Serenity

'Serenity' is the sophomore album from Regina Harper, released on January 6th 2014 via Fusion Records. The album was released alongside the lead single "Soft Grunge". On January 13th, Serenity officially charted at #TBA on the UK albums charts and #TBA on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Background
Regina began writing tracks for the follow-up to How Many Miles To Hollywood? as early as January 2013. She decided she wanted a more cohesive album and thus worked solely with only four producers: Liam Howe, Rick Nowels, Jeff Bhasker and Emile Haynie. Jeff Bhasker served as the album's executive producer. Regina wanted to create an album that was the "reverse" to her debut album; the other side of the same coin. Because of this, the themes of oppression and feminism are not exactly present in Serenity. The main theme of the album was described by Regina as "love".

Composition
The album features a wide variety of different sounds and genres. The first two tracks, "Follow the Sun" and "Soft Grunge", are upbeat punk-pop tracks described by Regina as being "very mainstream". Critics compared these tracks to the work of Avril Lavigne. "For One More Day" explores an 60's retro-rock sound. About this track, Regina said: "It's basically what I'd sound like all the time if I was a Mary Jane-smoking hippy". "Click Your Heels" and "The Award" are power-rock ballads, while "Do The Best I Can" sees Regina introduce some light dub-step into her authentic pop-rock sound. "Cashmere Sweater" sees Regina take a more artistic approach in her sound with a "hipster inspired" track, compared to the work of New Zealand singer/songwriter Lorde. Regina switches rock for electro-pop with "Tropical Goth Aura", often compared to her single "Sydney". The final two tracks "Serenity" and "Chosen" are powerful baroque-pop tracks, similar to Regina's hit single "The Pact".

Artwork, titling, concept
The album's artwork sees Regina and a boy kissing passionately in a field, with a love-heart shaped balloon present. According to Regina, the cover represents the album's theme of love and happiness. This also interweaves with the album title: Serenity. Harper said this was chosen as the album title because of how serene she felt when writing the album and how being in love can cause a person to feel totally at peace.

Release and promotion
There was not much promotion in the United Kingdom in the lead up to the album release. Regina made a public appearance at the Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball, performing four of her hit singles and giving the first ever performance of "Soft Grunge". She later appeared on talk shows The Alan Carr Show, The Graham Norton Show and, in Ireland, The Late Late Show. She performed "Soft Grunge" at all of these appearances also.

Critical Response
Upon release, Serenity received mostly mixed reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 84, based on 24 reviews, indicating "extremely favourable reviews". Allmusic stated that the album was "not as enjoyable" as her debut album and noted that the lack of upbeat songs became boring by the final few tracks. Some of the album's praise has been directed towards the versatility of genres on the album. BBC Music noted how, despite the many genres, the album flowed together very well. Entertainment Weekly called the album a "blessing" and said that "Chosen" was the album's highlight and also called it "an obvious future single". The Guardian's Emily Scott said that "this album cements Regina as a force not to be reckoned with. She really is one of a kind". The Sunday Times criticized the album, giving it only 2.5 stars out of 5. According to them, the album was a "bland, rushed effort" and was reminiscent of the work released by independent artists on a budget, not by someone with a major label backing.

Singles

 * "Soft Grunge" was released as the album's first single on January 6th 2014. The track received mostly positive reviews, despite being different from Regina's usual work. The music video was directed by Regina herself, a first for the singer, and premiered on December 22nd 2013. Upon release, "Soft Grunge" charted at #TBA in the UK and #TBA in the United States.


 * "Follow The Sun" was announced as the album's second single by Regina in December 2013 in an interview with BBC Radio 1.

Personnel

 * Writing - Regina Harper
 * Composition and production - Regina Harper, Liam Howe, Rick Nowels, Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker
 * Executive producer - Jeff Bhasker
 * Lead/main vocals - Regina Harper
 * Background vocals - Elizabeth Grant, Lambrini Kakalamani, Valerie Poxleitner, Nuhdeen Coyle, Carly Rae Japlip.
 * Guitars - Regina Harper, Butch Walker, Chris Braide, Linda Perry
 * Drums - Nestor Maxwell
 * Keyboards/piano - Regina Harper, Liam Howe, Brian Higgins