP a three out of five stars, stating that while "it's not as polished" as the debut album, "it's worth the same amount of attention". The staff of the publication said that it is "a light-hearted but fun EP" that is "worth looking into" with "some valuable pieces for people who are familiar with the band already". However, the EP was criticized for being "a means to promote a single" that Walk the Moon fans already have.


Commercial performance

Upon its release, ''Tightrope'' charted for one week at number 54 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 on the week ending February 8, 2013. It became Walk the Moon's second chart entry on the ''Billboard'' 200, after the self-titled album in 2012.


Track listing


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
of ''Tightrope''. ;Locations *Recorded at
Doppler Studios Doppler Studios is a recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, established in 1969 as a one-room studio, and grew to host seven rooms. History Founded by original co-owners Pete Caldwell and Tom Wells to serve as their jingle company ...
and Maze Studios (
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia),
EastWest Studios EastWest Studios (formerly known as Western Studio, a component of United Western Recorders and later Ocean Way Recording) is a recording studio complex located at 6000 West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally constructed by Bill Putnam in ...
(
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
, California) and
Theatre of Living Arts The Theatre of Living Arts (known commonly as the TLA) is a concert venue that is located on South Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The venue, which opened in 1988, dates back to the early 1900s as a nickelodeon. Over the years, the venue ...
,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
*Mixed at The Ballroom Studio (
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, ...
, California) and The Lemonade Stand,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
*Mastered at Marcussen Mastering ;Personnel *Nick Petricca vocals, keyboards, percussion,
songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
*Eli Maiman guitar, vocals, songwriting *Kevin Ray bass, vocals, songwriting *Sean Waugaman percussion, vocals, songwriting *Chris Robinson songwriting *
David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...
songwriting * Martina Weymouth songwriting *
Chris Frantz Charton Christopher Frantz (born May 8, 1951) is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer for both Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, both of which he co-founded with wife and Talking Heads bassist, Tina Weymouth. In 2002, Frant ...
songwriting *
Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the band the Modern Lovers, before becoming keyboardist and guitarist for ...
songwriting * Ben Allen
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
*
Mark Needham Mark Needham is an American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music, including: Blue October, Newsboys, Fleetwood Mac, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Chris Isaak, John Hiatt, Michelle Branch, ...
mixing, production *Will Brierre mixing assistant *
Nick DiDia Nick DiDia is an American record producer, engineer and mixer currently residing in Australia. He has lived and worked in Los Angeles and later Atlanta before moving to Byron Bay, Australia. Since the early 1990s, he has amassed over 40 millio ...
recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...
*Rob Skipworth additional engineering *TJ Elias assistant engineer *Will Thrift assistant engineer *Joe D'Agostino general assistant *Sumner Jones general assistant *Alex Tumay general assistant *Ben O'Neill assistant engineer *Show Cobra production *Kevin Hartman recording * Jon Kaplan mixing *Andy Marcinkowski mixing assistant, editing *
Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and distri ...
mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Release history


References

{{Walk the Moon 2013 EPs RCA Records EPs Walk the Moon albums