DIVINE / INTERVENTION are so fucking good man. Also really loved When We Die and the closer. Legitimately so happy for everyone involved, you all should be proud
@Aaron Mook so what’s the deal with who sings on what, is it like a situation where the singer of each song was the primary songwriter? The ones you sing on remind me the most of our music taste venn diagram and I feel like that can’t be an accident hahah
thanks for the kind words on my mastering, it was made easy by having a collection of songs I actually enjoyed listening to over and over again and just trying to add what little touches I could to bring out what was already a phenomenal album
this is so good - I've heard an unmastered version but @sophos34 really helped elevate these songs from 'pretty good' to 'actually these are fucking great'. props to everyone involved!
You guys are seriously so fucking kind for even taking the time to listen let alone gassing me up in a dumb thread I made for myself. I appreciate it more than words can say. It makes me doubt myself less and want to continue writing. So glad you loved those two tracks together, we almost thought "DIVINE" was too poppy for the record but once we all hopped on it really turned into something greater than its individual parts and kind of informed the rest of the record. The whole album is meant to juxtapose organic instrumentation with synthetic bells and whistles, so "INTERVENTION" was initially just the 40 seconds or so of fingerpicking until I found the sample and Brian added the synth. That really turned both songs into the centerpiece of the record imo Yezzir lol. Brian and I grew up listening to and covering all kinds of emo shit, the bands I mentioned before, Death Cab, Taking Back Sunday, things like that. He doesn't really seek out new music anymore except for hip-hop (he actually was making beats more than anything before our first record), but I drifted into weirder, newer stuff like Alex G and Porches, so I try to keep him up to date. And then Teddy is like a total dad-rock guy, loves The Beatles and The Eagles and Dawes, writes really great songs that can sometimes clash with where Brian and I are at, but once he knows what we're going for and delivers us a demo like "Deeper," we're able to tweak and mold it into something totally different to fit the vibe. We've also talked about doing some versions of the songs where we reinterpret and cover each other, because we all pretty much admire another member's songwriting more than our own lol. I posted the vocal breakdown earlier in the thread, but in terms of duties, it looks something like this: In addition to the songs we each wrote, I primarily sing, play keys, and some guitar. Teddy sings, plays bass, and some guitar. Brian sings, plays guitar, programs drums, and records and engineers the whole thing. Production flourishes, etc. He's really great when it comes to me showing him an example of something I want to do (Hovvdy's "feel tall" demo -> "When We Die") or even taking abstract concepts and turning them into tangible sounds. Dude's a genius.
In case anyone is interested or missed it, especially for people on this site, here's a playlist with a bunch of songs that directly influenced the album roughly sequenced to mirror our record:
I've been mostly alright! Life is hard but all things considered I'm very lucky. I just finished my first listen, I really love this. The album feels incredibly special and has 0 misses, I'm excited to sit with this more and develop more fleshed out opinions than "me like" haha, but without a doubt I am a big fan!
I'm glad to hear it! I feel the same way. And that's incredibly sweet of you to say. Thank you for listening, you guys have all been so kind. Really amazing release day for us.
Unsurprisingly, this is super good. Had my second full listen last night while working and some of the non-singles are already starting to stand out. Looking forward to spending more time with this and sharing some more detailed thoughts.
Yeah I listened to it again last night while I was driving around doing some errands and this thing is solid. Not a bad song on here.
Also had this in my rotation lately and I've had Better Ways stuck in my head for the better part of the last three days. Other thoughts: Deeper and Flow Deep are hauntingly beautiful Patience in the Silence is a certified late-album bop I find Time Capsule profoundly relatable In the Shade is uplifting/inspiring as hell Album is truly something special!
The guys will be so happy to read this. Thank you so much ❤️ you should be proud of what you made this year, too!!
releasing this on the day I was moving was a bad idea and I hope next time you'll consult me beforehand.