Hold On Tight (Hey Monday album)

Hold on Tight is the only full-length studio album by American rock band Hey Monday, released on October 7, 2008.

Hold on Tight
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 7, 2008
RecordedJune 1 – August 3, 2008
Studio
GenreEmo pop,[1] pop punk
Length37:30
LabelColumbia, Decaydance
ProducerS*A*M & Sluggo
Hey Monday chronology
Hold on Tight
(2008)
Beneath It All
(2010)
Singles from Hold On Tight
  1. "Homecoming"
    Released: October 7, 2008
  2. "How You Love Me Now"
    Released: March 31, 2009

Production edit

Hold on Tight was recorded at Fresh Kills in New York City from June 1 to August 3, 2008, with producers S*A*M and Sluggo. Sean Gould served engineer, and recorded guitars with Mike Gentile, while Steve Shebby handled bass recording. Instrumentation on "Candles" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios by Clifford Carter and Peter Cobbin, with assistance from Lewis James. Stephen Harris mixed the album at The Cottage in Killham, UK, before it was mastered by Scott Hull at Scott Hull Mastering in New York City.[2]

Composition edit

All the songs featured on the album were co-written and produced by: S*A*M & Sluggo, who have worked with many other artists in the past, most notably Gym Class Heroes, Katy Perry and The Academy Is....

Hey Monday's lead singer, Cassadee Pope, explained when the band were writing the songs for the record, they wanted to create something that people could really enjoy and dance to, while still putting their hearts into the songs.[3] Pope states "I feel that in the lyrics of the songs I’ve written for this album, I really was able to do this & the songs really show the diversity I feel I possess."[3]

Release edit

Hold on Tight was released on October 7, 2008. In October and November, the band supported the Academy Is... on their headlining tour of the US.[4] In December, the band supported All Time Low on their Christma-Hanu-Kwanza tour in the US.[5] On April 2, 2009, a music video was released for "How You Love Me Now".[6] In April and May, the band supported Fall Out Boy on the Believers Never Die Tour Part Deux in the US.[7] The band appeared at The Bamboozle festival in early May.[8] Between mid-October and early December, the band went on a US tour alongside All Time Low, We the Kings and the Friday Night Boys.[9]

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk75% link
Allmusic      link
Alternative Press      link
Bombshellzine.com           link
LetsSingIt.com(8.4/10) link

Hold on Tight made headway in the Top Heatseekers chart peaking at number 11. By October 2009, the album's sales stood at 64,000.[10] Critical response to the album was overall positive. Andrew Leahey of AllMusic guide gave the album a favorable review, stating, "There's certainly some filler here, particularly toward the album's conclusion, but Hold on Tight is still stacked with enough T.G.I.F. nuggets to make it an endearing, engaging debut."

Cleveland.com ranked "Homecoming" at number 96 on their list of the top 100 pop-punk songs.[11]

Track listing edit

Writing credits per booklet.[2]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Set Off"3:27
2."How You Love Me Now"
3:18
3."Homecoming"
3:58
4."Obvious"
  • Hey Monday
  • Hollander
  • Katz
3:29
5."Candles"
  • Hey Monday
  • Hollander
  • Katz
2:55
6."Run, Don't Walk"
  • Hey Monday
  • Hollander
  • Katz
3:43
7."Josey"Hey Monday3:19
8."Hurricane Streets"
  • Hey Monday
  • Hollander
  • Katz
3:07
9."Arizona"
  • Hey Monday
  • Hollander
  • Katz
3:37
10."Should've Tried Harder"Hey Monday3:07
11."6 Months"Hey Monday3:37
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Run, Don't Walk (live in Tokyo)"
  • Hey Monday
  • Hollander
  • Katz
 
13."Josey (live in Tokyo)"Hey Monday 
14."Candles (acoustic demo version)"
  • Hey Monday
  • Hollander
  • Katz
 

Charts edit

Chart (2008) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers[12] 11
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[13] 71

Personnel edit

Personnel per booklet.[2]

References edit

Citations
  1. ^ "Hey Monday Bio". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b c Hold on Tight (booklet). Hey Monday. Decaydance/Columbia Records. 2009. 88697319592.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b "Hey Monday- Access All Areas Artist Interview". Access All Areas. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  4. ^ "The Academy Is… announce dates with We The Kings, Carolina Liar and Hey Monday". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 18, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  5. ^ Dallas (November 12, 2008). "All Time Low Announces the "Christma-Hanu-Kwanza" Tour". Melodic. Archived from the original on May 29, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  6. ^ "Hey Monday post "How You Love Me Now" video". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. April 2, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Paul, Aubin (January 14, 2009). "Fall Out Boy / All Time Low / Cobra Starship / Metro Station / Hey Monday". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  8. ^ "Bamboozle set single-day lineups". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 8, 2009. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  9. ^ Dallas (July 27, 2009). "All Time Low & We The Kings Announce Fall Tour". Melodic. Archived from the original on May 29, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  10. ^ Bell; Harding 2009, p. 57
  11. ^ Smith, Troy L. (March 2, 2022). "The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  12. ^ "Hold on Tight - Hey Monday :Billboard album information". Billboard. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  13. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums - Week Commencing 2nd March 2009". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
Sources
  • Bell, Crystal; Harding, Cortney (October 10, 2009). "Dance of Days". Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 39. Prometheus Global Media. ISSN 0006-2510.