Metro Station (album)

Metro Station is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Metro Station. The album was released on September 18, 2007, under Columbia/Red Ink. Four singles were released from the album; "Kelsey", "Control", "Shake It" and "Seventeen Forever". The group completed recording the album in July 2007.

The album was released in the UK on March 30, 2009. The version of the album released in the UK contains 2 exclusive bonus tracks including a brand new track, "After the Fall". The first UK single, "Shake It", was released a week before, on March 23, 2009.

Background
In 2005, Mason Musso and Trace Cyrus agreed to meet on the set of Hannah Montana, which starred Mason's brother, Mitchel, and Trace's sister, Miley. Sharing musical interests, they decided to form a band. Shortly thereafter, Cyrus recruited Blake Healy from Synthetic Joy and the Bum Out Eternal as a keyboardist, synthesist, and bassist. The group released the song "Seventeen Forever" on MySpace in 2006, topping the MySpace Music's Unsigned Bands chart and garnered the attention of drummer Anthony Improgo, who joined the band. In late 2006, the group signed with Columbia/Red Ink after an intern at Red Ink discovered the band while perusing the website's music pages.

The group headed to New York City to record their debut studio album. It was produced by S*A*M and Sluggo, Joshua Cain and Justin Pierre. The band has cited inspiration from The Postal Service, Forever The Sickest Kids and The Killers when making the album.

Singles
"Kelsey" was released as the first single on August 7, 2007. The song peaked at number 25 in New Zealand and at number one on the Billboard Dance Singles Sales chart.

The second single, "Control", was released on December 17, 2007, but saw no commercial success. The song was released in the UK in the spring of 2009.

"Shake It" was released as the third single from the album and was serviced to alternative radio on April 1, 2008. The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 10 in multiple countries including Canada, Australia and the UK. The single has sold 1.2 million copies and was certified 2× Platinum in the US.

The fourth and final single "Seventeen Forever" was released on December 13, 2008. It peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold in the US.

Critical reception
The album was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Andrew Leahey from AllMusic gave the album a 2.5 out of 5 star rating. Criticizing the album, he stated, "not much exists beneath the polished sheen of teenaged lyrics and electronica-lite." However, he praised keyboardist Blake Healy's work as he remarked, "he is the band's secret weapon, supporting his two frontmen with enough bubbling synth to keep the ship float." NME gave the album a 2 out of 5 star rating, and complimented the songs "Shake It" and "California" as "standout moments." Nat Morris of AltSounds felt that the first half of the album were poor, but stated "from track 6 onwards the album turns decidedly upwards." John Webber of Rock Louder remarked, "This record, for all intents and purposes, is a well produced pop record that does nothing to bring disrepute to the fact that the Cyrus family can hold their own in an ever so fickle industry, and with the right team behind them, they could be absolutely massive."

Joe DeAndrea of AbsolutePunk gave a positive review stating, "This album proves that this isn't just a band that'll write one popular song and disappear from the scene in a couple of years. They have talent, they're young, and they'll keep getting better." DeAndrea also compared the group to Panic! at the Disco for their ability at "writing fun, catchy tunes." Kaj Roth of Melodic noted, "there are plenty of 80's vibes over this album but still with a modern touch - this is what you get if you mix The Cure with Fountains of Wayne." Kendal Gapinski of Lancaster Online stated, "The entire CD sounds like a block party in the middle of summer. Songs like 'California' and 'True to Me' keep the album upbeat. Mixed in are slower songs, with more sentimental lyrics, like 'Now That We're Done'. While not an intellectual album, the songs represent the quintessential teen. It's an album for teens, by teens. Heartbreak, love and just having a good time are the central themes."

Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 189 on the US Billboard 200 and reached number 39 as its highest position on chart. The album also peaked at number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The album reached the Billboard 200 year-end chart at number 182 in 2008 and the Top Dance/Electronic Albums year-end chart at number two. That same year, the album sold 87,000 copies. Since, it has sold approximately 400,000 copies in the United States.

Personnel
Credits for Metro Station adapted from AllMusic.


 * Metro Station
 * Trace Cyrus – lead guitar, vocals
 * Blake Healy – synthesizer, beats
 * Anthony Improgo – drums
 * Mason Musso – vocals, rhythm guitar


 * Additional musicians
 * Joshua Cain – bass, guitar
 * Ghost of Harlem – bass
 * Sean Gould – guitar
 * Justin Pierre – guitar, backing vocals


 * Production
 * Ed Ackerson – engineer
 * Arjun Agerwala – engineer
 * Will Brierre – assistant engineer
 * Joshua Cain – producer
 * Julian Gilbert – photography
 * Sean Gould – engineer
 * Matt Govaere – art direction
 * Blake Healy - programming
 * Sam Hollander - composer
 * Maureen Kenny - A&R
 * Mark Needham - mixing
 * Justin Pierre - producer
 * Scott Riebling - engineer
 * S*A*M and Sluggo - producer