Despite wanting/expecting to love this, I'm weirdly a bit mixed on it. Liked pretty much everything he's released up to this point. I think it'll grow on me.
He’ll never make another record like Half-Light, but I immediately like this more than the last album. A lot of the second half kind of bled together on first listen but all of it was nice. Really love the closer.
I listened to this yesterday evening while I walked around my neighborhood, which had had just cleared up after a rainy day, and it was nothing short of magical.
Totally inoffensive on first listen, but pretty easily the worst first impression I’ve had for any of his albums including VW. Incredibly boring direction for him and with a couple exceptions (Back of a Truck, second to last), I don’t think the songs are doing it any favors sadly. Feels like a grower, which has been somewhat true of all his solo work for me, but my initial impression has it lacking any of the incredible anchor tracks that kept me coming back to the others enough to fall in love with the stuff that didn’t stand out at first.
Aw, I hope it grows on you. After spending the past couple of days mostly listening to this while walking around outside, I think it’s already getting to be one of my favorites of the year. Like a lot of his music, so many parts just hit me right in the gut and unexpectedly make me tear up. It also just sounds amazing through headphones, but that’s no surprise. The Weight is a wonderful closer and I think Clairo’s part on Hardy is breathtaking. I do get it though, it’s definitely not an exciting record. Luckily his production and melodies still hit for me.
I thought this was overall just fine—definitely his weakest effort yet but still worthwhile. Back of a Truck and The Weight are the two best tracks on this thing. Really enjoy when he brings the Eastern influence in.