Finally got a play in. I was hoping it to reach the heights of NMG for me and it didn’t do that, but damn this is a beautifully written record. Will need more time with it. The first song is kind of hard to listen to because of how quiet and loud it is in the verses and chorus. Tried it in the car and with headphones and found myself changing the volume a lot. This band is special.
I don’t mind when I have to reach for the volume knob (within reason) since it means the producer/mastering engineer gives a shit about dynamics and didn’t just brick wall everything to be even
Feels necessary to listen to this one with lyrics and a drink in hand before I can process it fully. Will report back. Immediately it’s not as good as NMG, but better than DDTM. Special is the word for this band tho. Went through the thread after my post and they are so in their own category in so many ways. Nothing and no one doing it quite like them.
This album is the most thrilling album I've heard in a while. There are so many holy shit moments where I've gone, "wtf, they did THAT?!?"
The vocal melody of this one has a lot of dealer vibes for me which I think is why it’s one of my favorites lol.
I tried this in the car. Wasn’t the right vibe. Got a long flight Monday. Gonna put the big headphones on and try and sink into it. Needs no distraction and I’m sure a few end to end play thrus to have it hit.
This is definitely giving me [Untitled] vibes on first listen, not just on a stylistic level, but in the sense that I can't quite make heads nor tails of it but can 100% tell it's going to blow me apart in a few listens. And [Untitled] is probably a top 5 album for me of the 2010's, so that's a good sign.
Anybody like Pile on here? I'm finding a lot of similarity in this and last year's All Fiction. This goes way harder, but both subvert while maintaining their identity in the discography extremely aptly.
The Zookeeper's Boy is the one for me. Also probably in my personal Top 10 of all-time. Of course, if one plays their cards right and listens to the whole album, you could argue they're the same song. ;)
Mew was such an elite tier band until the drama started with members coming and going. Everyone who likes NMG should find something to love on those first 3 Mew LPs.
Yeah, this doesn't sound like [Untitled] but there are definitely a lot of parallels between the two albums.
Yeah the run from Frengers to No More Stories. All of those are 9/10 or better and any could be my favorite any given day. I kinda forget about the indie label stuff from before those since the best songs were re-recorded for Frengers, making them almost obsolete.
The Thursday/ACBTLD comparison feels very apt because both albums followed records that were more melodically immediate and accessible. The experience of listening to this for the first time was similar to when I first heard ACBTLD and wondered where the melodies were, and sort of got lost in the cacophony until, after repeated listens I was able to break through to hear and appreciate the nuances of the songs and the dynamics
Can't believe y'all are nibbling at my Mew bait. No one ever wants to talk to me about the mythic frengers -> glass handed kites -> no more stories run. It's really something else. Kites is simply astonishing
you mean the member who left the band because their wife had a baby and then rejoined years later and one other member leaving? im sorry but how does that remotely register as drama and coming and going compared to 99% of other bands lol