| Oh, Common Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 25, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | Summer and October 2013, Salad Days, Baltimore | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock,[1]indie rock,[2]pop punk,[2][3]rock and roll[4] | |||
| Length | 35:28 | |||
| Label | Triple Crown | |||
| Producer | Brian McTernan | |||
| Fireworks chronology | ||||
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Oh, Common Life (stylized as(oh), common life.) is the thirdstudio album by Americanrock bandFireworks. After the release of their previous album,Gospel (2011), the band went on hiatus. During this hiatus the band wrote and demoed new material. In the summer of 2013 the band returned to the studio, withBrian McTernan producing. The band's next album was announced in January 2014 and was released a couple of months later throughTriple Crown. Prior to the album's release, "Glowing Crosses" and "Flies on Tape" were made available for streaming. Music videos were released for "Glowing Crosses", "Bed Sores", and "...Run, Brother, Run...", in March, August and October, respectively.
Following the release of their second album,Gospel (2011), Fireworks went on a temporary hiatus.[5] According to guitarist Chris Mojan, "Everything was getting to be a little much. [...] There was a lot of pressure in our lives, in our relationships with people at home."[5] While on the hiatus, the band were writing new material[5] as early as January 2012.[6] The group was unsure if their next release would be an EP or an album.[7] In June, it was announced that the band were recording demos.[8] The band went on the 2012 edition ofWarped Tour.[9] In August, it was revealed the band were writing specifically for a new album.[10] Mojan revealed the band had taken "a very selfish approach" to the new material.[5] The group "just wrote the record we wanted to write" and as a result, "ended up being our most personal" collection of songs.[5] The album was dedicated to Mackinder's father, David Mackinder Sr.[11] "...Run, Brother, Run..." is about Mackinder looking back on his father's death,[12] which happened in April 2011.[13] Mackinder revealed that "Reflecting on death and the past can be equally as haunting as it is inspiring. I think from tragic situations comes unexplainable wisdom sometimes."[12]
In the summer[5] and October 2013 the band recordedOh, Common Life at Salad Days, located in Baltimore.[14] The album was produced byBrian McTernan,[14] who had producedGospel.[15] McTernan also engineered and mixed the album.[14] Mastering was done by Ryan Smith atSterling Sound.[14] It was later revealed that the band tried to getBill Clinton to play saxophone on the album.[16]
On December 13, 2013 Fireworks posted a teaser video with the title "Oh, Common Life", the video featured a clip of a new song.[17] This new song was later revealed to be "Oh, Common Life".[18] On January 29, 2014 Fireworks announced their third album,Oh, Common Life for release and revealed the artwork.[19] The artwork was created by Michael Egave Burdick who provided illustrations, while John Regan did the design and the layout.[14] "Glowing Crosses" was made available for streaming on February 13.[20] On February 20, the album's track list was revealed.[21] On March 4, "Flies on Tape" was made available for streaming.[22] Starting from March 5 until mid April,[22] the band supported The Wonder Years on their Greatest Generation World Tour, after Defeater dropped off the tour.[23] On March 18, the album was made available for streaming via the Red Bull website.[5]Oh, Common Life was released on March 25 throughTriple Crown.[19][nb 1] On the same day, a music video was released for "Glowing Crosses".[25] On April 3, the band made the song "Oh, Common Life" available for streaming.[18] On June 6,[26] the band released an acoustic EP calledOh, Common Life – Sessions.[27]
The band went on a headlining tour in July with support from Young Statues and Better Off.[27] On August 5, a music video was released for "Bed Sores",[28] the video was directed by Max Moores.[29] The band wanted the video to be a representation of the whole album.[29] The band supportedNew Found Glory on the Glamour Kills tour in October and November.[30] On October 22, a music video was released for "...Run, Brother, Run...".[12] The video is a companion to the song's concept – "like playing in a legion hall where our collective bands' first shows took place to a snapshot of home videos showing a personal side to the band", according to Mackinder.[12] The video filmed in the band's hometown, Detroit, and was directed by John Komar and Mitchell Wojcik.[12] In February and March 2015, the band performed atSoundwave festival in Australia.[31] In May the band went on a tour of the UK.[32] In June and July, the band toured across the U.S. with support fromTurnover andSorority Noise.[33] The band went on another U.S. tour in August, with support fromWeatherbox and Dry Jacket,[33] before going on indefinite hiatus.[34]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100[35] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | 8.5/10[1] |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| Alternative Press | [36] |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10[2] |
| Rock Sound | 8/10[3] |
The album charted at number 148 on theBillboard200 chart.[37] "Flies on Tape" was included onAlternative Press's "11 New Songs You Need To Hear Before March 2014 Ends" list.[38]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: songwriters. You can help byadding to it.(August 2019) |
Personnel per booklet.[14]
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| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard200[37] | 148 |
| U.S.BillboardHeatseekers Albums[39] | 1 |
| U.S.BillboardIndependent Albums[40] | 33 |
| U.S.BillboardTop Rock Albums[41] | 40 |
| U.S.BillboardVinyl Albums[18] | 5 |
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