Neon Trees - Pop Psychology (2014)

American indie rock outfit Neon Trees' successful 2012 sophomore release Picture Show is followed here by their third record, Pop Psychology. They enlisted producer Tim Pagnotta — who worked on their hits "Animal" and "Everybody Talks" — and recorded the album in 2013 in Los Angeles. Their upbeat combination of synth pop and new wave influences is explored in their unashamedly catchy single "Sleeping with a Friend."

Provo, Utah's poppy dance-punk band Neon Trees featured vocalist/keyboardist Tyler Glenn, guitarist Chris Allen, bassist Branden Campbell, and drummer/vocalist Elaine Bradley. The group's roots go back to Campbell and Allen's time growing up in Southern California; when Allen moved to Utah for school, Glenn, a self-taught musician, followed him. The pair connected with Campbell and Bradley; the latter began playing guitar in bands when she was 14 before switching to the drums. The band perfected their new wave-tinged sound at local shows and got their big break when they were chosen to be one of the opening acts for the Killers' 2008 North American tour. Early the following year, Neon Trees were signed to Mercury Records; they were also voted 2009's Band of the Year by Salt Lake City's City Weekly. The group's Mercury debut, Habits, arrived in early 2010. The following year, the band scored a hit, "Lessons in Love (All Day and All Night)," with house producer Kaskade; a guitar-heavy version of the song appeared on the band's 2012 album Picture Show, which found Neon Trees going in more rock and electronic directions at different times. They went on to tour the record shortly after, with performances alongside the likes of the Flaming Lips and the Offspring, as well as performing their hit song "Everybody Talks" on that year's edition of America's Got Talent. In 2013 they entered the studio with producer Tim Pagnotta — who they teamed up with on hit single "Animal" — to work on their third album, Pop Psychology, which was due in 2014.