Hesitant Alien | ||
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Studio album by Gerard Way | ||
Released | September 29, 2014 | |
Recorded | Lightning Sound Studio (Hidden Hills, California), Sonic Ranch (Tornillo, Texas), 2014 | |
Genre | ||
Length | 38:51 | |
Label | Warner Bros., Reprise | |
Producer | Doug McKean | |
Singles from Hesitant Alien | ||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 75/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
American Songwriter | (4/5) |
Alternative Press | |
Billboard | |
Kerrang! | |
NME | (8/10) |
Rolling Stone | |
Rock Sound | (7/10) |
Team Rock | (8/10) |
The Guardian |
Hesitant Alien is the debut studio album by Gerard Way, former lead singer of the American rock band My Chemical Romance, released in the US on September 29, 2014 and on September 30 worldwide. It was officially announced in May 2014, although demos of the songs "Zero Zero" and "Millions" have circulated since 2012. The album was produced by Doug McKean, known for his work as recording engineer on a number of projects with producer Rob Cavallo, including several releases by My Chemical Romance. Hesitant Alien received mostly positive reviews, and was a moderate commercial success reaching No. 16 on the US Billboard 200 and some international charts. To support the album, Way assembled a touring band made up of select musicians who contributed to the album and were called "The Hormones".
On March 22, 2013, My Chemical Romance officially disbanded. This was followed by the release of a greatest hits album entitled May Death Never Stop You a year later. Having recently signed with Warner Bros. Records, Gerard went on to announce the beginning of his solo career with the release of an advance-single, "Action Cat", on June 11, 2014. This was accompanied by a new website featuring concept artwork for the album and a new logo. The album's first single, "No Shows", was released on August 18, 2014. "Millions", the second single, was released on November 17, anticipated by a music video released on October 6.
"No Shows" was released to radio on August 25, 2014.Hesitant Alien was released on September 29, in the UK, and a day later in the U.S. Pre-orders for both the vinyl and CD versions of the album became available in August, featuring a T-shirt and promotional zine created specifically for the pre-orders. On September 29, 2014, Way premiered Hesitant Alien on the online platform VyRT during a listening party with album commentary. The following month, Way and The Hormones appeared as the musical guest on an episode of Conan. They also toured extensively throughout the world in 2014 and 2015, and performed at several festivals. On Record Store Day 2016, Way released two exclusive, unreleased tracks from Hesitant Alien titled "Don't Try" and "Pinkish".