Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks of God (April 30, 2021) Album • Page 100

Oh!

You’ll see.

 

Saw this on Craigslist earlier.

MO in non-MO places.

 

T
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D
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y'all up yet?

Let me guess, EVERYONE IS TOO BUSY LISTENING TO THE ALBUM????

 

Yeah I'm up, just got to class. What have you been listening to in the meantime while waiting

 

this has been the only good one posted

 

You still...UP IN ARMS about countdowns?

 

To be fair, he is up in arms about everything.

 

I just wanna know if I love it more than I did BMTTS. I didn’t connect with that album as a whole like I did previous.

Bed Head was a good start.

 

what did you connect to prior and what did you not connect to in ABMTTS?

 

Discovered them with ILAVLAC. Loved the raw passion, the ability to go quiet and full out, Andy’s voice is great and interesting music and lyrics. There was an interesting conflict in their music.

METN is slightly my favourite by them to Like A Virgin Losing A Child. Confidence really go and they brought it even more.

Simple Math’s concept didn’t entirely work for me, but lots of great songs or mostly good songs. Cope’s production bugs me a bit because it doesn’t compliment the songs well
Enough. Hope proved how good the songs were at the core though.

I’m a fan of Bad Books and Andy’s voice in general. I like The Gold.

I just don’t find most of BMTTS as interesting. The Alien is just kind of boring followed by The Sunshine (which I like more). Just to similar. I think it’s the concept of the record and writing. Andy still sound great. I just think the music doesn’t feel as conflicted and raw as the MO I am used to. Production is an improvement from Cope. I just didn’t get as many feels from the record. I wish that wasn’t the case. And what makes it worse is that so many people did.

Bed Head I love. Full band and acoustic. Keel Timing i need more time with, plus obviously the record when it comes.

major respect for these guys and their output. Another bunch of good guys in music. I just didn’t connect to one record. Just felt safer or didn’t highlight some of the elements I love about the band.

it’s hard to explain, especially to people who loved BMTTS.

 

Well, I will say the rawness of the early albums isn't really there...which can be expected when a band is no longer 17 and is utilizing really high production. That has really helped the sounds and Andy's voice to shine through, however.

I'd say there are definitely songs similar to The Alien and The Mistake and The Parts on this record...but only as far as them being a little more mellow and meandering and not following the usual song structure. They differ greatly from those songs on many levels though. Lots of layers and builds and walls of sound. Nothing is very one-dimensional. It's all very connected. Andy's voice has never been better and they do some really awesome things with the production.

I do worry that having Bed Head and Keel Timing as the lead singles may throw people off a bit. Side A is quite a bit heavier and faster-paced than Side B. (like they've mentioned in interviews about it being like life, chaotic at first) Not to say Side B doesn't get big in some moments, it just does it in a non-heavy guitar kind of way.

I think if you connect to the younger more raw side, you'll have a difficult time fully connecting to this, similar to Black Mile. I think if you can find yourself connecting to the more maturing existential questions on meaning, faith, after life, purpose, past, etc. and you want all of those elements raised with great vocals and productions you'll be really happy.

I don't think people just looking for a bunch of Shake It Out, Pride, Wolves At Night, April Fool, Top Notch and that's the only thing that will satisfy them will be tremendously happy. But I think they should give it a shot and they may come away surprised.

Really I'm just echoing what they've been saying. This is an elevated and evolved sohpomore album in phase 2 of the band that relies less on crunchy guitars and more on big sprawling soundscapes and interweaving themes. Psuedo concept-y, meant to be digested as a whole album, big vocals, intricate sounds, matured, chaotic and big in Side A and more mellowed and relaxed and sprawling in Side B.

 

Can't wait to read that in TEN DAYS

 

Raw doesn’t always mean young and inexperienced. I think of songs like Johnny Cash version of Hurt...just feels raw an full of emotion.

I get bands get bored or need to evolve. But I don’t like when they lose the things that attracted me to them. Like one of the highlights of Shake It Out is the slower sections near the end and Andy’s voice feels like it’s cracking because he’s given it his all.

I am very ok with the slower songs. I like the mix of slower and fast and I like good production. I don’t think older/more mature means better. Sometimes the fearlessness is attractive element in music.

Appreciate the reply and feedback. I will
Hold judgement on the record until I’ve had time to digest it. I just want spaces to breath on records and walls of sound. I think sometimes simplicity can work too. Not every song on every album needs to be so complex like a film score. I feels like variety can enhance the experience.

Like I said, Bed Head was a great start, but so was The Gold. I hope I really like this. No matter what I still have major respect and appreciation for the band.

 

You’ll be satisfied.

 

Love to hear that!!!

To me maturity in music may be different to other people. It’s knowing when to make decisions. Not just being more complex. It’s being better at your instrument and having a better knowledge of other instrumentation and production, but knowing when to use it. It’s about respecting your fans and your line of work, but trying not companies who you are as band and as a person.

The term gets thrown around a lot but some of us have different interpretations. That’s sort of mine, but doesn’t make it right or wrong.

I should add that as a new band I discovered a long time ago, ILAVLAC was a an album way more mature than many other bands who’d been around much longer. That impressed me.

 

he must have gotten the deluxe

 

Just wanted to come in to this thread to add my anticipation...one of the biggest reasons I love this band is how thematic they change album to album in a way that seems to resonate w me at each stage of life I’m at...had my first baby in October and when I put my Black Mile vinyl on for the first time with him in my arms and The Maze started the tears were ready to flow....so excited for the next chapter

 

Yeah. Being a dad really makes Black Mile hit me much different than if I weren't a dad. Same reason why I think my wife connects with Black Mile more than anything else they've done.

 

I’m a dad a couple times over and maybe other than a few moments I didn’t find those elements popped as much as other artists. Maybe because Black Mike was billed as a concept record about coal miners.

Andy did a solo song once when he opened for Dustin Kensrue about watching football. I remember think that was a cute song and family or something. Thought it would end up a Bad Books song.

 

The little girl you are cursed by my ancestry line in The Silence always gets me.

 

Is this the most popular thread on the website, given the amount of activity and how young the thread is?

 

As much as BM is a ‘concept’ record, it’s a record about his life as someone who leaves home for long periods of time, missing crucial moments, and worrying about what it means to be a father with fears of passing on certain things - good and bad.

BM is still as personal as most others.

 

Maybe I could have done without the coal miner layer over the album and maybe had the comparison being a song, like contain the metaphor to The Good. I think an album about being on away from your family is a simple enough concept. I just didn’t pick all that up. Again, that’s me. I tired and it just didn’t click to listen obsessively (although I do listen to the album).

I found the explanation of the Simple Math concept too much too. Didn’t take away from the songs though.

Love the concept in a song delivery though. Pyotr from Bad Books is top Andy. I prefer that too Right Away Great Captain full concept.

My favourite concept record/ep is Thrice Alchemy Index. The Ep’s Fire/Water/Air/Earth sound and have lyrics in the vein of to support the concept clearly.