If you're still humming and tapping your toes to the beat after tonight's Homecoming A Capella Show, keep the music going with The Beelzebubs' (Bubs) latest album, released yesterday. "BATTLE" is the latest of the Bubs' biannual releases, and the CD covers an exciting time in the group's history.
"The past two years have been wild for us, just in terms of expanding opportunities and horizons," Michael Grant, the Bubs' business manager, said.
According to Grant, a senior, each of the Bubs' albums is supposed to "harness something that's special and unique about the time" it spans.
"BATTLE" covers an epoch of incredible popularity for the Bubs. From their second?place finish on the first season of NBC's "The Sing?Off" to their vocal appearance on "Glee" as The Warblers - a glee club that rivals McKinley High's New Directions - the Bubs have experienced a level of limelight hitherto unprecedented.
These high?profile gigs have impacted both the production of "BATTLE" and the Bubs' feelings about the album.
Bubs president, senior Eric Morrissey said, "Typically, we release our CD every other spring ... This one is actually a few months late, and one reason for that is we prioritized the 'Glee' recording project last year over finishing the album."
However, that didn't undermine the importance of the album to the group. When the Bubs recorded for "Glee," they had to surrender a degree of creative freedom that they were happy to reclaim in "BATTLE."
"I'm incredibly, incredibly grateful for the ['Glee'] opportunity," Morrissey said, "But I'm most excited about putting out a project that's entirely ours."
The Bubs' decision to dub the album "BATTLE" pays homage to the group's diverse mix of styles and genres.
"We sort of combine a lot of fun, sexual, really energetic music with epic or emotionally powerful [music], so there's not one consistent thread to the songs. They play off each other in opposition," Grant said.
The album's title also addresses the clash between the Bubs' past and present, and the question of where to take the group going forward. Will the group continue to perform on a national stage, or will it return its full focus to Tufts' campus? With the group's 50?year anniversary coming up next year, the concept of tradition seems especially pertinent.
"There's a constant questioning of, do we continue with how things have always been?" Grant said. "The recent propulsion into the spotlight ... may or may not be in line with the Bubs' history."
Of course, a break from tradition isn't always a bad thing. Take, for example, the interactive twist in "BATTLE's" opening track, a cover of 30 Seconds to Mars' "Kings and Queens." The end of the original track features a mass choir, and the Bubs decided to use that segment to let other voices to be heard.
"We felt that it was an opportunity for us to give back and bring in fans and people we've had close relationships with," Grant said. "We put out an announcement online saying, 'Come sing on our album!' It was open to anyone to record... and send in a clip of them singing this line."
As a result, singers from around the world were given a chance to make their Bubs debut - and many did. "BATTLE" is thus a truly a global effort.
"We received submissions from people all over the world, from Japan to Singapore to New York," Evan Powell, senior and member of the Bubs, said.
The album's artwork hails from overseas. The Bubs hired London illustrator Kam Tang of Big Active Design to design "BATTLE's" cover.
Big Active Design has handled artwork for major musical talents, including Beck, Goldfrapp, Noah and the Whale and The Pierces.
One final, positive mark in "BATTLE's" pro?con list? It's an album that listeners can sing along to - even if less melodiously than the Bubs themselves. The album's 13 tracks include covers of well?known tunes, including "One Day" by Matisyahu, "Closet Freak" by Cee Lo Green and "Give It to Me Baby" by Rick James.
Hardcore a capella fans can pick up copies of the Bubs' "BATTLE" at tonight's show, which features the Bubs, the Jackson Jills and the Amalgamates in Goddard Chappel.
"BATTLE" is also available on iTunes and at Bubs.com. Hard copies will be sold at the Tufts University Bookstore.
