Mood Swings

Mood Swings is the debut album by Moodring. It debut at #1 on June 20 2010 selling 85,867 copies. On February 13 2011 it was certified diamond. It has sold 1,223,538 total copies.

Background and Recording
The recording sessions for Mood Swings began back in 2008, when the band was made up of Bre Washington, Cassie Garcia and Mia Rose. Only one song was released, Alive, and then Mia departed from the rest of the group. When L'mondrea Brown joined in late 2009, the band decided to keep the album concept: a cross genre record with pop, rock, hip hop and r&b tracks that vary in mood considerably across the album. Several songs from the original sessions were recorded with L'mondrea's vocals, most notably "A Dangerous Liaison" which became the official 2nd single. However, several new songs were recorded and old songs re-worked, including the next two singles "Hey Lady (Why Don't You?)", a new track, and "Dirty Dirty" a reworked track. Originally, the album was supposed to be the work of Moodring and Moodring only, with the girls writing, singing and producing everything. However, with the onset of the Tango Challenge and the girls working with Kirby L. Avalon, the group decided to include several other artists on the record. This led to duets with Taylor, newcomers L.E.X, Vanessa Flowers and Just Ginger as well as a remix by and featuring DAMNED.

Content
The concept of the album was that several genres would be included, ranging from rock to hop-hop, however the group are ultimately a pop/r&b act so the majority of the songs centered around that. Opening track A Dangerous Liaison fitted into such genre, a mid-tempo R&B number with hints of pop and soul. The song was likened to songs by Britney Spears, but with a more urban twist. I Thought About It saw the record jumped to pop/rock, influenced by Maroon 5. The short song has since been cited as the girls' least favourite song on the album, and they were just trying to do something different. Dirty Dirty became the band's fourth single, and was a hip-hop song which sampled TLC's song of the same name. This song had a harder edge to the previous, and has since become their biggest hit to date. Track four, I Know That I'm Sexy (Don't Tell Me) returns to the pop/r&b style of A Dangerous Liaison and features the vocals of Taylor. Taylor has since gone in a more urban direction and Bre stated that perhaps if that had happened before the recording of the song, it would sound completely different. However the band were happy with the outcome. Hey Lady (Why Don't You?) was the first duet the band recorded and takes on a neo-soul vibe. The song also has an 80s sound and is very unique on the album. It was released for the Tango Challenge: Blind Date and co-written with Kirby L. Avalon. Fantasy was another song recorded for the Tango Challenge, but this time to get them through the heats. The song has a similar subject to Dirty Dirty but less hip-hop and more pop, described as sounding a little like Danity Kane. L'mondrea was cited saying "If any song on Mood Swings can get us a #1, this is it". Hands On Me, the next track is again different, this time with a latin vibe. There are influences from Mambo and Brazillian music. Gonna Make You Beg features the vocals of Vanessa Flowers and is another hup-hop/r&b track but less so than Dirty Dirty. The song has a risqué subject and although the band were unsure if it would go down well with the public, it was released as a single anyway, which was a success. No Need To Tell Me Why was the song that started the band's collaborations with L.E.X and the only song with a garage vibe on the album. Influenced by the likes of Mis-Teeq, the song takes the band to a different place than the rest of the record, and many critics stated it sounds dated. It's All Falling Apart, writing credits and lead vocals entirely by Bre is a soft ballad that builds up towards the end, influenced by Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Wipe Away The Tears, another solo track, but this time Cassie's offering is of a similar genre, but with an urban twist. Love and Hate the second duet with Kirby L. Avalon on the record shares the Neo-Soul sound of Hey Lady (Why Don't You?) but with a slightly crunkier edge. The song was re-worked from an old demo and is one that Bre is most proud of, however the band feel as it has been a b side it would not work as a single. Heartbreak City is almost entirely spoken, with little more than a piano to accompany them. The song features Just Ginger and all four girls wrote their own parts. The track is the start of a mellow ending to the album. ☆★☆ is an translated and rewritten version of a Korean song, and is another piano ballad. It became the band's first single in Japan, however the band feel it wouldn't sell as well in the UK market. Finally Through The Storm is a short outro, sang completely acapella in gospel style, mainly to showcase the girls' voices. The Album also has two bonus tracks. The band's debut single, re-recorded with L'mondrea's vocals, Alive. This song is an uplifting pop song with an urban twist. Finally there is a rocked up version of A Dangerous Liaison, mixed by DAMNED with an extra verse by their frontwoman Halle York.

Promotion
The album came in a special edition format which included an additional DVD and poster. The DVD included all the music videos to date including the exclusive animated movie Leaving Heartbreak City which friends of the band voiced.

Reissue
In October 2010 it was announced that the album would be reissued with new artwork and 5 new songs, the release date was confirmed as December 27 2010 along with new single Loving Me To Death which is a winter ballad with strings, piano and raw emotive vocals. Other new songs are the Polow da Don remix of Dirty Dirty which features L.E.X, a mix which is even more hip hop than the original with a crunkier sound. Heart of the Matter, a track from Moodring's Enter The Ring Vol. 1 EP features Hailey and is a cover of the Don Henley song, a soft version with lots of soul. Another cover to make the album is that of Shackles (Praise You) by Mary Mary. This cover came about after the group performed it with Beau Aberjide on URAPS Idol 11. Finally a song called Chocolate Love has made the album, little is known about this at the moment. For those tracks to make the album, others had to be removed, namely I Thought About It, No Need To Tell Me Why, Wipe Away The Tears, It's All Falling Apart and Heatbeak City.

Box Set
On 28th February, 2011 a Box Set featuring every song, remix, demo and live performance released by Moodring during the Mood Swings era was made available to celebrate the URAPS 10th anniversary and to close the era. The Box Set consisted of 7 CDs with 143 audio tracks and a bonus music video DVD.

Chart Performance
The album debuted at #1, much to the shock of the girls who had previously enjoyed only moderate success. It peaked at #1 for the second time in October 2010, thanks to their first number one single Fantasy. On February 13 2011 it was certified diamond, selling 1,000,167 copies.

Standard and Deluxe track listing

 * 1) A Dangerous Liaison (3:22)
 * 2) I Thought About It (1:50)
 * 3) Dirty Dirty (4:02)
 * 4) I Know That I'm Sexy (Don't Tell Me) feat. Taylor (3:08)
 * 5) Hey Lady (Why Don't You?) with Kirby L. Avalon (3:13)
 * 6) Fantasy (3:59)
 * 7) Hands On Me (3:15)
 * 8) Gonna Make You Beg feat. Vanessa Flowers (3:18)
 * 9) No Need To Tell Me Why feat. L.E.X (2:46)
 * 10) It's All Falling Apart (5:03)
 * 11) Wipe Away The Tears (3:58)
 * 12) Love & Hate feat. Kirby L. Avalon (2:40)
 * 13) Heartbreak City feat. Just Ginger (2:23)
 * 14) ☆★☆ (3:26)
 * 15) Through The Storm (1:04)
 * 16) Alive (L'mondrea Mix)  (3:10)
 * 17) A Dangerous Liaison (DAMNED Remix) feat. Halle York (3:54)

Deluxe DVD tracklisting

 * 1) A Dangerous Liaison (video)
 * 2) Hey Lady (Why Don't You?) (video)
 * 3) Dirty Dirty (video)
 * 4) Alive (L'mondrea Mix) (video)
 * 5) Fantasy (live @ Tango Challenge heats video)
 * 6) A Dangerous Liaison (behind the scenes video)
 * 7) Leaving Heartbreak City (short animated movie)
 * 8) Waiting For Your Love (audio and photogallery)
 * 9) The Making of Mood Swings (video interview)
 * 10) Band Profiles

Reissue Tracklisting

 * 1) Dirty Dirty (4:02)
 * 2) A Dangerous Liaison (3:22)
 * 3) Chocolate Love (3:44)
 * 4) I Know That I'm Sexy (Don't Tell Me) feat. Taylor (3:08)
 * 5) Hey Lady (Why Don't You?) with Kirby L. Avalon (3:13)
 * 6) Fantasy (3:59)
 * 7) Hands On Me (3:15)
 * 8) Gonna Make You Beg feat. Vanessa Flowers (3:18)
 * 9) Shackles (Praise You) (3:17)
 * 10) Alive (3:10)
 * 11) Love & Hate feat. Kirby L. Avalon (2:40)
 * 12) Heart Of The Matter feat. Hailey (5:15)
 * 13) Loving Me To Death (3:45)
 * 14) Stars (3:26)
 * 15) Through The Storm (1:04)
 * 16) A Dangerous Liaison (DAMNED Remix) feat. Halle York (3:54)
 * 17) Dirty Dirty (Polow da Don remix) feat. L.E.X (4:32)

Box Set Tracklisting
Can be found under Mood Swings Box Set

Credits
Tracks 1, 2, 7, 15 written by Cassie Garcia/M. Rose/Bre Washington with additional work on Track 17 by Halle York and on Track 16 by L'mondrea Brown Tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12 an 13 written by L. Brown/C. Garcia/B. Washington with Taylor on 4 Kirby L. Avalon on 5, L.E.X on 9 and Just Ginger on 13. Track 3 written by L. Brown/C. Garcia/M. Rose/B. Washington and contains elements of the song "Dirty Dirty" written by M. Elliott/T. Mosely. Track 10 written by B. Washington Track 11 written by C. Garcia Track 14 written by B. Washington from a translation of the song ☆★☆ written by E-TRIBE.