It's crazy to me that people think Vacancy as a whole sounds particularly like any other Bayside record (especially Cult, which think I saw someone say a little bit ago). It would be so weird to just drop most of these songs onto one of the older albums. Yeah, it's the same band, but they're doing a lot more sonic exploration than maybe any of their records other than The Walking Wounded, and it's also a lot more cohesive and mature in terms of lyrical themes. And I guess I get stylistic preferences (again, this record sounds different from the older ones) and personal sentimentality/nostalgia, but it's kind of bonkers to me that people think Sirens in particular is actually better than Vacancy. I want to echo @ncarrab's post and say that people really need to give this record another shot. For me, they've got four great records (The Walking Wounded, Bayside, Vacancy, Killing Time), one very good record (Cult), and two good records (Shudder, Sirens And Condolences).
TBH, I'd be kind of disappointed if Mary doesn't win the whole Bayside bracket. There are a few other that I'd be content with (Killing Time or maybe Boy), but I still think Mary's their best song
I like Enemy Lines more than Mary as well, but it is a good song. I guess I don't think of this album as being that sonically different. I truly do think you could drop most of these tracks onto Cult and they'd fit right in. I do agree that The Walking Wounded might have their most experimentation, but Killing Time easily beats this one's experimenting level just by having On Love, On Life and Mona Lisa.
This. Vacancy sounds like nothing else the band has ever released. It was so unexpected, but it’s absolutely brilliant.
The Ghost - 9 It Doesn’t Make it True - 9 Maybe, Tennessee - 7 Not Fair - 11 Rumspringa (Return to Heartbreak Road) - 8 It’s Not as Depressing as it Sounds - 10 ~25 minutes left! Don’t make me break this tie!
I guess it's up to me to break my first tie... Final scores: The Ghost - 9 It Doesn't Make it True - 10 Maybe, Tennessee - 7 Not Fair - 11 Rumspringa (Return to Heartbreak Road) - 8 It’s Not as Depressing as it Sounds - 10
VACANCY ROUND 2 __________ Two Letters vs. It Doesn’t Make it True Enemy Lines vs. Pretty Vacant Not Fair vs. Mary It’s Not as Depressing as it Sounds vs. I’ve Been Dead All Day @bobsheiskawy @Maybevictor @contra11mundum @ncarrab @CAC3 @Yellowcard2006 @bachna84 @Sean Murphy @Pickles312 @Joe4th @koryoreo @danielm123 @SteveLikesMusic @DerekIsAGooner @Anthony_ @JRGComedy @TDenverFan @disambigujason @BoldType @latortuga @choke
Two Letters Enemy Lines Mary Dead All Day If you've been sleeping on this record at least give these 4 songs a spin
Two Letters - 5 It Doesn’t Make it True - 1 Enemy Lines - 4 Pretty Vacant - 2 Not Fair - 0 Mary - 6 It’s Not as Depressing as it Sounds - 0 I’ve Been Dead All Day - 6