my first thought is that this wasn't written to be on top 40. There's too many guitars and the snare is too loud lol (this is a joke).. anyway it sounds like a good pop/pop rock album. I actually really like it, but I agree this isn't top 40 material. @beachdude thanks for the rec.
I think it's just pretty bland pop music without anything that interesting or memorable but I like it more than their last album.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I first heard giving up. My mind wasn’t blown by the rest but I do think it’s consistent and more refreshing than most scene bands’ first forays into pop. I’d rather a band try the new instrumentation than just write poppier versions of their old style.
I wish I liked this after xo, but the closest it comes is iw2dwy being a very pleasant song but otherwise I don't care for that portion at all unfortunately.
Idk after my second listen the first half had a loooot of earworms. Help You Out is probably my fav now.
I personally don't think unmemorable choruses is the problem this thing has, even the songs I don't like are pretty memorable in the chorus
FWIW, a lot of albums I listen to on a release Friday never make it through the weekend. I've been listening to this since release almost exclusively. I'm enjoying it. It's likely not for everyone. I can understand the critiques.
I listened to this album all weekend and haven't gotten sick of it. I still think Cautious is the biggest bop. The second half of the album isn't as strong as the first imo though I really love Wait, Stay. I don't really think they were trying to do anything but write a record that felt right for them. I disagree that it feels forced. It's not perfect but I'm impressed enough to stick around and see this live. Bradley's vocals are great and I'm excited to see where they go from here! I am really hoping for a tour announcement soon.
Yeah I've enjoyed this so far but can agree with most of the critiques. I feel like this thing shoots out of the gate with the first 4 songs but I can't latch on to anything after that. Hell of It could've been a barn burner with a more thought out chorus.
Saw these guys live on Saturday in LA and the energy was electric, really felt like people were connecting with the new stuff a lot. By far the best crowd I’ve seen them have.
It's gonna be tough to see them best some of the crowds I've seen for them, people who love this band tend to L O V E T H I S B A N D
oh wow this is catchy as fuckkkk, wasn't this another one of those not terribly memorable post-hc bands? how's their fanbase reacting to this?
This band didn't sound like most phxc bands cause their singers have always had an RnB flair and the screaming was almost nonexistent. That said it did take about 20 listens to their first 2 albums to actually remember what each song was, so maybe they weren't the most immediately memorable. And yeah I thin Jonny fans are upset
Probably going to be an unpopular opinion but I'm always surprised by the number of fans who put their first two albums on a high pedestal. The songwriting was all over the place, especially on Relativity where barely anything would truly stand out. There was a big lack of dynamics as well, it's like they were either doing your standard noodley dual guitar work (for a late 00's post hardcore album), or going for a walls of guitar approach. It doesn't help that Jonny couldn't write a memorable hook to save his life. It felt like he was struggling to make himself heard, so he had to overcompensate for his lack of subtlety by singing over the top R&B-y vocal runs, instead of simply blending in with memorable melodies. S/T was a much needed improvement as they opted for conventional song structures and a slightly poppier direction, as well as Jonny having more control over his voice, but this time the songs all blended together because they shared the same formula. On the other hand, McTernan's distinct production bugged me, but I know nothing about that area to specifically point out its flaws. They really started to get it together once Bradley joined the band.
I had a lot of love for the Jonny albums at the time, but looking back I absolutely agree with you. They really reached their potential with Bradley.
Yeah McTernans sound on s/t is awful but it's a lot more focused. I still think that when Relativity hits, it hits but at least half of it is what you described.
My girlfriend has had it with this new album. She’s been hearing me belt out “Can you tell me how to get it riiiiiiiight?!” every time she asks for something. Ruining a good thing I need to not.
I believe Relativity got praised as it did because it was a huge, remarkable improvement over that first EP the band released (which I find unlistenable now at 27). On top of that, it was the best work Jonny had done as a vocalist at that point, and no other band in their scene sounded anything like them. While the self-titled seemed to be a maturing process, toning down the aggressive guitar riffs and becoming more melodic, Jonny was allowed to write more of his own lyrics for that one, and the album suffers from it tremendously. I don’t really revisit either anymore. Now that I have 3 albums and 2 eps with Bradley, what’s the need ya know?
The EP and Relativity are still the only things I really care about from this band but the back half of Relativity does suck.
I loved Relativity and really liked a few songs on the S/T. Haven't listened to them in a while, but Johnny Craig is a piece of shit so I don't feel strongly about defending those albums at all. Enjoyed this new album somewhat. Don't Cry and Cautious are the standouts for me, while the rest is ok but doesn't really grab me. I haven't listened to the previous two albums, except I have "I'll Just Wait" in my itunes for some reason ha.