The process of making this album has been a long, but absolutely joyous experience for us. Before we even decided on the name Rebel Kicks, we started writing and recording demo's in early 2016 with Jason Pennock (2Pac, Polyenso) and Mark Parfitt (engineer extraordinaire) at Big3 Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. Even though we ultimately did not use those demo's (they're currently being kept in the Rebel Kicks "vault"), that laid the groundwork, and began the path toward what would eventually become this record. We truly cannot express how much we learned from working in the studio every day with Jason and Mark, and we are forever grateful to them for giving us that opportunity.

We spent the first half of 2017 going back and forth from NY to LA, where we collaborated with Abe Dertner (MAX, Walk the Moon) and Jeff Blue (Korn, Linkin Park, Hoobastank), writing and recording 'Fall of the American Dream', and 'The Life + Times of an Unpopular Girl". These sessions greatly informed the overall sound and direction we would subsequently take, combining elements of alt-pop, hip-hop, and our rock roots.

That eventually led us back to New York, where we were introduced to Russ DeSalvo (Lou Reed, Lionel Richie) and Jimmy Greco (Paramore, Santana). We produced 5 tracks together, including 'Breaking it Off', 'Oxytocin Junky', 'It's You', and 'Let It Out'. Simultaneously, we were writing and recording songs in our home studio, some of which would eventually be produced by Jimmy for the album ('Broken Hearts = Broken Chains', 'Strange Animals', 'Way Out', 'Why You Gotta'), as well as a couple that were released as standalone singles ('Unbroken', 'How Many More?').

It's interesting how things are constantly in motion; perspectives changing and evolving with time and experience. For example, all of the initial recordings we did for this album were heavily reliant on synths and programmed beats - not as much emphasis on live guitar, bass, and drums. By playing these unreleased songs live with our band in front of audiences over the last year and a half, however, it dictated to us that the core sound of our album should be what is not only most true to who we are as artists, but the sound that we're presenting when we perform live: the sound of a band.

So, we went back into the studio with Jimmy and our drummer, Dan Bradley, and re-recorded the basic tracks for every single song with guitar, bass, & drums. Naturally, it completely changed the feel of the record. The sound you now hear on this album is what we've been chasing throughout this entire journey, and oddly enough, in hindsight, is the most obvious thing in the world: a combination of the electronic elements, fused with the sound of our band. We could not be happier with the final result, and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.

- Rebel Kicks