For casual listeners, a "repack" often just means a sticky sticker on the front. But for Hello Fascination, the Deluxe Edition was a treasure trove for fans.
Released to capitalize on the band's exploding popularity on the Vans Warped Tour, the 2010 edition expanded the original tracklist, giving listeners more bang for their buck. It included the standard bangers like the title track "Hello Fascination" and the infectious "I.D.G.A.F.," but the real draw was the extra content.
The Deluxe Edition often featured the bonus track "Have You Ever Danced?"—a track that perfectly encapsulated the band's ability to mix dangerous breakdowns with dance-floor choruses.
The Tracklist Highlights:
Listening to the Hello Fascination (Deluxe Edition) in 2024 is a surreal experience. It transports you to a time when Warped Tour was the event of the summer and lyrics about heartbreak were delivered through a blend of screaming and auto-tune.
While the band’s lineup has changed over the years (with Kyle Even eventually departing and David Schmitt continuing the project), this specific era of Breathe Carolina represents a lightning-in-a-bottle moment. It’s fun, it’s chaotic, and it’s unapologetically electronic.
The most significant value-add of the 2010 Deluxe Edition (often referred to as the "Repack") is the inclusion of live tracks. During this era, electronic rock bands faced scrutiny regarding their ability to perform without backing tracks. The live tracks included—recorded during their headlining run—demonstrate that the band possessed genuine stage presence. Songs like "I.D.G.A.F." and "The Birds and the Bees" are performed with a raw energy that the studio versions polish over. You can hear the crowd participation, the slightly grittier vocals, and the urgency of the performance. This section of the album transformed it from a mere collection of songs into a time capsule of the "Warped Tour" experience. It validated the band as a legitimate touring act rather than just a flash-in-the-pan internet trend.
Breathe Carolina’s Hello Fascination, originally released in 2009, stands as a defining snapshot of late-2000s electronicore and dance-rock fusion. The 2010 deluxe repack — often called the deluxe edition or repack — reframed the album for an audience hungry for remixes, bonus tracks, and heightened production polish. This repack is not merely a marketing add-on; it crystallizes the band’s transition from underground scene players to mainstream contenders, while also revealing the era’s music-industry strategies for extending an album’s lifecycle.
Musical Style and Production Hello Fascination blends synth-driven pop sensibilities with post-hardcore energy. Vocal interplay between David Schmitt and Kyle Even alternates between sung hooks and screamed or shouted lines, a hallmark of electronicore that Breathe Carolina helped popularize. The deluxe repack amplifies the record’s electronic elements: remixes and reworked tracks spotlight dance-oriented production, reinforcing club-friendly beats and shimmering synths. This emphasis makes the repack feel like a bridge between alternative rock audiences and electronic dance music listeners, reflecting broader genre cross-pollination in the late 2000s.
Themes and Lyrics Lyrically, Hello Fascination navigates youth, desire, and spectacle. Songs revolve around nightlife, escapism, and romanticized self-presentation — fitting content for an album with “fascination” in its title. The deluxe edition’s added material often extends these themes rather than challenging them: bonus tracks and remixes repurpose the album’s central motifs into heightened, dancefloor-ready forms. The result is an album that not only narrates moments of youthful intensity but also invites listeners to re-experience them through repetition and remix culture.
Cultural Context and Reception Released amid a wave of bands combining electronic production with emo and post-hardcore influences, Hello Fascination rode a trend driven by MySpace-era virality, Warped Tour exposure, and an audience hungry for high-energy hybrid genres. The 2010 repack aimed to capitalize on the band’s growing profile by offering additional value to fans and extending radio and club play. Critics were divided: some praised the catchy hooks and production sheen, while others viewed the record as emblematic of formulaic tendencies in electronicore. Commercially, the album and its deluxe reissue helped Breathe Carolina reach a wider audience, securing their place on festival lineups and alternative radio rotations.
Artistic Significance The deluxe edition matters artistically because it reveals how Breathe Carolina and similar acts navigated the tension between scene credibility and mainstream success. By leaning into remix culture and dance-oriented aesthetics, the repack demonstrates the band’s willingness to adapt their sound to broader trends without fully abandoning their emo/post-hardcore roots. It also reflects how early-2010s acts used reissues to maintain momentum in an era when music consumption was shifting rapidly toward digital platforms and shorter attention spans.
Conclusion Hello Fascination (Deluxe Edition, 2010 repack) is both a product of its moment and an artifact of genre hybridity. It underscores Breathe Carolina’s role in popularizing electronicore and highlights industry practices that extended an album’s reach through repackaging and remixes. For fans and cultural historians alike, the deluxe repack offers insight into how youthful anthems were reshaped for dancefloors and radio — a reminder that fascination, like pop music itself, thrives on reinvention. breathe carolina hello fascination deluxe edition2010 repack
The Deluxe Edition of Breathe Carolina's second studio album, Hello Fascination, was released on July 6, 2010, exclusively through iTunes. This 2010 repack significantly expanded the original 2009 release with five bonus tracks, including collaborations and covers, alongside multiple remixes. Key Album Overview Release Date: The deluxe version launched on July 6, 2010.
Genre: A high-energy blend of electropop, post-hardcore, and electronic rock, often characterized by the "crunkcore" or "neon" aesthetic of the era.
Producers: Primarily produced by Mike Green and Matt Squire, who helped transition the band from a purely electronic sound to one featuring live instrumentation like guitars and drums.
Chart Performance: The original album reached #43 on the Billboard 200 and performed well on specialized Alternative and Dance/Electronic charts. Tracklist & Deluxe Features
The deluxe edition contains the original 13 tracks plus several notable additions: Track Type New Bonus Tracks
"Have You Ever Danced?" (feat. Jeffree Star, Austin Carlile, and Dave Strauchman), "Don't Forget: Lock the Doors" Covers
"With or Without You" (U2), "See You Again" (Miley Cyrus - originally from Punk Goes Pop 2) Remixes
"Hello Fascination" (Sex Machine Remix), "Hello Fascination" (DJ Sucio Remix), "Can I Take You Home?" (Smile Future Remix) Other Content
"I.D.G.A.F." (Clean Version/Radio Edit) and a music video for the title track Musical Style and Legacy
Hello Fascination marked a pivotal point for David Schmitt and Kyle Even, moving away from the lo-fi "Garage Band" style of their debut toward a polished, club-ready sound.
Themes: Lyrics typically focused on themes of youth, "falling in and out of love and lust," and living in the moment.
Signature Songs: "I.D.G.A.F." and the title track "Hello Fascination" became scene anthems, with "I Have to Go Return Some Video Tapes" serving as a cult favorite homage to the film American Psycho. For casual listeners, a "repack" often just means
Reception: Critics at AllMusic praised its "joyousness" and catchy melodies, while others in the punk community were more polarized by its electronic-heavy, "mediocre" lyrical depth.
Watch the official music video for the title track, which was a highlight of the Deluxe Edition release:
Breathe Carolina - Hello Fascination (Official Music Video) HD Koi No Yokan YouTube• Jan 6, 2023 I.D.G.A.F.
Deluxe Edition Breathe Carolina 's second studio album, Hello Fascination , was released on July 6, 2010 Fearless Records
. This expanded version followed the original August 2009 release and significantly bolstered the tracklist with bonus content, including high-profile collaborations and covers. Key Album Information Release Date: July 6, 2010 (Deluxe Edition); August 18, 2009 (Original). Electropop, electronic rock, and electronicore/screamo. Chart Performance: The album peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200 #2 on the Top Electronic Albums Producers: Mike Green and Matt Squire. Deluxe Edition Additions The 2010 deluxe version included five bonus tracks three remixes
Breathe Carolina's Hello Fascination (Deluxe Edition) was released on July 6, 2010, through Fearless Records. This digital repack expanded on the duo's 2009 sophomore studio album, which originally peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200. Key Features of the Deluxe Edition
The 2010 deluxe version was released exclusively via iTunes and added approximately eight tracks to the original 13-song list, including brand-new songs, covers, and remixes. New Original Tracks:
"Have You Ever Danced?": Features guest vocals from Jeffree Star, Austin Carlile (Of Mice & Men), and Dave Strauchman (Every Avenue).
"Don't Forget: Lock the Doors": A previously unreleased track. Cover Songs: "With or Without You": A cover of the classic U2 track.
"See You Again": A cover of the Miley Cyrus song, originally featured on the Punk Goes Pop 2 compilation. Remixes & Alternatives:
Includes a clean version of "I.D.G.A.F." and various remixes of "Hello Fascination" and "Can I Take You Home?" by artists like Sex Machine and Smile Future. Full Deluxe Tracklist The repack contains the following 21 tracks: Hello Fascination I'm the Type of Person to Take It Personal Take Me to Infinity Dressed Up to Undress I.D.G.A.F. Welcome to Savannah I Have to Go Return Some Video Tapes The Dressing Room Tripped and Fell in Portland Can I Take You Home? My Obsession Have You Ever Danced? (Bonus Track) Don't Forget: Lock the Doors (Bonus Track) I.D.G.A.F. (Clean Version) Hello Fascination (Sex Machine Remix) Hello Fascination (DJ Sucio Remix) Can I Take You Home? (Smile Future Remix) With or Without You (U2 Cover) See You Again (Miley Cyrus Cover)
The Deluxe Edition repack of Breathe Carolina’s second studio album, Hello Fascination, stands as a definitive time capsule for the late-2000s "neon" era of alternative music. Released on July 6, 2010, via Fearless Records, this expanded version arrived nearly a year after the original 2009 release, serving as both a victory lap and a transition for the duo of David Schmitt and Kyle Even. The Sound of an Era For casual listeners
Produced by Mike Green and Matt Squire, Hello Fascination epitomized the "electronicore" and "crunkcore" subgenres that dominated Vans Warped Tour stages. The album’s signature sound—a polarizing yet energetic blend of synth-heavy dance-pop, techno blips, and post-hardcore screams—was designed to be both "Marmite" music (splitting audiences down the middle) and an "overproduced mess" of joyousness, depending on the critic. The Deluxe Repack Breakdown
The 2010 deluxe edition significantly expanded the original 13-track list to include 21 tracks, featuring a mix of original bonus material, high-profile collaborations, and experimental remixes:
Original Tracks: Includes fan favorites like the title track "Hello Fascination" and the single "I.D.G.A.F.".
Bonus Collaborations: A standout addition was "Have You Ever Danced?", featuring guest appearances by Austin Carlile, David Strauchman, and Jeffree Star.
Cover Songs: The repack highlighted the band's pop sensibilities with covers of U2's "With or Without You" and Miley Cyrus's "See You Again".
Remixes: Three new remixes provided a more club-oriented feel, including the "Sex Machine Remix" of the title track.
Visual Elements: The digital release included the official music video for "Hello Fascination" and provided integration with the iPhone app Tap Tap Revenge. Controversy and Visual Evolution
A notable aspect of the 2010 repack cycle was the mandatory change in album artwork. The original 2009 cover had to be revoked after it was discovered that a significant portion of the design was based on another artist's published piece. When the publisher denied permission for its use, the band was forced to switch to the now-familiar artwork seen on the deluxe reissue.
Experience the energy and visual style of this era through these official videos and live performances:
Breathe Carolina - Hello Fascination (Official Music Video) HD 35K views · 3 years ago YouTube · Koi No Yokan
Breathe Carolina - Hello Fascination (Live At The Masquerade) 441 views · 3 years ago YouTube · Koi No Yokan Breathe Carolina - "Hello Fascination" Music Video Teaser 44K views · 16 years ago YouTube · Fearless Records
While critical reception remained mixed, with some reviewers praising the "bubblegum snappy melodies" and others dismissing it as "despicable to self-respecting fans," the album’s commercial success was undeniable for its niche. It debuted at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 and solidified Breathe Carolina as "scene darlings" before their eventually mainstream pivot with the 2011 hit "Blackout". For many listeners, the 2010 repack remains the most complete version of a record that defined a specific, neon-soaked moment in music history.
Here’s a professional, fan-focused write-up for Hello Fascination (Deluxe Edition / 2010 Repack) by Breathe Carolina.
Released: 2010 (Original: 2009)
Label: Fearless Records
Genre: Electronicore, Crunkcore, Synth-pop, Post-Hardcore