Sci-Fi Crimes is the fifth studio album by the rock band Chevelle, released on August 31, 2009 through Epic Records. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009 with producer Brian Virtue. On April 9, 2009, Chevelle debuted two new songs, Letter from a Thief and Sleep Apnea at a concert in Atlanta, Georgia. Vocalist Pete Loeffler stated that the tracks were “possible singles” off the album. Jars was the first single from the album and began radio airplay on June 23. The track list and artwork were revealed July 21, 2009, in addition to a pre-order being made available which included the ability to download three tracks: Jars, This Circus, and The Clincher (Version 103) (an alternate version of the track from This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)). The album cover is an oil painting made by bassist Dean Bernardini on a 24×48 canvas. Letter from a Thief was the second single from the album and began radio airplay on December 7, 2009. Shameful Metaphors is the third single from the album and began radio airplay on July 12, 2010. A live performance music video for Shameful Metaphors premiered on September 16, 2010. Unlike previous albums, Sci-Fi Crimes was recorded live in the studio as a band, without the use of samples.
Sam Loeffler on the album:
“We wanted to do a record that was more true to what our live sound is like,” explains Loeffler. “We wanted to go in the studio and play the tracks and just record them and not make a perfect record the way I think a lot of our records in the past have been made. We wanted to compete on that same level by not tuning the vocals and not tuning every single chord and not adding samples so every single snare hit is exactly the same. We just went in and recorded. It’s not a sonically perfect record; it’s more like you get if you go into a studio and just play. And I’m curious to see if people notice a difference.”
Tracklist:
- Sleep Apnea
- Mexican Sun
- Shameful Metaphors
- Jars
- Fell into Your Shoes
- Letter from a Thief
- Highland’s Apparition
- Roswell’s Spell
- Interlewd
- A New Momentum
- This Circus
- Sleep Apnea (acoustic) iTunes bonus track
Chevelle
Pete Loeffler: vocals, guitar
Sam Loeffler: drums
Dean Bernardini: bass
Production
Brian Virtue: producer, engineer, mixing
Chevelle: co-producer
Kyle Mann: assistant engineer
John Netti: assistant engineer
Ted Jensen: mastering
Artwork
Dean Bernardini: album cover
Invisible Creature, Inc.: album design
Jerad Knudson: photography
Mark Samuels: painting photography
