Funny you should bring this up today. I listened to it on my run this morning because it was warm out and I wanted to revert back to summer for a minute. Definitely still holding up for me. I don't think anything else is even close to touching this for my AOTY title, and that's saying something because I love the new Jimmy Eat World.
Way late on this but only just picked up the album last week (along with Revolution Radio and 22 A Million). Really digging it so far. Only a few spins through and I can sing along with a lot of the choruses. What are the consensus favourite tracks? For me East Coast Girl is the real standout.
I think I've settled on "Spark: Lost," "Can We Just Not Talk About Last Night," and "Stay Gold" as my top three.
Love the lyrics on Spark: Lost. Thinking Stay Gold and maybe even Mexican Coke might round out my top three at this stage. I was interested to see you recommend The Spade earlier in this thread. I first listened to Butch when I Liked It Better came out, loved She Likes Hair Bands and Be Good Until Then. Drifted off until picking up Afraid of Ghosts and now Stay Gold. I thought The Spade was considered one of his lesser/non-essential albums. I was going to work backwards skipping The Spade and buy I Liked It Better next, followed by Letters and Syncamore Meadows...
A lot of people really love The Spade, to the point where it seems like a favorite around these parts. I recommended it mostly because it's the most similar album in his discography to this one. It has some very strong material and is a lot of fun, but doesn't quite have the weight of his best albums for me. I do like it more than I Liked It Better though. And The Rise and Fall, which it also looks like you're skipping, is easily his most underrated. There's a dud or two on there, but it's probably the most unique album he's done.