Dark Days/Huh.

Dark Days/Huh.
Dark Days and Huh. are the 38th and 39th studio albums by The Dropouts. Released at the same time as a double LP, both albums were available for listening on September 14th, 20XX. The albums go hand in hand, developed both as part of the band's first time recording together since the start of the pandemic in 20XX. After so much time spent locked up, every member of the band had multiple songs and projects that all came together in these two albums. While Dark Days followed the band's usual sound, loud and chaotic ska punk, Huh. takes a much more experimental approach to the band's music, opting for often slower songs, filled with reflection and observation, and array of instruments not usually in the band's repertoire. Huh. also features the return of Nikki Brown on vocals, having multiple songs as the lead, and found as the back up singer in many other tracks, taking the place of Scott Wilson. Together, the albums featured 25 new songs, making up for the hiatus that had come after the release of Formerly Known As and the start of the pandemic. Using influences from all over the band's musical history and even including influences from members of California Kids, who also joined the main line up during the recording and writing of the songs on both records, The Dropouts provide something for everyone on the double LP. With the release of the albums, the band pushed for Huh. to get more play due to it's experimental and exciting nature, and keeping in line with the themes presented in their last album Formerly Known As, about being able to make music they want and not what people want from them. Dark Days covers subject matters relating to the pandemic and trying to survive a world that is getting ever harder to survive in with help from your loved ones. Huh. is about the inevitability of change and learning to accept it and face it head on.

Post - Formerly Known As
After the release of Formerly Known As had wrapped up and the tours had ended, Nick Barnett had reached a crossroads of what to do next. With a release from both California Kids and The Dropouts, he had multiple paths he could go down. He knew he wanted to do something different than the usual style that he was known for, and began to work on new, slower songs that he felt were expressive of what he was feeling following the multiple reactions to the last two records he had put out. During this period, Nick Barnett had also begun to play multiple solo acoustic shows, something that he had never done much of before. Some songs off Huh. were even first premiered at these shows, like CARING.

A plan had been put into motion with Charles Morgan, the producer of Dreamscape Diaries, to begin working on a new album with the idea of something close to the atmosphere of that album, but unfortunately all the plans were cut short when the pandemic began in early 20XX. Venues were shut down and lockdowns had kept the band members away from each other and at home. This kept the band from meeting up and stopped the plans with Charles, essentially cancelling the album Nick had wanted to start. With the band locked up, this started an unwanted hiatus from the band as they planned out their next steps.

Planning Stages
With the band all in lockdown in their own houses, they would regularly have meetings online, and it was in one of these where Nick Barnett challenged the band to work on their own music and songs, not wanting them to start slacking now that they couldn't meet up, and they would present what they had each week.

This lead to some members of the band releasing solo music, like Nikki Brown and Jimmy Rodriguez, both who hadn't released anything under their own names in years. Nikki Brown released the song Living Room, NY and Jimmy released Momentary Bliss, which featured both Nick Barnett and Chris O'Brian on the track as well. These singles began lots of speculation considering the state of the band, whether they had new music on the way or if this hiatus would turn into a permanent one. Ignoring this speculation, the band continued their weekly meetings and as the weeks piled on and the time from their last release grew, as well as the amount of songs the band was now sitting on, the idea slowly came to the forefront that this album would turn into two.

Nathan Taylor was the first to suggest it, as he was the band's most regular producer, he could tell that their tracklist was getting a bit too long, and too convoluted. The songs were switching between the usual chaotic ska punk, then turning into slow ballads, and then folk. While Nick was pushing for the new experimental sound that he was originally trying to get off the ground before the pandemic, he recognized that it wouldn't be for everyone, and with how long it was getting since the release of Formerly Known As, he felt bad not having something for the fans that were there for their most well known sound. This lead to the agreement to do two albums, one would continue the band's normal sound and the other would be new. As Nick had mostly been working on crafting the sound of Huh., he dug through old recordings and notes to bring in some of the songs that would be transformed into their final versions on Dark Days, while lots of the remaining songs were mainly put together by Nathan Taylor and Scott Wilson, while Nikki Brown and Jimmy Rodriguez both hopped between both projects.

The next step in the process would be getting the entire thing recorded, but to do that they would have to be together. By this point, vaccines had started to roll out and restrictions had begun to roll back. So after every member of the band was able to get vaccinated, Nathan recruited veteran Dropouts producer Jeremy Hunter and booked a cabin in the woods of Vermont to begin recording the band's biggest project yet.

Production
Dark Days and Huh. both officially entered production on June 11th, 20XX. After gathering the main line up, The Dropouts Brass Section, as well as the members of California Kids - Kevin Brockton, Ali Zehbra, and Kasey Williams, the extended Dropouts family drove up to Ludlow, Vermont and set up shop in a cabin deep in the woods. Without a definitive check out date, the band was ready to take as long as they could working together. The first two nights were spent finalizing the tracklist of both albums, as well as deciding on the name of each album. Huh. was named first, earning it's name from the reaction that Jeremy Hunter first gave when he heard the idea, something that made Nick laugh out loud. Dark Days was eventually named after the song of the same name, as they felt it fit the overall theme of the album. Finalizing each song before going into recording, there was a palpable positivity throughout the cabin. These albums were truly for fans of The Dropouts and for the band themselves. They were here to do what they wanted and they didn't care about what was expected anymore.

For Dark Days, Nick Barnett brought the songs "If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will", "Matchless, Considerable Weirdness, The B48 Home", and "Talk To You" all from previous albums, songs that didn't make the cut or weren't quite finished. From Escape From Summer Camp, Always With Me, and Akrasia respectively. As for new material, Nick wrote the songs "Broken Brain", "Going Under", "Everything Alone", and the self titled "Dark Days".

The remainder songs included "Pasadena", "Noah Fence", and "Caught in The Moment" written together by Nathan Taylor and Scott Wilson, while "You're Melting Faster While The World Just Stops and Stares" was written just by Scott. All the songs also included input from Nikki Brown and Jimmy Rodriguez.

For Huh. the writing credits are a lot more varied than the usual album. Nick Barnett wrote "DEPT OF FINANCE", "Go On, Get!", "La Da Da", "CARING", and "Punk", the last of which was actually written around the time of Formerly Known As, but was brought onto Huh. as a tongue and cheek way to preemptively make fun of those who would trash the album for it's new sound. Jimmy Rodriguez also helped restructure "Punk" into the final version that is heard on Huh., sounding much different than the original demo for Formerly Known As.

Nikki Brown brings in some solo writing credits for this album, which hasn't happened in many years for The Dropouts. She wrote the songs "Jellyfish", "Peachy", and "Barnacles", those also being the songs that she sings as the lead for on the album. Scott Wilson also returns as a solo writer on Huh. as well, writing the song "Phantom Friend". And in a rare instance, Nathan Taylor also has his own solo written song with "Carolina in The Morning", written about his wife and his hometown.

The rest of the songs were mainly collaborative efforts, "(617)" and "gg" were both written by Nick Barnett and Scott Wilson together, "DONE DONE DONE" saw Nick writing together with Nikki. Finally, "Sunflower" was written by the unlikely duo of Jimmy Rodriguez and Nikki Brown. Nathan Taylor helmed the producing and mixing of the album with help from Jeremy Hunter, with the makeshift atmosphere of the cabin, they leaned into the homemade and DIY sound, leading to songs that don't sound as clear and crisp as some of the band's older stuff, but they were all very sure that it fit the sound they were going for. While this was the general attitude towards both records, Dark Days did get a cleaner mix for most of it's songs, trying to keep the normal sound for it the band, and with songs like "Talk to You", matching the vibe and production of the album the song was originally from.

The DIY ethic of the album even lead to songs like "La Da Da" which was recorded using one mic to record both Nick's guitar and vocals, as the final recording used was just Nick warming up before recording the fuller songs on the album.

The songs for Dark Days were finished first, and after that it was all hands on deck for Huh. Over all, The Dropouts extended family spent one whole month and a few extra days in Ludlow, Vermont recording both albums. Many members of the band are cited as saying that it was one of the most fun experiences they've had and really drove home the feeling that the band was much more than a band now, and were family.

"I can't remember any recent time that I had that much fun recording an album. Sure, it's always fun with these guys, but to have basically everyone there and no deadlines or marketing we had to worry about, it changed the entire mood. This was something we were doing for ourselves and it was about the music more than anything else. Not about what we thought critics were going to say, or how much money they would make, it was just about making something special to us. I am so thankful to have been a part of it." - Scott Wilson during an interview for SMILE PAINT.

The Road to Dark Days and Huh.
Unlike the band's usual albums, not much was said marketing or promotion wise leading up to the release of Dark Days and Huh. While similar to Formerly Known As, in it's sparse promotion, the band did have some inklings that something big was in the works, unlike their last album which was completely surprise released. Recordings of CARING and Matchless, Considerable Weirdness, The B48 Home from these shows had been circulating around fan pages and on YouTube, with many speculating that a new album was on the way, albeit much before the double LP would be in production.

These small rumors and videos were enough to keep fans on edge as the band went into a small radio silence, besides the occasional solo releases. Other than occasionally posting to show everybody that they were still alive, or promoting some of the band's friends, nothing was said in the realm of new music for almost 2 years straight. That was until July 20XX, a month after the recording sessions for Dark Days and Huh. had ended, when small glimpses of each respective album cover were posted onto the band's Instagram with the caption "Psst.. it's been a while, hasn't it? Be back soon... cool stuff coming."

This post sent the fanbase into a frenzy, interest was immediately peaked for the band, with many critics who already had their eyes on the band after the release of Formerly Known As, due it it's theme and content, starting to speculate what to expect from this new album. Once again, the recordings from Nick Barnett's solo shows were brought back up as fans tried to guess what the connection between CARING and Matchless, Considerable Weirdness, The B48 Home could be. While not originally intending to release any singles, eventually Nick decided to release the full version of both songs that had the fans going crazy. And so, the mixing and finalization process of both songs were pushed up and on July 31st, 20XX, the singles for Matchless, Considerable Weirdness, The B48 Home, and CARING were released for the public. Met with mixed reactions, most fans of the band were very pleased with both singles, but it seemed as if Matchless.. had a lead on CARING. This was due in part to many critics confused, much like fans who were trying to make connections before any official release, saying that the two songs didn't sound like they belong on the same album, much like criticisms the band faced for Lifelike and Greenbelt Station being the closing tracks to Formerly Known As. Critics were worried the band had not learned from how sudden the mood change was in that album. These worries did not effect the band much at all, as they knew what they were doing.

Finally, on September 1st, it was announced that the band was releasing a double LP in the form of Dark Days and Huh., along with the clarification that Matchless, Considerable Weirdness, The B48 Home and CARING weren't on the same record. This alleviated many concerns that the public had around the singles, and with the promise of 25 new songs, got fans even more excited. Around this time, Nick Barnett began holding small acoustic shows once again, as a way to promote the records. During one of these shows, a fan asked if both albums were meant to be listened to as one complete package, or if it was just two records releasing at the same time.

"You can listen to either album by themselves and they'll both stand on their own. Listening to the other isn't required, but we did put the same heart into both of them, and I think they pair very nicely together. I like to think of it as Huh. takes place after Dark Days, but it's not necessarily a direct sequel." - Nick Barnett.

Reception
Dark Days and Huh. both released on September 14th, 20XX, and in surprise to the band, both were met with almost universal praise. Many fans were happy to get such an abundance of new music from the band after such time away, unlike with some of the other hiatuses the band had before, most notably way back when You Know Us Too Well came out, it was heavily criticized for it's short runtime despite how long it had been. While these albums weren't meant much as a "comeback", it still brought a lot of new fans due to the varying music styles throughout both records.

Dark Days was loved for keeping the usual sound of the band, pleasing those fans who weren't there for the experiments the band wanted to make, and none of the songs on the record felt phoned in or forced. While the band was much more focused on what Huh. would become, they made sure to put their hearts and souls into every song that found it's way onto Dark Days as well. Some critics did have problems with certain songs like Talk To You, which felt somewhat out of place with the rest of the songs, or how You're Melting Faster as the World Just Stops and Stares followed it, leading to a slow point in the middle of the record, which is supposed to be a hardcore fast ska-punk journey. Nick Barnett defends this though, saying 'The album is about going through rough times, being depressed. Sometimes you're going to have those slow days where you can't get out of bed, and that's ok.' (Nick Barnett, Talkie McTalkerson Show 20XX).

Huh. was a surprise hit, while the entire band hoped so badly for it's success, they didn't want to let their hopes get to high, as their track record with slower and more experimental albums hadn't always been so good, looking back on albums like Soliloquy No. 19, Dreamscape Diaries, or even Nick Barnett and Chris O'Brian's side project $2,400,000. But this time, the band hit the sweet spot, combining the slow and experimental songs with their usual heart and soul, and a style that only the band could have. And even when placing faster songs, they weren't as out of place as previous go's, like Your Way, Your Time on Dreamscape Diaries. Fans were elated to hear the return of Nikki Brown on vocals, with each of her songs near the top of the double LP's top songs. It was also evident through the album itself and the various live performances how much fun the band had making this record, and it translated to the public's general attitude towards it.

In a final testament to the success of the double LP, during the release week of both albums, a special collectors edition vinyl that would include both Dark Days and Huh. in one package was released, under the name Dark Days, Huh? using one of the photos of the band in the Ludlow cabin with the iconic rainbow stripes from Huh. surrounding them. (See Photo one in Production). While they had ordered many copies of both albums individually at Make Believe Records, they only had a limited number of the collectors edition, and to the band's surprise, once it was listed on September 17th, 20XX, it sold out in under an hour.

The success of Dark Days and Huh. helped to revitalize the band, especially front members like Nick Barnett, Chris O'Brian, and Scott Wilson, after the flat release of Spiritual Reboot, the mixed reactions to Formerly Known As, and then the pandemic hitting all in a row. It showed the band that they could take risks and trust their fans to keep them going, even after a few rocky moments.

Dark Days

 * 1)  If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 2)  Pasadena - Written by Scott Wilson and Nathan Taylor
 * 3)  Noah Fence - Written by Scott Wilson and Nathan Taylor
 * 4)  Broken Brain - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 5)  Matchless, Considerable Weirdness, The B48 Home - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 6)  Talk To You - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 7)  You're Melting Faster as the World Just Stops and Stares - Written by Scott Wilson
 * 8)  Going Under - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 9)  Everything Alone - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 10)  Caught in the Moment - Written by Scott Wilson and Nathan Taylor
 * 11)  Dark Days - Written by Nick Barnett



Huh.

 * 1) Sunflower - Written by Jimmy Rodriguez and Nikki Brown
 * 2) DEPT OF FINANCE - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 3) (617) - Written by Nick Barnett and Scott Wilson
 * 4) Jellyfish - Written by Nikki Brown
 * 5) DONE DONE DONE - Written by Nick Barnett and Nikki Brown
 * 6) Go On, Get! - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 7)  La Da Da - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 8)  CARING - Written by Nick Barnett
 * 9)  Carolina in the Morning - Written by Nathan Taylor
 * 10)  Peachy - Written by Nikki Brown
 * 11) Phantom Friend - Written by Scott Wilson
 * 12) Barnacles - Written by Nikki Brown
 * 13) Punk - Written by Nick Barnett and Jimmy Rodriguez
 * 14) gg - Written by Nick Barnett and Scott Wilson

* These are the main writing credits for each song, not the entire writing credits.

Fun Facts

 * During the process of getting ready to head to Ludlow, Nick Barnett's main guitar broke and had to be sent for repairs. This lead to Nick using his first guitar from the band's early iconic albums, most notably Spirit Weak, to record the songs on both Dark Days and Huh., and for all live performances during the release phase of the double LP.
 * While the cover art for Dark Days is from the cabin the band stayed in while recording, the cover art for Huh. is from a fair the band attended in Ludlow.
 * The rainbow stripes present in the album art for Huh. would become a staple of the band's promotion and marketing image, leading fans to refer to this era as the Rainbow Stripe Era. Tour flyers, social media banners, and the album's art all include it to tie everything together. This replaced the Window Marker Era that was found during Formerly Known As.
 * The line "Making small talk, getting warmer" in Matchless, Considerable Weirdness, The B48 Home is a direct reference to the song Get Warmer, which was the closing track on the album I Love Everyone.
 * Dark Days was originally going to be named "Build a Better Brain", and focus mostly on Nick's ADHD, but eventually the focus was shifted and the album named after the song of the same name. However, Build a Better Brain did make it far enough to have concept art for it's album cover, seen below.Bbb cover.jpg


 * Talk To You didn't make it onto Akrasia because when Nick Barnett originally started writing it, it felt very impersonal and he felt like he couldn't connect to it. However, when bringing it back, Nick wrote it while reflecting on Christian Germain, the original host of The Talkie McTalkerson Show, much like the song Last On My List from IT'S ALMOST OVER, EAT SOUP! which was also dedicated to him.
 * The song DONE DONE DONE was written about Nick Barnett and Nikki Brown's experiences participating the BLM protests, and was originally first conceptualized around the time of Always With Me, when it was almost a political protest piece, Good Luck Everyone.
 * With the lead up to Dark Days being produced, Nick Barnett had tried to get multiple projects off the ground that never saw the light of day, leading to a lot of cut tracks for Dark Days. These projects included "Build a Better Brain", as well as another iteration that was closer to the subject matter of Dark Days, named "Almost There".
 * There is a very early version of (617) found in the soundtrack to the show Intertwined, but it's much more in line with the genre of music found in the show than the final version. Nick Barnett helped a lot with Intertwined's soundtrack, and even had Scott Wilson help with the show's version of the song.