extremely hot take... Where Worship and Tribute is a 10, The EPs are an 8.5, I would give this like a 7... Obviously gonna give it more listens to see if it clicks with me but, yeah. Thats where I am right now.
Oh god dammit. I should have woken up earlier. I have to go into work. I hate having first listens in the car so I think I'm going to have to wait.
I feel like whenever an album is this long-awaited, expectations inevitably reach the point where some will be let down (at least initially) if the album isn’t world-shattering or doesn’t redefine an entire genre of music. This is definitely not an album that does either of those things, but it was never going to be, and I really think the vast majority of Glassjaw fans will be happy with what it is: a phenomenal Glassjaw album in 2017.
I know what you mean for sure, and I had high expectations. Expectations that I didnt truly expect to be met. But I think at the same time, I expected a little more than we got. I kinda feel like I can see why this got shelved for 2 years with no real push from the band. I mean, my favorite track is the one they released 2 years ago..
Man I honestly thought this would be a unanimous thumbs up and AOTY for all the serious fans, especially of W&T The only section I'm not head over heels for yet is the middle, from Bastille to Bibleland. I'm all for heavy and dissonant, but struggling some to grab onto the songs there, between the shouted vocals and lack of melodic structure. I can totally see them clicking after awhile, though
It’s way too early for me to rank this in context of their discography, but I do think it’s comparable. It feels like they wanted to make a “no frills” lean, raw post-hardcore album, and I think they succeeded. In some ways it feels like the opposite end of their sound to what they did on Coloring Book, and that makes me wonder if they did record an entire album closer to that style that never saw release.
There’s several tracks I prefer to NWE personally... Maybe it’ll grow on you? I think this was intended to be a very raw and lean album, so it isn’t necessarily what people were expecting, but that’s actually something I really like about it.
Yeah I still think most people will love this. We’ll see, expectations can be a funny thing. I actually love Bastille’s transition into Pompeii haha, one of my favorite moments on the album so far.
Bastilles transition was executed very well, Material Controls was a wreck. Its like they wanted a John Lennon style, really abrupt and loud, jump into Cut and Run, but it didnt have the same effect.
To be fair, the album is a little one note and I don’t think history will be kind to it once the hype wears off.
It's just such a creative album melodically and instrumentally. Which W&T was, too, but this manages to push ahead and do it all over again in a different way. I guess the only disappointment I can envision from a W&T fan is that it's too different and consumed with being dark, lacking the sunnier Cosmopolitan/Gillette type stuff? The production sounds a bit more DIY, too, which might be a limiting factor in putting it at the top of their discography (yet it works really well on some tracks, too)
We’ll see. I don’t think “one note” is necessarily a negative for an album if its primary sound is executed extremely well. Lots of great albums stay largely in one lane but are obviously so good within that lane that it doesn’t matter. My thoughts may change as well, it’s still early, just throwing out a counterpoint.
I'm halfway through and it's pretty enjoyable. I've never really had the biggest boner for their earlier stuff, but I did really enjoy the previous two EPs.
it's fine, I'm just missing any and all dynamic both in phrasing as well as volume. it feels like one long song at times with no discernible sections or hooks for long stretches.
@Kingjohn_654 that "damnit" was because I am not in love with this album lol, you sure you like that? haha
Ironically, it sounds exactly like they said in the interview, they banged it out within a few days. There's very little actual craft put into the songwriting, nor is there anything interesting happening that would make up for it. The production, while I dig the tones, just sounds sloppy (what's an EQ again) and would serve beck's guitar playing better if it was a bit more skeletal instead of just being a thick sludge. at least the EPs had some interesting ideas.