Feel bad for them to have worked so hard and so long for such a weird mess leading up to it. But as an IndieGoGo supporter I am stoked to hear this album tomorrow.
Downloaded the album tonight; can't listen until tomorrow. Hoping for an album worthy of the wait, but to be honest, it feels unrealistic to expect that, sadly. The End and Suburba are both solid albums, but Cold Hard Want aged poorly for me, despite loving it at the time of release, and the Smoke EP is pretty forgettable. I hate to say that about a band I fell in love with after hearing "In the Valley of the Dying Sun" several years ago. Interested to hear others' thoughts on the new record.
I honestly have no hope for the record. I'll probably Spotify it, but I doubt it will interest me beyond that one play.
I've stayed away from listening to anything except for the first song they put out once, so I'm pretty excited to sit down and take it all in tonight.
I love the more aggressive songs—God, Marador, Feel. I'm not in love with the ending as it seems unresolved but overall another great album from one of my favorite bands.
I've been listening to this a ton and it is seriously growing on me. I love it. They really did something cool here. Also I think my favorite moment on the album might be the transition from Feel to God.
Impressed (but selfishly disappointed) that none of the backers have leaked this, pretty cool for the band. Glad to hear the album is good, too.
On my first listen now. "Rat" has an absolutely incredible breakdown in it. Helped rescue the song for me after some pretty weak lyricism on the chorus: "A rat is a rat is a rat. A rat tat tat tat tat tat." Wut.
Nailed it. It's growing on me too. I said this in the article discussion, but it really does strike me as really "art rock-y" which is a change from their accessible sound. It's still a weird album, but I can see that being a good thing in the long run. I think it will definitely land at least at #3 in their discography behind TEINtE and Cold Hard Want for me. But I still haven't delved into the story so I think my appreciation for the album could very well spike after doing so. Off-topic, but I just want to take a moment to appreciate the first seven songs on The End Is Not the End. If there's an album with a first half as strong as that, I can't currently think of it.
The only thing I would change about this post would be swapping out Cold Hard Want for Say No More as their top two. I pretty much agree with everything else. Ha
Cold Hard Want is just one gem after another for me. They were in the zone on that album. I am growing to really appreciate Say No More more than I previously had though.
Yeah Cold Hard Want was actually the first time they ever disappointed me. There are some that I consider some of their best work, but about half of it just falls flat for me. Still enjoy it though.
I can understand not liking that chorus but I think it's awesome. Definitely one of the highlights for me.
These guys always put on such a great show. They are a treasure and it makes me sad that they aren't bigger. Didn't want the show to end tonight.
I think they'd be bigger if they weren't so tied into religion, while simultaneously not being overtly religious for the most part. And if they released music as consistently good as The End Is Not the End. Haha
I don't think they are any more tied into religion than Relient K, Switchfoot, Anberlin, etc. Probably less so. I think it's more that they just never made good choices with labels/promotion. They stuck with Gotee too long. Those other bands I mentioned knew when to move on. But all that said, just love these guys. One of the most underrated bands out there.
Yeah. That's what I meant, they stuck with Gotee, a very religious label for too long, while not being religious enough for the audience it caters to for the most part (people who listen to only Christian music, like Christian radio and worship).
They sent me the early download even though I cancelled my order, I tried to listen to the album but I really don't like it. I tried skipping around to see if there was anything on it I liked, but I couldn't find anything that didn't bore me or annoy me. I guess this band will always just be The End is Not the End for me.