Release Date
Sept 8. 2013

Label:
North Hill Records

Genre
Alternative Rock
Indie Rock
Post punk-revival

Recorded
June 2012 - January 2013


Say goodbye to 2012. There's a new year to look forward and a new year to look forward to especially if your a James Urie fan. 2011 through 2012 was in many eyes, the true birth of the star in "James Urie" after releasing his very successful previous album 'Tales From The Struggle'. The album saw Urie expose all his deepest feelings about the depressions he experienced following his flop of an debut album "Climbing", leading up to the time the second record was released. After digging into the deepest and darkest year for Urie, the truthfulness and core of the album was met with a massive critical acclaim and much fame, success and even number one singles for James Urie. As the rest of 2012 raged on, Urie continued with his success going on to win two Fan Choice Awards in 'Sexiest Male' and 'Best Male Artist' and even the positive energy couldn't continue, the James went onto marry his current wife, Gemma Urie in a shocking event after dating Gemma for months on in without any suspecting anything. After much success and happiness Urie took virtually no time off and got back into the studio to work on a new album.

The Recovery is the the third studio album by recording artist James Urie being released in February 2013 under record label North Hill records. The album sees Urie overcoming personal struggles that come with the aftermath of depression - including anger, finding strength, empowerment, insecurities as well as new found love through a range of emotions that Urie offers. In a nutshell, the album will offer not just for a James Urie fan, it's just a story, but it's also a remedy for ones who are facing depression and can overcome, the album is also for others who have faced depressions and other complications that could embrace being a survivor of these complications much like Urie, with this material. The album offers a variety of different tempo's including hard and soft indie rock ballads to strong and empowering alternative rock jams that even scream 80's punk that will give the listener a diverse expedition through alternative, indie and punk music that James proclaims as one of his most truthful records of his career.

The album's era officially began in late 2012 with the release of leading single "Farewell". The empowering track about finally overcoming depression and ultimately saying goodbye to it proved to be an empowering track for his fans as well as the song peaked at #1 on the Top 20 Digital Charts and #3 on the Top 20. The second single taken off the album, "Retaliate" which showed an angrier side to Urie proved to be a massive success topping both the Top 20 Radio Charts and Top 20 Digital Charts consecutively. Following the success of "Retaliate", James released promotional single "Trying My Best Not To Forget" featuring singer-songwriter Sara Daniels that was released just to Radio Airplay and peaked at the #6 position. The third single released off the album was "Bulletproof" that peaked at #8 on the Radio Charts and #2 on the Digital Charts respectively




FAREWELL
RETALIATE
BULLETPROOF


"I feel like this is the perfect time for this album. The past year has been unbelievable. Not only in terms of my success, but in terms of who I am mentally and musically. Just two years ago, leading up to the release of The Struggle there was so many demons I was dealing with, so much depression..so much pain that I was able to get out to my fans, and share my experiences with and I'm glad that they were album connect with the album and appreciate it like they all have. With this album, I feel like now in my life I have stepped on stable grounds. I have been able to enjoy life like I never have before the past is becoming further and further away from me and I've been able to put together this group of work to continue the journey where the last album ended off. The Struggle is no more. I've now been recovering from all the issues that I have faced because so many positive things have been going on in my life..and I've become so tired of being sad that I just had to let it go. I felt like I had to share all of it with my fans to show them that when there's darkness, oh yeah, there's darkness ..but soon there will be light. Soon there will be a time where you can genuinely smile and enjoy, love and embrace who you are and the people around you. This album signifies who I am today, and I want my fans to really connect to how I am feeling. I want everyone who has ever dealt with depression to listen to this album and feel empowered and have faith to not give up and fall victim to all the negative outcomes of depression and to be themselves no matter who you are. The listeners who haven't dealt with any type of trial and tribulation, I've also recorded this album for you to listen to how much I have grown as a person and a musician. Depression never goes away fully, and you'll always have the effects of it certain days and when you listen the album you can still here that I am still dealing with small personal obstacles and I may be angry at a few people but I've gotten off of my chest. The Recovery is not only an album to enjoy but it's also for therapeutic value. I want people to feel what I'm feeling. In the tracks that I am angry and ranting on, I want my fans to feel the anger that I felt. On the songs that I'm feeling empowered and strong on.. I want my fans to feel. And that goes for the entire album. It took a while for this album to be unveiled because I've been working on it for quite some time and chose what I feel is the 10 best, and most truthful songs that I have recorded and I'm so very excited to finally share the continuation of my journey, this time my recovery....with all my fans who have been here with me for the longest time and have helped me even reach my third album let alone have support me through my ordeal. So there here, is James Urie giving back. If your dealing with a tough life or occurrences, never give up. Keep pushing forward because sooner or later, if you keep pushing forward you will experience a Recovery. "
_________________
Personnel


James Urie – vocals, guitar, Springtime guitar, keyboards, production
Stefan Livingston – bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, piano, organ, backing vocals
Michael Forrest – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Michelle Brice – string arrangements
Joseph Gevins – brass arrangements
Alex Williams – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Alexander Fernandez – backing vocals
Justin Warfield – Production
Scott R.H - Production (track 2)
David Bottrill - Production
James Banks – engineering
Alan Malding – mixing
John Evans – mastering
Joseph Llanos – photography
Sara Daniels - vocals (track 2)
Amy Meyer - vocals, song writer (track 8)



STAY TUNED FOR ALBUM INTERVIEW + TRACK BY TRACK

Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie rock, post-punk revival
Recorded: 2012
Song Writers: James Urie
Producers: Alex Moulder, James Urie

Riding off the success of his platinum selling sophomore album "The Struggle" which opened up doors to Urie's darkest moments following his hiatus from music and alleged fight with depression. The album released 4 singles, two of which were #1 singles. Most of all, the album has finally certified James Urie as a force to be reckon with as he continues to climb the ladder of rock music, as well as making Urie quite the hot prospect of this time. Finally getting passed his "baby faced" image with the dark and oppressive manner of his album "Tales From The Struggle" and the singles released from it, Urie seems to have found his niche. He seems to have finally come into one with himself not only mentally but musically as well. James takes us into a more empowering feel for the first track off of "The Recovery.

Farewell was the first single off of James Urie's the album. The song starts off in a powerful way as drums unleash automatically along with cymbals slamming against the track, mixed with electric guitars for a few seconds. The intro beat of the song continues as the the first verse begins. His voice strong and empowering, as his says the opening verse of the song quite quick paced with the repetitive drum, and guitar combo. The repetitive beat as James quickly says I awoke with the light |The lights in my eyes, I wake up| Like any normal day|I walk to a mirror, to stare at my clear reflection| I'm inferior|It's a dream that's growing old| James channels his old days during his depressive state, as he continues getting across the fact that he has had dreams about him having a clear reflection when he looked into the mirror, in this nightmare, showing how much of an empty soul he was. The beat of the song soon then begins to pick up when the hook finds it way to the track.

He yells out screams farewell to the old guy as the beat gets stronger with the drums and electric guitars slamming harder in that repetitive motion behind his voice. James Urie is letting go of the old him, saying good bye to the old times as he yells out out |Farewell to the old guy| Depression won't plague me anymore| Goodbye to those past times| Opportunities came knocking at my door| For those few seconds that he sings those lines the track once again is building up for an even stronger release and the drums and electric guitars unleash for his next lines in this track |You stood around and watched my head drown!| with the electric guitar of this indie rock fused track go into a frenzy along with the drums making a beautiful mixture of instruments mixed with beat. James Urie's voice makes it clear that this is an empowering track

Things slow down and return back to it's repetitive beginning beats with the electric guitar and drums. Urie sings the next few very deep lines with much meaning. Urie sings: Watch me as I soar above the skies|As I ignore the desperate fear that flows through my thighs| They say there's no place like home |I say there's no place when insanity starts ripping through your soul| I thought if I stood by your side| You would guarantee my safety And reassure that I'd be alright| But the nightmare I was running from| The nightmare of being alone | Became a reality, faster then dawns sunlight| James gets very deep for those lines, as he's telling everyone who once saw him down, soar above. He also channels the times that he once thought he was out of his mind, comparing it to not having a place called him, and a time where his worse fears became true, the time where he would be alone. This makes us listeners feel as if James is actually letting go of the old him, and has found a new mindset.

The beat begins to pick up as Urie again he says farewell to the old guy, the old him, and says goodbye to the old times as new opportunities have come to him. Yelling out the very important line of the song |You stood around and watched my head drown|Bringing his voice to a very high and powerful manner. Speaking to all the people who watched him at the lowest of his core.

The track slows down, much more for the bridge of the track. Mixed with light bass strings and occasional electric guitar riffs supported by a nice relaxing backing beat, Urie sings more vulnerability then his powerful vocal of the other parts of the song saying Farewell for the final time telling the listeners to keep on waving goodbye and that he has finally found himself. So keep on waving|Keep keep on waving|I've finally found myself |Farewell, go to hell
| He also makes sure he says "Go to hell" to all the people who doubted him and all the people who have left him or betrayed him during his time of need and sadness and even during this time, of happiness.

As he says "Farewell, I am WELL" belting out "Well" at the second part of the bridge, the song unleashes into the final chorus with the beats sounding harder then before and Urie's voice sounding stronger until the song rides out to a haunting finish.

I awoke with the light
The lights in my eyes, I wake up
Like any normal day
I walk to a mirror, to stare at my clear reflection
I'm inferior
It's a dream that's growing old


Farewell to the old guy!
Depression won't plague me anymore
Goodbye to those past times!
Opportunities came knocking at my door

You stood around and watched my head drown!
You saw me at my lowest, at my core
So stand around and watch my head rise
Farewell to my weakness and those lies


Watch me as I soar above the skies
As I ignore the desperate fear that flows through my thighs
They say there's no place like home
I say there's no place when insanity starts ripping through your soul
I thought if I stood by your side
You would guarantee my safety
And reassure that I'd be alright
But the nightmare I was running from
The nightmare of being alone
Became a reality, faster then dawns sunlight

Farewell to the old guy!
Depression won't plague me anymore
Goodbye to those past times!
Opportunities came knocking at my door

You stood around and watched my head drown!
You saw me at my lowest, at core
So stand around and watch my head rise
Farewell to my weakness and those lies

So keep on waving
Keep keep on waving
I've finally found myself
Farewell, go to hell

I'll keep on waving
Keep keep on waving
I've finally found myself
Farewell, I am WELL!
(2x)

You stood around and watched my head drown!
You saw me at my lowest, at my core
So stand around and watch my head rise
Farewell to my weakness and those lies


Sounds Like

Genre: Indie Rock
Recorded: 2013
Song Writers: James Urie, Bryan O'Connor
Producers: James Urie, Peter Katias

As the angry and relentlessly driven beat of "Retaliate" comes to an end, it is rather questionable the direction Urie would go in for the fourth track taken off of The Recovery, which is tentatively entitled "Won't Be Sleeping Alone". James has been very vocal in the past about his enthusiasm concerning this track and how proud he was of the outcome of it as well. The track, written by James Urie and Bryan O'Connor with production by Urie himself, and frequent collaborator Peter Katias. Surprisingly, the track doesn't open up with relentless guitar riffs, or percussion instruments but instead opens softly and subtle, which may take the listener by surprise since the nature of the first three tracks of the album have been rather fast paced and brash. For the first time on The Recovery, we get to hear ballad driven Urie in track number 4, "Won't Be Sleeping Alone".

The initial feeling of the song when it opens is laid back, slow, calm and collective. The bass drum keeps the song rather proclaiming from the start, with the bass guitar slowing strumming along with slow guitar riffs following behind it. Seconds pass and James Urie begins singing in this indie driven ballad. His vocals, much more vulnerable then the previous tracks. It's obvious that the initial attitude of this song is different from the rather depressive like emotion in James's voice, that even may give us a flashback of his sad days during the "The Struggle Era". Urie begins singing: Night after night|Everything’s the same|Day after day; His vocals mixing perfectly with the slow paced manner of the record, which stays the same tempo. Not moving faster, or slower. He continues his lines: I’m looking for someone to blame|Hour after hour|My head is a mess|My mind is fighting with my body|But I digress; Urie sings about dealing with some type of trial and tribulation as his voice continues to move into drearily and depressive as he continues this story.

He stops singing for a few seconds, letting the instruments take over. The bass guitar, and bass drums are the prominent force in this track, with a deep melodica note whirling over the instruments. After, Urie's voice finds its way back onto the track. There used to be someone that I learnt to love|But she went away, faded then gone
Yeah she’s long gone|She’s moved on| To someplace new; It is now obvious that James is singing about a lost relationship, where that person is gone and ahead of him and James is left saddened. He sings with his same slow pace as he continues to sing the next part of this song, that sounds like a page right out of James's diary. It’s pretty painful|The cuts still feel kinda raw|But she’s gone away|Like the songs of yesterday|And I’m finding all sorts of clichés|That keep the demons at bay|It gets better in time|That’s what they all say;. He continues on singing about this person of his past who left him: I guess a lost lover is a heart that ain’t worth keeping|But ever since I let her go|I just ain’t sleeping|Some things they say|Like it’s just not meant to be|Kid you’ll move on someday| It just takes some time, you’ll see. The instrumental work on this track is so stellar that a listener may get drowned in the vocals by Urie with the backing instruments making this an enjoyable fourth track and ballad, but Urie's not done yet. He continues to sing about this heartbreak that he has gone through with the beats still remaining almost the same, this time with the guitar strums moving a bit faster. I see her again|It looks like she’s okay|And I think to myself
It’s time to make a change|If she can find herself someone new|Then I can damn sure do that too.

The once heartbroken James on the song, sings about seeing his past loved one with someone new, and so finally takes it upon himself to come to an epiphany where he sangs out "Then I can damn sure do that too". He holds the "too", showing his vocal strength in this laid back track and right after, a barrage of percussion's follow with the bass instruments making the initial sound, sound bigger. Urie's vocals escalate as he begins singing; It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone|This once empty house now feels like home|I wake up in the morning and everything feels alright|I can close my eyes|I can get some sleep at night|Because It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone|We found ourselves someone and we took the long walk home|It looks we won’t be sleeping alone|We took all the bruises|And we weathered the storm;. He sings about finding someone new, and finally being able to sleep at night;.

It's quite interesting listening to this record because you automatically begin to think back at Urie's past relationship(s) and the one he is in now, and realizing that this is the continuation of his honest tracks . After he sings the rather "late in the track" chorus, the barrage of percussion instruments move and Urie continues to sing. I see her again|It looks like she’s okay|And I think to myself|It’s time to make a change|If she can find herself someone new| Then I can damn sure do that too; Making it obvious that he was once hurt, he learned how to deal with it and now has moved on and when listening, you initially get the feeling that James is telling a story through the slow adn relaxing feeling of the song.

The barrage of percussion instruments begin to play once more after Urie sings for a few seconds. And he begins singing the chorus once more he sings louder than he did previously as the instruments, still slow, begin to move harder. As Urie's vocals become bigger, as he adds emphasize on each line he sings out. It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone|This once empty house now feels like home|I wake up in the morning and everything feels alright|I can close my eyes|I can get some sleep at night|Because It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone|We found ourselves someone and we took the long walk home|It looks we won’t be sleeping alone|We took all the bruises| And we weathered the storm

The slow, and easy on the ears "Won't Be Sleeping Alone" has a bit of instrumentation following Urie's last line, before it fades out. This track easily shows the versatility of James Urie's vocals and sound. He hasn't become pigeon hold in the "angry but strong" sound but could easily get vulnerable and diverse, as this track shows. The fourth track on this journey and expedition called The Recovery comes to an end.


Night after night
Everything’s the same
Day after day
I’m looking for someone to blame
Hour after hour
My head is a mess
My mind is fighting with my body
But I digress

There used to be someone that I learnt to love
But she went away, faded then gone
Yeah she’s long gone
She’s moved on
To someplace new

It’s pretty painful
The cuts still feel kinda raw
But she’s gone away
Like the songs of yesterday
And I’m finding all sorts of clichés
That keep the demons at bay
It gets better in time
That’s what they all say

I guess a lost lover is a heart that ain’t worth keeping
But ever since I let her go
I just ain’t sleeping
Some things they say
Like it’s just not meant to be
Kid you’ll move on someday
It just takes some time, you’ll see

I see her again
It looks like she’s okay
And I think to myself
It’s time to make a change
If she can find herself someone new
Then I can damn sure do that too

It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone
This once empty house now feels like home
I wake up in the morning and everything feels alright
I can close my eyes
I can get some sleep at night
Because It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone
We found ourselves someone and we took the long walk home
It looks we won’t be sleeping alone
We took all the bruises
And we weathered the storm

I see her again
It looks like she’s okay
And I think to myself
It’s time to make a change
If she can find herself someone new
Then I can damn sure do that too

It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone
This once empty house now feels like home
I wake up in the morning and everything feels alright
I can close my eyes
I can get some sleep at night
Because It looks like we won’t be sleeping alone
We found ourselves someone and we took the long walk home
It looks we won’t be sleeping alone
We took all the bruises
And we weathered the storm