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Selfish Machines
Selfish Machines is the second album by American rock band Pierce the Veil, released by Equal Vision Records on June 22, 2010. Produced by Vic Fuentes and Mike Green, it was recorded in late 2009 and early 2010. Fuentes wrote most of the songs, and co-wrote three songs with former A Day to Remember guitarist Tom Denney.
A Day to Remember frontman Jeremy McKinnon was featured on the track "Caraphernelia", which had a music video released on September 28, 2010. "Bulletproof Love" was released as the follow-up music video on July 7, 2011. The album released to a mostly favorable critical reception, with reviewers praising the lyricism, instrumentation and experimental approach to its sound, while the use of Auto-Tune on some tracks was less favorably received, and Fuentes' vocals were met with a divisive response from some listeners. Nonetheless, it received moderate success and appeared on several US Billboard charts, including the Top Heatseekers and the top 200 charts. The album was reissued with remixed production, on September 24, 2013. It was certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA on June 13, 2025.
In November 2008, Alternative Press posted a list detailing their most anticipated album releases for the following year. The list included Pierce the Veil's second album, which was listed for release in the Autumn. In an interview with AbsolutePunk in early 2009, guitarist and vocalist Vic Fuentes revealed that Pierce the Veil's next album would be influenced by their fans. Fuentes also said in the interview that he was uncertain when the album would be released, but that it would be released by Equal Vision. In April 2009, Alternative Press revealed that the band were in the process of writing for their next album. The band was writing and demoing new material at their home studio in November 2009. Selfish Machines, and the band's next album Collide with the Sky (2012), was written in a cabin that belonged to Fearless Records' president Bob Becker. Like their previous record, A Flair for the Dramatic (2007), singer-songwriter Curtis Peoples joined Pierce the Veil to help write songs. However, none of the songs made it to the final cut.
The album was recorded during December 2009 and January 2010 in Los Angeles with producer Mike Green, with a planned release later that year. Green was selected as the producer because, according to Fuentes, albums he had previously worked on "sounded amazing", and he was "a very down to earth and passionate person". It was revealed on December 27, 2009, that Mike Fuentes had recorded all the drum tracks in one day, at Ocean Studios in Burbank, California. The drums were recorded using three microphones on the kick drum, and four on the snare. During the recording sessions, Mike broke a microphone that was worth $6,000. By January 11, 2010, though vocals and keyboard tracks had yet to be recorded, all other components had been completed. A studio update posted on February 19 noted eights days remained to record the vocals. Fuentes later said he was not going to be recording in Los Angeles again, as being so close to their hometown of San Diego provided "a lot of distractions that we didn't need".
The theme of this album talks about these natural thoughts and feelings to want and take–the desire to be in love and the desperation for someone else to love you.
The majority of the songs featured on Selfish Machines were written by Fuentes, apart from: "The Boy Who Could Fly", "Disasterology" and "The Sky Under the Sea" that were co-written with ex-A Day to Remember guitarist Tom Denney; and "Besitos" co-written with Dave Yaden. An iTunes staff reviewer noted that it "blurs emo, prog rock, and post-hardcore" together, and Sebastian Berning of Powermetal noted the emo and post-hardcore sound also present on A Flair for the Dramatic in addition to many new stylistic influences. Sergio Pereira of MusicReview described the album as experimental rock, but stressed that it was not "your stereotypical experimental record". Prior to the album's release, Fuentes said fans should "expect a lot of songs to sing along to" and that their live performances would be "super fun".
The music for "Besitos" showcases the band's Latin influence, and the lyrics describe Fuentes' relationship with a girl, from her point of view, who he "couldn't stop hurting over and over again". "The Boy Who Could Fly" was originally six minutes long, but the intro was split off as a separate track, "Southern Constellations", because of its length. "Southern Constellations" is about Fuentes' fascination with Southern girls. He called the guitar tone "one of my favorite[s]" from the album. It was produced using a Stratocaster played through a custom-made amplifier resulting in the "glassy and unique sound we were looking for". "The Boy Who Could Fly" displayed the band's punk roots. It has a hastily played guitar "represent[ing] everything that we loved playing as kids'. The lyrics are about a relationship reliant on the other person with "obsession and desperation, and the stupid things you do when you're in love". The track is one of the more intense songs that Fuentes has written.
"Caraphernelia" was based on Fuentes' ex-girlfriend, who left her possessions at his house, causing him to think about her when he saw them. As soon as he started writing the music for the chorus, Fuentes knew he wanted A Day to Remember's vocalist Jeremy McKinnon to appear on the song, and asked him to sing several weeks later. McKinnon screamed the chorus and bridge sections, which made the collaboration "very special" to Fuentes. Fuentes called "Fast Times at Clairemont High" a "very selfish song", dealing "with human nature and our selfish tendencies," which included musical influences of Michael Jackson. "The New National Anthem" is about a night when Fuentes was visiting a girl and they were making out in the dark in her apartment. The intro was recorded at Fuentes' apartment and pieces of that recording were used throughout the album.
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Selfish Machines
Selfish Machines is the second album by American rock band Pierce the Veil, released by Equal Vision Records on June 22, 2010. Produced by Vic Fuentes and Mike Green, it was recorded in late 2009 and early 2010. Fuentes wrote most of the songs, and co-wrote three songs with former A Day to Remember guitarist Tom Denney.
A Day to Remember frontman Jeremy McKinnon was featured on the track "Caraphernelia", which had a music video released on September 28, 2010. "Bulletproof Love" was released as the follow-up music video on July 7, 2011. The album released to a mostly favorable critical reception, with reviewers praising the lyricism, instrumentation and experimental approach to its sound, while the use of Auto-Tune on some tracks was less favorably received, and Fuentes' vocals were met with a divisive response from some listeners. Nonetheless, it received moderate success and appeared on several US Billboard charts, including the Top Heatseekers and the top 200 charts. The album was reissued with remixed production, on September 24, 2013. It was certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA on June 13, 2025.
In November 2008, Alternative Press posted a list detailing their most anticipated album releases for the following year. The list included Pierce the Veil's second album, which was listed for release in the Autumn. In an interview with AbsolutePunk in early 2009, guitarist and vocalist Vic Fuentes revealed that Pierce the Veil's next album would be influenced by their fans. Fuentes also said in the interview that he was uncertain when the album would be released, but that it would be released by Equal Vision. In April 2009, Alternative Press revealed that the band were in the process of writing for their next album. The band was writing and demoing new material at their home studio in November 2009. Selfish Machines, and the band's next album Collide with the Sky (2012), was written in a cabin that belonged to Fearless Records' president Bob Becker. Like their previous record, A Flair for the Dramatic (2007), singer-songwriter Curtis Peoples joined Pierce the Veil to help write songs. However, none of the songs made it to the final cut.
The album was recorded during December 2009 and January 2010 in Los Angeles with producer Mike Green, with a planned release later that year. Green was selected as the producer because, according to Fuentes, albums he had previously worked on "sounded amazing", and he was "a very down to earth and passionate person". It was revealed on December 27, 2009, that Mike Fuentes had recorded all the drum tracks in one day, at Ocean Studios in Burbank, California. The drums were recorded using three microphones on the kick drum, and four on the snare. During the recording sessions, Mike broke a microphone that was worth $6,000. By January 11, 2010, though vocals and keyboard tracks had yet to be recorded, all other components had been completed. A studio update posted on February 19 noted eights days remained to record the vocals. Fuentes later said he was not going to be recording in Los Angeles again, as being so close to their hometown of San Diego provided "a lot of distractions that we didn't need".
The theme of this album talks about these natural thoughts and feelings to want and take–the desire to be in love and the desperation for someone else to love you.
The majority of the songs featured on Selfish Machines were written by Fuentes, apart from: "The Boy Who Could Fly", "Disasterology" and "The Sky Under the Sea" that were co-written with ex-A Day to Remember guitarist Tom Denney; and "Besitos" co-written with Dave Yaden. An iTunes staff reviewer noted that it "blurs emo, prog rock, and post-hardcore" together, and Sebastian Berning of Powermetal noted the emo and post-hardcore sound also present on A Flair for the Dramatic in addition to many new stylistic influences. Sergio Pereira of MusicReview described the album as experimental rock, but stressed that it was not "your stereotypical experimental record". Prior to the album's release, Fuentes said fans should "expect a lot of songs to sing along to" and that their live performances would be "super fun".
The music for "Besitos" showcases the band's Latin influence, and the lyrics describe Fuentes' relationship with a girl, from her point of view, who he "couldn't stop hurting over and over again". "The Boy Who Could Fly" was originally six minutes long, but the intro was split off as a separate track, "Southern Constellations", because of its length. "Southern Constellations" is about Fuentes' fascination with Southern girls. He called the guitar tone "one of my favorite[s]" from the album. It was produced using a Stratocaster played through a custom-made amplifier resulting in the "glassy and unique sound we were looking for". "The Boy Who Could Fly" displayed the band's punk roots. It has a hastily played guitar "represent[ing] everything that we loved playing as kids'. The lyrics are about a relationship reliant on the other person with "obsession and desperation, and the stupid things you do when you're in love". The track is one of the more intense songs that Fuentes has written.
"Caraphernelia" was based on Fuentes' ex-girlfriend, who left her possessions at his house, causing him to think about her when he saw them. As soon as he started writing the music for the chorus, Fuentes knew he wanted A Day to Remember's vocalist Jeremy McKinnon to appear on the song, and asked him to sing several weeks later. McKinnon screamed the chorus and bridge sections, which made the collaboration "very special" to Fuentes. Fuentes called "Fast Times at Clairemont High" a "very selfish song", dealing "with human nature and our selfish tendencies," which included musical influences of Michael Jackson. "The New National Anthem" is about a night when Fuentes was visiting a girl and they were making out in the dark in her apartment. The intro was recorded at Fuentes' apartment and pieces of that recording were used throughout the album.