I haven't listened much yet, but my first impression is that it's really good, just not as good as TEINTE or CHW. I'm interested in how much I like it with some more active listens.
I guess I'm not dedicated enough to the band to try and listen multiple times. It didn't even hold my interest to make it all the way through once. I'm glad others like it though, and that the band gets to do what they love still.
This is good. I think the slower songs here are generally stronger than the rockers, with a strong exception going to "Matador." Fucking love that song.
I like this record a lot but I'm not sure if it lives up to their past few. Still trying to figure that out. And I understand how people might not like the chorus to "Rat" but come on... it's so damn awesome.
That's really a shame, maybe listening to individual tracks might be a better hook for you? Colors Run, Rat, We Make Our Stars, God, In the End, Get Away... all top notch tracks.
I tried that, nothing held my interest though. This band has interested me less each album since The End is Not the End so I guess me disliking an entire thing of theirs was inevitable.
Didn't know that, but yeah that would make a lot of sense. Can't imagine they would hire someone outside of their circle to sing guests when she's in their immediate circle and can sing as well as she does.
Really? That's interesting. I really enjoy it, so it's been interesting to see how many people have not been at all into it
It's definitely not my favorite HoH record but I'd hardly call it bad. I think the thing that holds it a little back for me is the execution of the concept. Concept albums tend to work a little better for me when they're more vague on the details. I also think the way they handle the motifs wasn't the greatest. Like there's the song Colors Run and then at the end of it there's the little reprise, and then they reprise it again after the next song, and then several more times. I feel like if they held back on the lyrical and melodic motifs on the front end of the album and brought them together towards the end it would have worked a lot better for me.
This is a solid album, but there's nothing quite oddball enough for me here (i.e. God Save the Foolish Kings or In the Valley of the Dying Sun). I probably like it more than CHW but not as much as Suburba or TEINTE.
Love this album. Instrumentally it's their strongest yet. The rock outs don't feel as out of place as they did back in the TEINTE and Suburba days--they're woven much more seamlessly into each song's narrative. My only issue with the album, honestly, is the lyrics. Very on the nose in places, and not nearly as interesting as the songs themselves. Best songs are "Clash," "Matador," and "Colors Die Out."
Do you mean on the nose in the sense that the lyrics lack poetic eloquence, like they're too direct? I like this album, but something holds me back from loving it, and you may have identified that here. Concept albums work best when the narrative is subservient to writing great songs. If you bend your writing for the sake of the narrative, you sacrifice a level of artistry.
Yeah, exactly. I think the instrumentation is way, way better than the lyrics. Some songs over come it, some don't. Still a good ride.
I'm planning to listen to this tonight. Very curious, if I like it I'll dive into the rest of their discography.
Getting into the second half of this album, I think it's solid. I don't know how much staying power it'll have in my rotation, but I'm definitely enjoying it now.
This one took a while for me to get into, but I think it's brilliant. Tracks like Pioneer and Matador hit harder than most songs in their discography.