Quinn XCII finally gave his fans what they were waiting for. Change of Scenery II arrives as the full-length studio album and follow-up to his 2015 Change of Scenery debut EP.
Making Change of Scenery Right out of College
Produced by long-time collaborator and old friend Ayokay, the album returns to many of the uplifting and nostalgic sounds of Change of Scenery, but it’s safe to say he has grown tremendously as an artist. “We made the first EP at that transitional point between college and the “real” world. We were these broke kids working on music that was either going to do something great for us or do nothing;” Quinn XCII wrote in an email to The Daily from Columbia Records. Following that release, he gained an immense amount of popularity, especially among high school and college students; likely due to the easy-going nature of his music.
Quinn XCII Grows up in new Album
Quinn XCII normally spends his recording days in Los Angeles; but in light of the pandemic, he switched up his location for this album, moving to Newport, R.I. The introductory track immediately tells us this location, “We Made This Album In Newport”. The album art matches the East Coast beach theme. The album includes a few features.
The 12-track album’s lead single is ‘Stay Next to Me’ feat. Chelsea Cutler. It’s a piano-driven portrait of infatuation at first sight. Another high-energy and irresistibly feel-good track, the hip-hop-leaning ‘My Wife & 2 Dogs,’ cleverly documents the making of the album, dropping references to Wes Anderson and Rocky Balboa in its tongue-in-cheek ode to unbridled creativity. From there, Quinn XCII shifts into a melancholy mood with ‘SOS;’ pulling inspiration from his surroundings and spinning a fictional but emotionally raw story of a lover lost at sea.
“Through making this album I was able to stop and appreciate certain things that I’d been overlooking in the day-to-day,” says Quinn XCII. “It taught me how important it is to enjoy the simple pleasures, the people closest to you, and to never take anything for granted. I hope that hearing these songs helps other people to feel that same kind of excitement and joy.”
