this is a grower record. not surprised a lot of people are disappointed in this at first listen. i should have a review up by the end of the week. my thoughts are much more positive than they were initially
Heard it once through, initial thoughts are I enjoy it a good amount. There's some really good tracks on here and nothing that I thought was bad, it really needed another song like "Leopards Paw". I think this band is best when they slow things down a bit and there isn't a lot of that on this record. Overall though I think its really good, don't think it will reach Kingfisher because that albums subject matter and lyrics hit a lot harder then this one.
I think I had a similar post about them slowing things down. I agree, I like that one a lot and the other slow one, probably my favorites on the album. i will say my second and third play of the album really hooked me harder than the first one
I'm with you guys on the slow stuff and more specifically a lot of my favorite songs of theirs are the ones that sounded like Explosions in the Sky with vocals (maybe a lazy description but oh well). Accepting that this album isn't really like that has given me room to enjoy this more, getting rid of my initial expectations. Snake Oil Salesman is currently stuck in my head and is a good example of them doing the upbeat style really well imo.
I think the most disappointing thing is, when I listen again it's not cause somethings pulling me back, just because I used to like them. Usually when I listen to a record and I'm not sold on it there's something there. Maybe a vocal melody I like or a small bit of guitar that sticks and I go back. Whether the album grows on me or not is another thing but usually there's something calling me back. With this, there's nothing and that's really disappointing.
I am the same way, but there's plenty to draw me back in with this. The chorus of "Greyhound" the beginning of "Short Stem" the ending of "North Lynx" a bunch of stuff in "Leopards Paw". All those things stick out.
I think people who listen to traditional emo are going to really like this where as some of the fans that came in for the post rock/alt rock leanings of kingfisher will be disappointed
my biggest qualms are more from a melodic side, it's focused more on the technical/lyrical aspect that i feel sometimes the craft of writing a pleasant sounding song wasn't put first. this sounds harsher than i mean, i don't mean the songs are hard to listen to, i just mean that the melodies don't flow as well as kingfisher and the structure is wackier in a way that throws you more off guard. it's much less accessible and hits less of my own musical preferences but that shouldn't take away from the album in general
Like 4 listens in and I love this now, while I agree that the structure is definitely less accessible, I feel like the vocal melodies have evolved a bit, the guitar work is unbelievable, plenty of catchiness and some huge sounding moments well placed throughout
This album is starting to hit in a major way for me, enjoy it a whole lot more then I did yesterday. I think that has a lot to do with getting used to the sometimes odd melodies on this.
I think I'm going to listen again on Friday and really give this another honest shot.. I really want to like it
Halfway through and though the music is cool the vocal melodies are really grating on me, so many (deliberately) missed/flat notes. Reminds me of the last Dikembe record, which unfortunately never grew on me. Hopefully this one does.
The first two songs on here are my least favorite, after that I love almost every single song on it. It took a bit to hit, but this is really good.
That's so funny, because on my second listen I'm vibing really hard with both, haha. The production is sounding better on Spotify than it was on that Soundcloud stream. Drums especially are popping real nice.
I like this more than some of you, but I agree about the vocals. I get that is what they were going for this time, but I think the MovMou split is where the band sounded the best, so selfishly I wish they had recorded this with Yip. Also I just listened to Leopard's Paw for the first time. That's a great song.
yea there are great moments on the album, I need these vocals to grow on me or something.. there are parts that remind of tiny moving parts where they sort of sound like lyrics you would sing off the top of your head.. words smashed into phrases and it sounds sloppy at time. I dont want to judge this too early I need many more listens with it. Kingfisher was so good that I am going to give this record a lot of opportunities to grow on me, they've earned that.