The Both | |
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 The Both (Aimee Mann and Ted Leo) in Philadelphia on May 3, 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Indie rock, power pop |
| Years active | 2013–2016 |
| Labels | SuperEgo Records |
| Past members | Aimee Mann Ted Leo |
| Website | www |
The Both is an American indie rock musical duo consisting of Aimee Mann and Ted Leo. They began collaborating in 2013 and released a self-titled album in April 2014.
The songwriting collaboration between Aimee Mann and Ted Leo originated during a joint concert tour in 2012, and specifically with an appearance together at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on November 11, 2012, which was later described in the lyrics of their song "Milwaukee." [1] At that time, Leo was the opening act for Mann, and the two sometimes collaborated on stage. [2] They began writing songs together in December 2012. [3]
Mann and Leo were initially brought to each other's attention in 2001, when Scott Miller, leader of the bands Game Theory and The Loud Family, gave Mann one of Leo's albums. [4] [5] Miller, who died in April 2013, was later described as having a "special, spiritual, guru-like presence" in the heart of the Both's debut album. [5]
On March 8, 2013, the duo performed their first show together as #BOTH, formatting the band's name as a hashtag. [6] [7]
Mann and Leo frequently trade off lead vocal duties within their songs, each taking a verse before joining in harmonies that "expertly interw[ea]ve their voices." [8]
Mann performs on bass and acoustic guitar, and Leo performs on electric guitar. In addition, during concerts Leo occasionally plays a modeling keyboard to replicate a few overdubs of strings and synthesized flute from the studio recordings that, according to Leo, "have become important parts of the songs" to him. [9]
The Both have also become known for their extended on-stage "jokey banter", [10] with "quips and asides" described as "nearly as great as the songs they fed into." [11] Their concerts have been called "one part super-group show, and one part close friends... fluidly (and hilariously) play[ing] off of one another." [12]
The Both typically perform with a guest drummer who is introduced and acknowledged, but who has no singing or speaking role onstage. Session drummer Scott Seiver toured with the Both in 2013 and played on the band's debut album. For the band's 2014 tour, Matt Mayhall replaced Seiver on drums, with Mann commenting in an interview, "We're a power trio." [13]
| The Both | |
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 | |
| Studio album by The Both | |
| Released | April 15, 2014 |
| Length | 41:59 |
| Producer | Paul Bryan |
Mann and Leo announced in 2013 that they would be releasing an EP together, [5] but after writing enough material for an EP, they decided to continue the collaboration and release a full album. [3] On April 15, 2014, the Both released their debut album, The Both, on Mann's label, SuperEgo Records.
The songs were written by a cross-country exchange of notes, taking "stems of an idea and kick[ing] them back and forth," according to Leo. [13] As Mann described the songwriting process to Billboard , there were "some songs where each person has their verse, the chorus may be written by one person, the bridge written by the other, but there are definitely songs where we would go over line-by-line or just ask each other questions" to "focus the narrative." [3]
The first co-written song, "You Can't Help Me Now," was started by Leo, who described himself as "shaken" when he received Mann's initial notes on the song, because "a person who I respect so much is handing me negative notes about something I wrote. It was really just my own quaking ego.... But we got past that pretty quickly." [14] Leo described the partnership with Mann as "figuratively the best thing that has happened to my writing process in my life." [14]
According to Mann, the song "Bedtime Stories" was written about Scott Miller, as an expression of mourning and as "a musical salute ... consciously a tribute to him, especially the chord progression of the chorus, which is very, very Loud Family." [5]
The album was produced by Paul Bryan, a member of Mann's band, and was recorded in Los Angeles throughout 2013. [1] Bryan also is credited as a performer on the album.
During the week prior to the release of the album, SuperEgo Records released a music video of "Milwaukee," by director Daniel Ralston. [3] [15] The video featured Leo as both himself and his fictional uncle Ed Leo, supposedly a former drummer for Adrenalin O.D., providing a comical clash of styles while touring as drummer for the Both. [3] [16] Later in 2014, the SuperEgo label released a music video for "Volunteers of America," also directed by Ralston and featuring Ed Leo. [17]
All songs written by the Both, except "Honesty Is No Excuse" written by Phil Lynott.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Gambler" | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Milwaukee" | 4:21 |
| 3. | "No Sir" | 3:46 |
| 4. | "Volunteers of America" | 3:44 |
| 5. | "Pay for It" | 3:16 |
| 6. | "You Can't Help Me Now" | 3:39 |
| 7. | "The Prisoner" | 4:41 |
| 8. | "Hummingbird" | 4:04 |
| 9. | "Honesty Is No Excuse" | 3:28 |
| 10. | "Bedtime Stories" | 4:05 |
| 11. | "The Inevitable Shove" | 3:50 |
The Barnes & Noble release of this album has two bonus tracks: acoustic versions of “Milwaukee” and “No Sir”.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100 [18] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [19] |
| Rolling Stone |  [20] |
| Spin | 7/10 [21] |
The Both debuted on the Billboard 200 at #59, [22] and on the Billboard Independent Albums chart at #12. [23] Billboard called the album "a synthesis and meeting-in-the-middle of Leo and Mann's sonic signatures", resulting in a "warm, intimate and often exuberant piece of work." [3]
The collaboration was well-received, with NPR's Stephen Thompson writing that "each singer sounds freshened and energized — never diminished." [24] The A.V. Club wrote, "Even as Mann pushes toward friendly pop-rock and Leo pulls toward spiky punkiness, the lack of struggle in that mild tension makes for a charm offensive that's hard to resist." [25] The Boston Globe cited "hand-in-glove harmonies" as the album's strongest point, with Mann's "mesmerizing, chalky murmur" giving a "warmly blurry edge" to Leo, while Leo's brashness helped "rough up her style." [26]
Spin called the album "the best thing either artist has ever done," and a "pleasant late-career surprise from an auteur who needed more power and a rocker who needed more pop." [21] In a previous article, Spin cited the song "Milwaukee" as both "brainy and leanly catchy, with a peppy chorus" and a "rollicking, raise-your-beers guitar solo." [4]
| Chart (2014) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 [27] | 59 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [28] | 15 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [29] | 12 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [30] | 12 |
In 2014 and 2015, prior to tours together billed as "The Aimee Mann and Ted Leo Christmas Show," [31] The Both released Christmas-themed songs as singles. "Nothing Left to Do (Let’s Make This Christmas Blue)," released in November 2014, was described by Stereogum as "a sweet song with some dark lyrics lamenting the feeling of listlessness that can come along with the holiday season." [32] "You're a Gift," released in December 2015, conveyed a wistful theme of holiday anxiety and "longing for someone to hunker down with and enjoy the holiday spirit with." [33]
In 2019, Mann and Leo began a podcast through the Maximum Fun network, The Art of Process, in which they interview creative personalities on the process of turning ideas into art. [34] Later that year, the two appeared on the animated television film Steven Universe: The Movie , with Mann reprising her role as Opal from the Steven Universe television series; they perform the song "Independent Together" with Pearl's voice actress Deedee Magno Hall. [35] [36]
'Til Tuesday was an American new wave band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The band, consisting of Aimee Mann, Robert Holmes (guitar), Joey Pesce (keyboards), and Michael Hausman (drums), was active from 1982 to 1989. They are best known for their 1985 hit single "Voices Carry".
Lost in Space is the fourth album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 2002 on her own label, SuperEgo Records. A special edition released in 2003 featured a second disc containing six live recordings, two B-sides and two previously unreleased songs.
Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often describing lost or lonely underdog characters. Her work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock.
Michael Daniel Penn is an American musician, singer and composer. His 1989 single "No Myth" was a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries.
Hold Your Fire is the twelfth studio album by Canadian progressive rock band Rush, released on September 8, 1987. It was recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, AIR Studios in Montserrat and McClear Place in Toronto. Hold Your Fire was the last Rush studio album released outside Canada by PolyGram/Mercury. 'Til Tuesday bassist and vocalist Aimee Mann contributed vocals to "Time Stand Still" and appeared in the Zbigniew Rybczyński-directed video.
Mindi Abair is an American saxophonist, vocalist, author, and National Trustee for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that puts on the Grammy Awards show.
Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo is the third album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released on May 2, 2000. Some songs were previously released on the Magnolia soundtrack (1999), which Mann wrote in the same period. "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" was co-written with the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello.
Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both.
Marc Broussard is an American singer-songwriter. His style is best described as "Bayou Soul", a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots. He has released eight studio albums, one live album, three EPs, and has charted twice on Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks.
One More Drifter in the Snow is a Christmas album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released by SuperEgo Records in the United States on October 31, 2006. It comprises covers of Christmas standards and two original compositions: "Christmastime", written by Mann's husband, Michael Penn, and "Calling on Mary". Grant-Lee Phillips sings with Mann on "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". It was the first of several albums produced by Mann's bassist, Paul Bryan. As of December 2008, the album had sold 39,000 copies in US.
Scott Warren Miller was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as leader of the 1980s band Game Theory and 1990s band The Loud Family, and as the author of a 2010 book of music criticism. He was described by The New York Times as "a hyperintellectual singer and songwriter who liked to tinker with pop the way a born mathematician tinkers with numbers", having "a shimmery-sweet pop sensibility, in the tradition of Brian Wilson and Alex Chilton."
Paul Bryan is an American music producer, arranger, songwriter, and bassist.
Aimee Mann is an American singer-songwriter who has released several albums since the early 1980s. Originally, she worked in collaboration with The Young Snakes and 'Til Tuesday, before becoming a solo artist. In 2013, she and Ted Leo began performing as a duo called The Both.
"Voices Carry" is a song by the American rock band 'Til Tuesday. It was produced by Mike Thorne for the band's debut studio album, Voices Carry (1985). The accompanying music video, directed by D.J. Webster, received wide exposure on MTV and positive reactions from critics. It was nominated for numerous awards and is thought to be the reason behind the song's success. It was released in North America in March 1985. "Voices Carry" became the band's highest-charting single and their only top ten hit in the U.S., peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally it reached the top twenty in Canada and Australia.
The Bronze Fonz is a public artwork by American artist Gerald P. Sawyer, located on the Milwaukee Riverwalk in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bronze Fonz depicts Henry Winkler as "The Fonz," a character in the 1970s television series Happy Days, which was set in Milwaukee.
Charmer is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released by SuperEgo Records in the UK on September 17, 2012, and in the US on September 18.
Somebody is a song by American singer-songwriter Bonnie McKee from her debut album Trouble (2004). The song was written by McKee, Robert Orrall, and Al Anderson, while production was mainly handled by Rob Cavallo with help from Antonina Armato. The song was released as the second single from the album sometime during 2004. A music video was released sometime during 2004. "Somebody" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2004 film Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, which McKee also appeared in.
Mental Illness is the ninth studio album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann. It was released on March 31, 2017, by SuperEgo Records. Mann described it as her "saddest, slowest and most acoustic" album. The album won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
"Going Through the Motions" is a song by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, which was released in 2005 as the lead single from her fifth studio album The Forgotten Arm. The song was written by Mann and produced by Joe Henry. "Going Through the Motions" peaked at No. 18 in the US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart.
Queens of the Summer Hotel is the tenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released on November 5, 2021, on SuperEgo Records. The songs were inspired by Susanna Kaysen's 1993 memoir Girl, Interrupted.
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