Cute Is What We Aim For

Life is short and the last thing we want to do is waste your time. By now, you already know the myriad of feats Cute Is What We Aim For has accomplished since forming in 2005. The band’s 2006 debut The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch spent countless months on the Billboard Top 200 Charts; the group successfully headlined Alternative Press’ Bands You Need To Know tour (and graced the cover of the magazine), appeared as headliners on the 2007 Vans Warped Tour, shared the stage with labelmates Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heros on The Young Wild Things Arena Tour, and traversed Canada with resident legends Simple Plan—all while the group were still teenagers living in the blue-collar town of Buffalo, New York. While the band managed to exceed even their own expectations with their debut release, their sophmore attempt simply titled Rotation, shows that the band is still hungry to discover their true potential.

“We’re not seventeen anymore; there’s so much to be said about these past few years of being in a pressure cooker and learning what the real world is like,” explains vocalist Shaant Hacikyan, stating that this time around the band decided to make a record for themselves without taking any scene politics or trends into consideration. “I think this record is going to do such incredible things and launch us to another level.”

In order to fully realize their vision, the band—which also includes guitarist Jeff Czum and bassist Dave Melillo—holed up in Los Angeles with Goldfinger’s John Feldmann armed with only the skeleton of what would eventually make up Rotation. Czum adds that he felt extra pressure considering the fact that Goldfinger is one of his favorite bands. “Thankfully, we work best under pressure and I really think that added stress helped shape these songs.”

“A lot of the bands I’ve worked with don’t want to experiment too much, but these guys were really open-minded and I think that’s why this record turned
out so good,” explains Feldmann, who has previously produced and discovered artists like the Used and Story Of The Year. “I just tried to push them by putting a piano in front of them instead of a guitar and making them
write on that instrument or by putting them in different physical environments,” he adds. “I always like to try and push artists, I felt like these guys allowed me to push them as far as I could. [Making this record] was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in the studio.”

Listening to Rotation, this urgency is almost palpable and Feldmann—whose production techniques ranged from making Melillo throw punches at Hackiyan during tracking, to literally tracking songs on the beach near Monterey—pulled something special out of the group by getting them outside of their comfort zone. This is immediately evident with the first single “Practice Makes Perfect” which features singing synths and a new-wave sensibility while still retaining Cute Is What We Aim For’s caustic lyrical wit and penchant for soaring choruses. Alternately, the lyrics and composition of songs like "Hollywood" and "Time" portrays a band that is conscious of the world around them and is willing to motivate their fans to think outside of the box. Meanwhile, tracks like "Marriage To Millions" and "Navigate" showcase that the band has an undying pop sensibility that spans across the duration of Rotation.

Hacikyan and co. explains that this time around they were more influenced by classic songwriters like Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and John Lennon. “We realized ‘How are we going to make a statement if we’re trying to just go along with everyone else?’” Hacikiyan explains, adding that the lyrics for Rotation were improvised in the vocal booth to keep them from
sounding too calculated. “Why not be influenced by the masters instead of individuals with the same influences as me?” He also adds that the band’s newest member Melillo was instrumental in the writing process and, maybe, more importantly made the band feel like a cohesive unit for the first time ever. If the band had to name one lyrical theme on Rotation, it would be “change,” which makes perfect sense when you consider the plateaus and pitfalls the band has endured over the past few years. “This one had such a cohesive message of change: external change, internal change, global change, political change, social change”

“Making this album was such a learning process and I want to stress not just musically but from a life perspective I think we’ve developed so much,” Hacikiyan summarizes. “We realized this is a career and we have to go for it; we can’t just be kids and take it for granted. There’s so much satisfaction in understanding life isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey.”

-www.cuteiswhatweaimfor.com