I think the S/T works as an excellent sprawling double album wherein this new iteration of the band flexes all of their creative muscles doing the most interesting songwriting of their entire career. Sure, the interludes might be "throwaways," but I think they work in the context of the record. The only song I would even flirt with calling a throwaway on the S/T is Be Alone. That being said, Brand New Eyes is my favorite album of theirs.
I think BNE is probably equal to S/T in terms of quality, it's just a less interesting album to me in terms of the variety and musical styles.
those last 3 tracks off RIOT! also stick out to me because they seem like the most blatant instances of label interference in their entire discography. We Are Broken and Fences are the only songs off the LP and their entire discography with co-writes, and imo it really shows. Particularly We Are Broken, which sounds like such a blatant attempt at riding the Avril Lavigne sonic palette.
This is pretty much how I feel. Plus BNE is a very sentimental album for me which definitely inflates it for me.
Self-Titled is pretty much all bangers. Interludes are a ton of fun when listening through the whole album. The only songs I think are lackluster from there are Proof and Fast In My Car. Be Alone is an amazing song and I will hear nothing more about it. And I struggle between Brand New Eyes and S/T as my favorite, but BNE probably edges S/T out just a bit. Then Riot, and like I said I'm not even all that familiar with AWKIF.
AWKIF is a pretty stellar debut but their subsequent work definitely outshines it. But I think it's more consistent than RIOT! as a full album listen. Also, AWKIF is pretty incredible when you consider Hayley was only 16 when it was released. They were all basically teenagers, and didn't have any co-writes on an album that, all things considered, holds up pretty well as a debut. Amazing stuff right there imo
I think the screams in My Heart really make it a product of its time. I still enjoy it, though. I really only revisit Brighter.
I selfishly wish they put out a full live album from the S/T era beyond just the (Live at Red Rocks) bonus tracks to the S/T deluxe. One of my favorite tour experiences ever.
When I first listened to S/T I was floored by how great some of the songs were but over time the stinkers have brought the album as a whole down a bit. Fast in my car is still awful, and there's plenty of other skippable tracks. That said Part II may be their best song ever. Brand New Eyes is tops for me, and the other 3 change by the day.
The thing I love most about the s/t discussion is that everyone has different favorites and duds than one another but pretty much everyone can come together on saying that it's way too long
I'd be ok with the length if it was all good. Always thought "too long" was an odd criticism. But if I'm skipping 6-7 tracks, then yea there's a great 10/11-song album in there.
I like its length. I don't think it's too long at all i just think Now and Be Alone are a noticeable step down from the rest of the album.
I don't mind the length either. Then again, I'm just a big fan of a band/artist I really love doing a sprawling double album like that.
I just think the length is overstated. An hour is not really ridiculous for an album that covers as much ground as it does. Take out the 4 interludes and there's really only 13 songs, and then the only reason it really runs longer than an average album is there's an 8 minute closer, which is a fantastic song. I guess there's just enough variety that it never really feels stale to me, so it doesn't feel that long. I do think it's interesting how everyone agrees it has a couple duds, but no one seems to agree what those duds are, but again, I think that's just a testament to how much variety the album has. But what I think is so wonderful about it is even though there is so much variety, it still feels like a cohesive piece.
I don't think fences is that bad or born for this tbh. They're just clearly @ the bottom of my Paramore rankings. We Are Broken is fr terrible tho