Neon Trees

Neon Trees’ new album Pop Psychology on Mercury / Island is an upbeat collection of sleek, modern alternative pop powered by singer-songwriter Tyler Glenn’s bright melodies, huge choruses, and witty lyrics about the challenges of finding love in the digital age. With disarming honesty, songs like ”Love In the 21st Century,” “Text Me In The Morning,” “I Love You, But I Hate Your Friends,” and first single “Sleeping With A Friend” cleverly capture the millennial concerns referenced in the titles and deliver them in impeccably shiny sonic packages, thanks to the band’s performances and production by Glenn’s long-time friend and songwriting collaborator Tim Pagnotta. Style-wise, Glenn feels that Pop Psychology blends sounds from the Provo, Utah-based quartet’s previous two albums, 2010’s guitar-pop-driven Habits and 2012’s electro-fueled New Wave-inspired Picture Show. “I think this is the first record where we combine both and really sound like Neon Trees throughout the entire album,” he says.

The final songs for the album were spawned in writing sessions the band had in Los Angeles. Songwriting has always been an emotional outlet for Glenn, who grew up next door to Chris Allen in Murrieta, CA, and followed him to Provo when Allen moved there for college. Neon Trees honed their New Wave-tinged sound locally before being chosen to open for The Killers in 2008. Shortly after, they signed to Mercury Records and released Habits, which spawned the platinum-selling breakthrough single “Animal.” The track peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart, No. 2 on the Rock Songs chart, and was featured on Glee. Its success led to multiple high-profile TV appearances, and tours with Thirty Seconds To Mars, Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance, and Duran Duran. The band’s ascending profile smoothed the way for their next album, Picture Show, which debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and featured the platinum-selling Top 10 single “Everybody Talks,” which cemented Neon Trees as modern rock contenders.

Neon Trees are Tyler Glenn, Chris Allen, Elaine Bradley and Branden Campbell.