Wild Life (Hedley album)

The album was recorded at Anew Tunes Studios, Fader Mountain Sound and The Armoury Studio in Vancouver, The Lair and Van Howes Studios in Los Angeles, and The Roost Studios in Santa Monica. It was produced by Jacob Hoggard and Brian Howes. Guitarist Dave Rosin described the album as "music for good times." He told Vancouver Sun that the album was about positivity, appreciating "the little things around you" and "finding a way to always see the light at the end of the tunnel." According to Hoggard, the group spent months writing and experimenting with different sounds, such as using old analog synths, which he said "found lots of inspiration" from. Writing about 50 songs for the album, Hoggard said they avoided having the songs "sound like the same thing." "Crazy for You" has been described as disco, while the album showcases a melancholy side on "Pocket Full Of Dreams" and the hopeful "Wild Life". ==Release==

On October 11, 2013, the group announced the track list for Wild Life, with a release date for November 11. The band embarked on their headlining Wild Live Tour across Canada from February to April 2014. The album was released in the US on May 19, 2014, via Capitol Records. ==Singles==

The album's lead single and lead track "Anything" was released on August 19, 2013, and the music video premiered on September 10. The song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. It also reached number 6 on both the Canada AC and Canada CHR/Top 40 charts, and number 8 on the Canada Hot AC chart. The song has sold 90,000 digital copies. The second track "Crazy for You" was released as a promotional single on October 22, 2013, and as the second official single from Wild Life on January 10, 2014. It was also released to hot adult contemporary radio in the US on March 17, 2014. A music video for the song premiered February 14, 2014. The song has peaked at No. 7 on the Canadian Hot 100 while the music video premiered later that week on June 19. It peaked at number 14 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song peaked at number 33 on the Canadian Hot 100 and at number 18 on the Canada CHR/Top 40. It also reached number 10 on both the Canada AC and Hot AC charts. ==Reception==

Wild Life was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album a three out of five star rating. He compared the album's second track, "Crazy for You" to Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". He stated, "Hedley's blatant desire to have a hit by any means necessary is tawdry but endearing because there is so much gloss here even the songs that aren't quite as potent sound alluring due to the big-budget slickness." Jenia Schukov of Confront Magazine wrote, "With this being the fifth studio album from Hedley, most would assume that new material would be difficult for the group but they seem to welcome this challenge with open arms. As their previous record Storms did, Wild Life draws on personal experiences and hardships for inspiration. Lyrically, Hoggard is unmatched as he tells stories throughout the songs in a way that very few can." and Album of the Year in 2015. ==Track listing==

Credits adapted from album's liner notes. Hedley • Jacob Hoggard – vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard, piano, banjo, Moog synthesizer • Dave Rosin – guitar, background vocals • Tommy Mac – bass, background vocals • Chris Crippin – drums, background vocals Additional musicians • Adrian Newman – guitar, keyboard • Alex Barnes – vocals • BC Jean – backing vocals • Ben Kaplan – keyboard • Brian Howes – guitar, keyboard, backing vocals • Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen – guitar, keyboard • Kate Morgan – vocals • Madison Godfrey – vocals • Matt Squire – guitar, keyboard • Nolan Sipe – guitar • Sal Ferreras – percussion Production • Jacob Hoggard – producer, programming • Brian Howes – producer, vocal producer • Adrian Newman – engineer, programming, vocal producer • Ben Kaplan – engineer, programming, vocal engineer • Christopher Midgley – assistant engineer, assistant vocal engineer • Garnet Armstrong – art direction, design • Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen – digital editing, engineer, mixing, programming, vocal engineer • Jason Darbyson – art direction, design • Matt Squire – programming • Misha Rajaratnam – editing, programming, string arrangements • Nolan Sipe – engineer, programming • Paul Dutil – assistant engineer • Rune Westberg – engineer • Ryan Peterson – editing, programming • Shawn Marino – A&R • Ted Jensen – mastering ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==