The Veronicas - Life On Mars (2012)

The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane, formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. Before that the twins made their first demo recordings with Brisbane producer Stuart Stuart at Analog Heart Records in 2001, firstly in an electronic style and, a year later, a second batch of songs in the pop rock style that the group initially became known for. In 2004 the sisters, who were then performing as The Twins, were introduced by Gabrielle McKinley to Robin Donald Smith, who owned the recording and music publishing company Multiplay Music Australia. After meeting their father/manager and auditioning the girls, Multiplay offered to sign The Twins to their first recording and music publishing agreements, after which Smith took them on several world-wide songwriting trips to Britain, Sweden, Canada and the US in order for them to collaborate with top songwriters in each country to further develop their skills. On their return to Australia in 2005, Smith met with executives at Engine Room and negotiated a contract with Warner Bros. Records in the US, who recognised that Smith had discovered and developed a musical talent. They renamed themselves The Veronicas after Winona Ryder's character in 'The Heathers', and set about recording their debut album, which was released in October 2005, with 'The Secret Life Of...' entering the ARIA Album chart at No. 7, and spending a year in the Australian Top 40. It was released in the US on 14 February 2006, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, and it was also successful in New Zealand, Belgium and Holland. 

In early 2007, The Veronicas began work on their second album, which was written and recorded in Los Angeles, California, and when 'Hook Me Up' was released in Australia on 3 November 2007 it crashed in at number two on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. Writing for their third studio album had started in December 2009, and recording began in January 2010, with influences now including classical music, classical rock and pop genres, and bands such as The Subways, The Dead Weather, Mazzy Star, Ladytron and Peaches. In February 2012 it was announced that a release date for the album was "coming soon", with "LOM" being tagged on their Twitter feeds as an important phrase. On 2 June 2012 the band revealed the name of the album would be 'Life On Mars', and that it was to be released in September or October 2012. Warner Music then delayed the release of the album until 2013, but did release a single from it, with 'Lolita' appearing in July 2012. Due to label conflicts, the sisters embarked on a process of making many changes to the album, resulting in the release date being postponed again while the content and theme of the project was being changed. They also explained that 'Lolita' was not an official single promoting the new album, but was "just a single release for our Australian fans, as it's been such a long time since we have had anything new over there". On 26 October 2013, The Veronicas announced via their official Facebook page that they had split from Warner Bros. Records, and 'Life On Mars' was consigned to their vaults. Over the years the songs have leaked online, and following a rough track listing we are able to reconstruct what their third album could have sounded like, so here is The Veronicas' 'Life On Mars' for you all to enjoy. 

Track listing

01 Lolita
02 Runaways
03 Did You Miss Me (I'm A Veronica)
04 Army Of One
05 Stutter
06 Alive
07 101
08 Back To Life
09 Dead Cool
10 Take Me Home
11 Spirits And Sin
12 Sugar Daddy