North (Something Corporate album)

After finalizing their lineup, Something Corporate began performing at local venues, eventually gaining support slots for groups such as Better Than Ezra and Sugar Ray. Shortly afterwards, the band signed to independent label Drive-Thru Records. Drive-Thru had a distribution deal with major label MCA Records, which allowed the latter to upstream bands from the former. The band's second album Leaving Through the Window, released in early 2002, While on tour, vocalist and pianist Andrew McMahon began writing material for their next album. Early in the writing process, McMahon and guitarist Josh Partington had discussions on what they wanted the album to sound like. They decided they wanted it to "sound like a winter album", in contrast to Leaving Through the Window which they felt sounded like a "summer album". As a result, the band cancelled the remainder of the tour, and returned to the US. Partington recalled that he and McMahon did "a lot of writing" together, and were "really happy with the songs we had" going into the studio. ==Recording and production==

The group would typically record an album in their home state of California. However, after constant touring, the band lost focus as Partington explained: "When you're away for a year touring straight, whenever you're home, whether you're working or not, your mind is like, 'Yes, I'm at home. On May 5, 2003, it was announced that the band was in the studio recording their next album at Robert Lang Studios and TMF with producer Jim Wirt. Wirt and Phil Kaffel acted as engineers, with Justin Armstrong as a secondary engineer with assistance from Geoff Ott. Two days of the process consisted of Partington in the live room, tracking one-take run-throughs of each song on guitar. With this approach, Partington improvised a lot of the parts, which yielded "lots of results." Further recording was done at 4th Street Recording in Santa Monica, California, with assistance from engineers Neil Couper, P.J. Smith and Jon Scholl. Smith also contributed additional background vocals. Kaffel and Wirt mixed the recordings at Interscope Studios in Santa Monica, with assistance from engineer Neal Ferrazzani. Further mixing was performed at Skip Saylor Recording in Los Angeles, with assistance from engineer James Mugshorn. Vlado Meller mastered the recordings at Sony Mastering in New York. ==Composition==

"As You Sleep", "Down", "Me and the Moon", "Ruthless", "She Paints Me Blue", "Break Myself", "21 and Invincible", "Miss America" and "Watch the Sky" were credited to McMahon. "Space", "Only Ashes", "The Runaway" and "I Won't Make You" were credited to Partington. Paul Buckmaster arranged and played the cello, alongside Larry Corbett on "Me and the Moon" and "The Runaway". and pop, Alternative Addiction wrote that the group mixed "piano melodies with rocking guitars creating the 'melodic punk' sound" that was also on their second album. The song talks about a woman killing her husband: the verses are about her doing the act of killing and the subsequently clean-up, while the choruses were set a trial scene. Though McMahon liked the melody and the piano parts, he felt choruses initially lacked a hook. While touring in the UK, he had taken mushrooms with friends; after breaking away from them he had decided to chase the Moon. He ended up in a locked bathroom with the words "It's me and the moon" on a piece of paper. The verses to "Ruthless" were originally a bit longer than the finished version until people told them that they dragged on. McMahon was fine with dropping some of the lyrics but Partington wanted to include them. McMahon said it was a break-up song about a person he worked with. He added that the point of the track was that he can "still get my teeth out if I'm forced to, which I did." "Break Myself" is about complete desperation and being stuck in state where you're unable to help anyone. Discussing "Watch the Sky", McMahon said he spent a night partying more than he usually did. After having a rough experience, he woke up and decided to sort himself out. ==Release and promotion==

In mid-2003, MCA Records was absorbed by Universal Music Group label Geffen Records, which resulted in MCA's staff and roster being moved to Geffen. At the time, Partington said: "[You] can't worry about things that are out of your control ... I can't do anything about it so you just keep doing what you're doing." From mid-July to late August, the band supported 311 on their tour of the US. "Space" was released as a single on September 8, and released to modern rock radio a day later. A music video for the song was premiered by Fox Broadcasting Company on September 16 through their show The O.C. In September and October, the band supported Good Charlotte on their US arena tour. On October 14, 2003, the band appeared on IMX. North was released on October 21 through Geffen and Drive-Thru Records. Around the album's release, the band was featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as appearing on MTV2 programs New Faces of Rock and Advanced Warning. From late October to early December 2003, the band went on a headlining tour across the US with support from Rx Bandits, Mae, Days Away and the Format. The first date of the tour, which was planned to take place in San Diego, was postponed till mid-December due to California wildfires. Towards its conclusion, Rx Bandits dropped off, citing personal reasons, and were replaced by different acts for the remaining nights. Following this, the group toured across Japan and Europe in early 2004. On February 1, it was announced that guitarist William Tell had left the band to focus on his own music. Tell said that he had been writing music since he was younger, and put it on the backburner since joining the group. However, he "knew that at some point I'd have to go back to that. It's what makes me feel complete." Bobby Anderson of River City High took over Tell's position; the group had previously toured with River City High and looked up to Anderson. Partington called him "a great player, [and] a really good singer." The group did a series of radio station appearances and played on college campuses throughout February and March. Following this, "Ruthless" was released to radio on March 15. The band headlined a few shows leading up to co-headlining performances with Yellowcard. Though this was initially for six shows, it was later expanded into a full tour running in March and April with support from Steriogram and the Format. To help promote it, the group offered a free live album, which recorded in November, to people that bought North at select retailers. and included a co-headlining spot with the Ataris at the RiverFusion festival. Following this, the band supported the Offspring on an Australian tour in June. ==Reception==

Critical response North received a positive reception from critics. AllMusic reviewer Andrew Leahey wrote that McMahon traded "shunning the drunk high school girls and classroom bullies" on their second album for "thoughtful ruminations on love, celebrity, and the steady approach of adulthood." Richardson noted that halfway into the album, when the songs' "middling tempos start to bleed together," the group sounds "as if they were striving for a level of maturity that’s not quite within reach." selling 41,000 copies in its first week of release. It also charted at number 152 in the UK. "Space" charted at number 37 on the Alternative Songs chart. By March 2004, the album had sold 222,000 copies. By March 2005, the album had sold 330,000 copies in the US, and by June, album sales stood at 339,000 copies. Looking back in 2010, Partington said the group were "frustrated" with the album's lack of success: "We had put in all this hard work and we were doing everything we could, but it felt like certain parts of the whole machine weren’t necessarily working in our favor." To celebrate the album's 10th anniversary, it was released on vinyl for the first time in November 2013 through independent label Enjoy the Ride Records. ==Track listing==

Track listing adapted from the album's liner notes. ==Personnel==

Credits and personnel adapted from the album's liner notes. Something Corporate • Andrew McMahon – piano, lead vocals • Brian Ireland – drums, background vocals • Kevin "Clutch" Page – bass, background vocals • Josh Partington – lead guitar, background vocals • William Tell – rhythm guitar, background vocals Additional musicians • P.J. Smith – additional background vocals • Paul Buckmaster – cello arranger, cello (tracks 5 and 6) • Larry Corbett – cello (tracks 5 and 6) Production • Jim Wirt – producer, engineer, mixing • Phil Kaffel – engineer, mixing • C.J Eiriksson – Pro Tools editing • Justin Armstrong – second engineer • Tom Reisser – guitar tech • Geoff Ott – assistant engineer • Neil Couper – assistant engineer • P.J. Smith – assistant engineer • Jon Scholl – assistant engineer • Neal Ferrazzani – assistant engineer • James Mugshorn – assistant engineer • Vlado Meller – mastering • JP Robinson – art direction • Tim Marris – design, illustration • Chapman Baehler – band photography • Hantti – band photography • John Urband – photo of Will ==Charts==