Captain, We’re Sinking – The King of No Man

It's growing on me still but I have the same general feelings, good review

 

I never really got into TFIC. I heard people talk about it and always meant to give it a listen but never really got around to it. So as someone who's never heard that album in full, I haven't stopped listening to the new one since it started streaming. It gets better with each listen and I can't get enough of it! It's currently my #3 for the year behind Menzos and Bleachers.

Now I'm a little scared to listen to TFIC cause I'm worried it'll make me not like this one as much haha.

 

Definitely agree with your review and sentiments. Really enjoyed reading this one.

 

Great review. I wanted to like this so badly but it falls just a tad short. I might have had too high expectations after TFIC. There's definitely a few gems here and there.

 

great review way better than that one sputnikmusic review, whoever wrote that was a major dweeb

i def like this one more than you zac which is surprising 2 me

 

I think I like this record more than you but generally my opinion is the same. The new stuff they try is just not as good as their old strengths- but nonetheless, this is still far better than many similar bands records this year.

 

Thank you all for reading! I'm a little bit surprised (and kind of upset ha) to see how many people agree with me here.

Only one of us got rted by the band tho!

The more I listen to this the more disappointing it becomes. The songs I like stack up to TFIC - Smash 2 is maybe a top five song by this band - but it's nowhere near as consistent. If it was another band I would probably like it more, but coming off an all time great it's underwhelming as hell. I'm glad you like it so much though - favorite song?

 

lol. well for what its worth i think your review is wonderful and better than mine so :P

i guess maybe i just didnt go into this prepared to compare it to TFIC i just took it as an album. might be why im more keen on it. Smash 2 and Cannonless are my two favs for sure

 

Let's not be hasty here!

Idk, I honestly just don't think the songs are as strong on the whole. I think it starts off pretty poorly, picks up with cannonless, and then loses steam toward the end. Don't think they played to their strengths really. Cannonless is top notch - interesting that almost everyone seems to agree that that's one of the best here, given how unpopular Leo was on TFIC

 

Probably because the expectations were especially high for Bobby's songs

 

TFIC is one of my favorite albums of all time. I've been listening to this pretty non-stop for the past week, so I definitely enjoy it.

I feel like this would have benefited from the way Modern Baseball laid out Holy Ghost (with a Bobby side and a Leo side). Leos songs on this feel more cohesive together and I think the alternating actually causes some awkward transition between songs at times. Stylistically, I think Bobby's songs are all over the place -- Smash 2 would fit on TFIC, Don't Show Bill and Trying Year are so vastly different than anything released up to this point and vastly different from each other and the 3 full band versions of the solo songs sound great together, but again, different than the rest of the album. I guess if they wanted to repurpose that many songs, I would have preferred for all of Bobby's tracks to come from the Little Wounds album and put out a 7 inch with Smash 2 & Trying Year on it. Maybe put Do You Think I'm Happy and Little Wolf on the full album?

There was no way this album could have lived up to TFIC for me. It's still very good and will likely be a top album this year for me, just falls a bit short.

 

Great review @Zac Djamoos. I pretty much agree with all of it. "and it sort of sputters out rather than exploding" explains not only Hunting Trip but a few of the songs.

Only one technical correction to the review, and that's that neither Bobby nor Leo performed the "solo" on Trying Year. It was actually Ben from Tiger's Jaw.

 

I am only now trying to get into this band after seeing them at Fest and grabbing a copy of TFIC. I haven't listened to it all that much cuz it didn't come with a digital copy. This new one seems to be grabbing me more immediately than TFIC. I know they have two singers cuz I saw them play, but I can't tell the difference on record. Can you tell me which songs are sung by which dudes on the new one so I can train my ear to tell the difference??

 

Thanks! Sorry to hear you agree, haha, and I'll need to edit that later oops.

Every other song they trade off. Bobby does trying year, don't show bill, smash 2, hunting trip, crow/little wounds, and king of no man. Leo does the others

 

Ok thanks! I always seem to have trouble identifying co-vocalists and then later go back and think I was an idiot. Took me seeing live videos of the Menzingers back in the day to realize it was two dudes.

 

This album was high on my most anticipated list. I want to like it and maybe it will grow on me... but the biggest hurtle IMO is the overall production. It sounds like a mixtape.

 

Even as a huge fan of this band it took me a couple listens to discern them on this album, so I feel that. They've got fairly similar ranges. I'll never understand the menzingers thing tho haha

 

Zac nailed it -- and the older record is mostly Bobby. Leo does verse 2 (and when she sleeps...) of Annina, (all of) The Future Is Cancelled pt. 1, Beer Can, Here's to Forever along with a few pieces of some others.

 

Zac nailed it -- and the older record is mostly Bobby. Leo does Annina in verse 2 (and when she sleeps...), (all of) The Future Is Cancelled pt. 1, Beer Can, Here's to Forever along with a few pieces of some others.

Bobby is generally the higher pitched while Leo is a little raspier.

 

did you go to college park???

 

Zac, have you been able to distinguish on their first record (CWS not the Menz)? The production quality makes it impossible for me to determine who sings which songs.

 

2006-2010. You?

 

2011-2015, hah. i was big in WMUC, brought a ton of cool bands in that time.



to get on topic and not feel like i'm spamming in here, i think this album is good but it's missing of the magic of the last. some really good songs (future is cancelled pt 2 especially) but the production quality brings this down a notch for me and there's just some quality that i can't explain that's missing here. i feel this quite a bit with some bands, they just hit some special magic in an album that's just so hard to replicate

 

I think I like Leo better, at least on the new one that I am more familiar with.