Last Year Was Complicated

by Nick Jonas

Overview

Last year may have been complicated for Nick Jonas -- at the very least, he separated from his girlfriend Olivia Culpo in the summer of 2015 -- but Last Year Was Complicated feels assured in a way its eponymous 2014 predecessor did not. Nick Jonas refashioned the former Jonas Brother as a mature artist, a singer whose sensibilities now adhered to sensual R&B and slick club music. Produced in part with some of the same collaborators as the 2014 LP -- Jason Evigan maintains a large role, as does Sir Nolan -- Last Year Was Complicated uses the hits "Chains" and "Jealous" as touchstones, expanding their cool, glassy shimmer to songs of heartbreak, doubt, and loss. Wisely, Jonas and his collaborators decide not to lean too hard on Nick's vocals: his appeal lies not in his range, but his thin vulnerability, a quality that tends to humanize the steely gloss of the production. Beneath the sheets of sound, Jonas seems sensitive, a sensibility that carries over even into the heavy club bangers "Voodoo" and "Champagne Problems," lending them a little lightness. Still, he flourishes on the unabashed pop numbers -- specifically "Under You," written in part with Max Martin -- and the ballads, where this quivering capacity for masculine heartbreak is pushed to the forefront. "Close," a duet with Tove Lo, is perhaps the best showcase for this aspect of Nick Jonas, but the entirety of Last Year Was Complicated walks a fine line between immaculately produced pop confection and personal confession: it may not be heartbreaking but it feels as if it comes from the heart. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/10/2016
Label:	Island
UPC:	0602547859747

Tracks

1. Voodoo
2. Champagne Problems
3. Close
4. Chainsaw
5. Touch
6. Bacon
7. Good Girls
8. The Difference
9. Don't Make Me Choose
10. Under You
11. Unhinged
12. Comfortable

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nick Jonas   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Mattman & Robin   Bass,Drums,Snaps,Marimba,Keyboards,Percussion,Handclapping
Sean Douglas   Keyboards
Julia Michaels   Vocals (Background)
Pierre Luc   Guitar
Marcus Kincy   Bass,Piano,Keyboards
Ty Dolla $ign   Featured Artist
Savan Kotecha   Vocals (Background)
Shellback   Drums,Guitar
Ali Payami   Bass,Drums,Keyboards,Synthesizer
Big Sean   Featured Artist
Deanna Della Cioppa   Vocals (Background)
Rickard Goeransson   Bass
Dewain Whitmore, Jr.   Vocals (Background)
Daniella Mason   Featured Artist
Tove Lo   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Maximilian Jaeger   Vocal Engineer
Paul "Phamous" Guy Shelton   Composer
James Royo   Mixing,Engineer
Sam Martin   Composer
Alexander Pavlich   Composer
Sean Douglas   Composer
Eric Weaver   Engineer
Simon Wilcox   Composer
John Cranfield   Engineer
Daniel Parker   Composer
Justin Tranter   Composer
PJ Bianco   Composer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Tony Maserati   Mixing
Christopher Young   Composer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering
Rico Love   Composer,Vocal Engineer
John Hanes   Mixing Engineer
Max Martin   Composer,Producer
Rickard Goeransson   Composer
Jordan Johnson   Composer
Ian Kirkpatrick   Composer
Talay Riley   Composer
Yu Tsai   Photography
Julia Michaels   Composer
Mattias Larsson   Composer
Billy Hickey   Engineer
Nick Jonas   Composer,Producer
Cory Bice   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Greg Bonnick   Composer
Stefan Johnson   Composer
Tyler Scott   Assistant
Sean Anderson   Composer
Mattman & Robin   Producer,Programming,Vocal Engineer
Zeke Silvera   A&R
Jonathan Tucker   Composer
Brett James   Composer
Savan Kotecha   Composer
Ilsey Juber   Composer
Shellback   Producer
Ali Payami   Composer,Producer,Programming
Tyrone Griffin   Composer
Jason Evigan   Composer,Producer,Instrumentation
David Massey   Executive Producer
Chris Young   Composer
Priscilla Renea   Composer
Sam Holland   Engineer
Noah Passovoy   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Jason Goldberg   Mixing Assistant
Kyledidthis   Design,Art Direction
Meredeth Oliver   A&R
Gillian Russell   A&R
Patrick Smith   Composer
Hayden Chapman   Composer
Ammar Malik   Composer
Marcus Lomax   Composer
Dewain Whitmore, Jr.   Composer
Louie Gomez   Mixing Assistant
Daniella Mason   Composer
Serge Courtois   Mixing
Nolan Lambroza   Composer,Engineer
Robin Fredriksson   Composer
Petter Walther Walthinsen   Composer
Magnus Martinsen   Composer
Bebe Rexha   Composer
Peter Carlsson   Vocal Editing
Sir Nolan   Producer
Tove Lo   Composer
Darold Ferguson   Composer
Paul Lane   Package Production
John Shullman   Engineer