It's gonna take a bit to rid myself of the feeling that this sounds like another derivative post-hardcore record...simply because everyone in that world has made hay by ripping ATDI off to varying degrees for the last fifteen years or more. Strange feeling. I think I might end up liking this record a lot but it's gonna be impossible to say for awhile.
That second track is really good. Overall I enjoyed my first listen. I kinda knew going into this there wouldn't be much experimentation a la In/Casino/Out or Vaya. The guitar on this thing doesn't let up which I love.
this was a stacked release week, gotta give it time it won't get above like a 7.2 anyways at highest, probably in the 6s
this actually brings up an interesting point, when a band creates such a transient piece of music and influences so many other bands, then they get left behind and kinda fall by the wayside or just end up sounding like all of their peers. Its like they were so ahead of their time that their inevitable followups feel a little shallow in comparison. I hope im articulating this well enough because I feel like im just rambling lol. For example, Stay What You Are was SO integral to the pop punk/pop rock sound that I think STDs subsequent releases, while i love them all very much, kinda sound like their peers in a way. I guess it comes down to its unfair to expect a band to revolutionize and pioneer with every release, but when they do and they set such a high expectation for themselves it inevitably leads to a feeling of their quality dipping. That long diatribe aside, this is fun. I've never really adored this band like others, mostly because im more of a lyrics>music person and Cedric/Omars lyrics tend to be really....abstract to say the least. But its still fun to shout along to and I've always enjoyed Cedrics views on political/social issues.
I think it's a fair point to an extent, what I think sets ATDI apart in this comparison is that these guys have branched off into such varied projects. By nature, any return to this sound feels different or shallow or whatnot.
My favorite track on the first spin is "Tilting at the Univendor". I restarted it halfway through about 3 times.
Yeah that's where they're an interesting usecase for this because they have breached out beyond posthardcore. If Glassjaw ever releases the follow up to W&T I have a feeling I won't love it as much because they pioneered and reinvented so much with W&T. It's like movies, usually the sequel is never as good haha. But I think it's an interesting topic and it's always fascinating to watch bands try to overcome this issue