Maybe it’s because one of my first favorite bands was third eye blind so I was raised on earnest-bordering-on-cheesy-rock haha
If Dave’s lyrics weren’t as poetic as they were I could see that. They 10000% work for me though, several moments where I feel real pangs of emotion
The lyrics never really come off as cheesy to me, but there are definitely some clunkers, and I think some things don’t flow very well. But overall I love the lyricism and his voice could not be better.
Is spirit boy perfect? spirit boy might be perfect. This is an incredible journey so far. Quite excited to revisit it.
simply drinking in the lushness of this record. hope everyone reads the track-by-track interview Dave did with Stereogum. feels like the definitive text related to this album. The Story Behind Every Song On Gang Of Youths' Inspiring New Album 'angel in realtime'
Going to take me awhile to wrap my mind around this record and what it's about, but I'm just so blown away. "Spirit Boy" and "The Man Himself," especially, are just goodbumps moments.
God damn this album was worth the wait. The only tracks I didn’t love here were the ones where the specificity of the subject matter made them a bit hard for me to connect with, but it was engaging all the way through. Steven Hyden made a good point on the Indiecast show today — if you didn’t know this band (or the state of rock music in general really) then you’d hear this and think this is 100% the biggest band in the world. Like this album sounds gigantic, expensive, expansive, everything. It’s such a rich collection of songs.
One listen in but very impressive. It's such a vastly different record from Go Farther in Lightness, and yet it still sits comfortably alongside it - which such an impressive feat.
Was hesitant on a few of the pre-release tracks after gushing over GFIL for years. Everything on this is great. I’m enjoying all of the prerelease singles sound so much better now in context of full album. The last two songs absolutely crushed me, especially the last few mins of ‘goal of the century’. What a journey it is to get to that point, and the reward is immeasurable. The best ending to a record I’ve heard in a long, long time.
They're my favorite band at the moment, and I've been waiting for this record for 3 years, but I STILL haven't been able to sit down and dive in (I'm on a weekend ski trip with my daughters) But I love reading all of your reactions, and can't wait to finally spend time with this tomorrow.
oh god brothers absolutely killed me and then the man himself was such a cathartic release of tension. dave is a fucking genius.
ha i was thinking while i was listening to it that it's what delonge wanted ava to be but never reached