just off first impressions i think i like this new album a little better than schmaltz but not quite as much as giant. either way pretty consistent catelog.
Will show my reasoning. On top of lots of sonic similarities between the songs, the vocals being sung in the same way throughout (as has been mentioned above), the topics in the songs are very similar. There are comparisons to TGG by the Wonder Years, but all the songs on that album has their own flavour and normally their own topic. Eg. Teenage Parents is about not having a lot of money growing up, coming from a poor background etc. And in one song they say what SLS take the whole album to say here. These lyrics about not having enough money come from across the record. All these lyrics below sound like they could be from the same song, but they're from almost every song. Only Routine Pain and Dolores avoid the topic. This is a creative choice! Not one I like personally but I can see why they've done it. All I have are missed bank payments But I can't eat off this paycheck You got out of your parent's place/started making money In this budget-rate life/The borderline's looking thin What’s another ten grand gonna fix in the end? Got eight hundred dollars to my name Trying to take these bastards for a quarter of a million Getting outpriced of our apartments It’s cheaper just to die I’ll live my life off points/from credit card financing Or making another millionaire or billionaire What would it take to be happy/I’ll probably start with the money It’s a place I can’t afford Don’t you know you were born to die poor man? Stuck working at that third job driving well-meaning moms to protest for minimum wage The cost of living means the cost to stay alive Living paycheck to paycheck A life spent living off loans I’m over-leveraged, my credit’s gone weak
As someone who struggles from not having enough funds to live comfortably because my job underpays me, my student debt is crippling, and medical bills are outrageous ... I don’t mind knowing I’m not alone.
Absolutely am not saying that other people should feel the same as I do, nor that it's not an important topic - it is. Just that the record all blends together for me, which apparently is the worst take that someone has ever seen
If you want bad takes, go to the Green Day thread. Whatever your opinion is, you're bound to disagree with at least 50% of the posts there, maybe even mine.
I don’t mind the lyrics but I still can’t really get into this band as much as I want to because of the, uh, theatrical vocals. I’ll keep trying.
Yeah I don’t really know how to describe it so I settled on theatrical. Maybe dramatic would be an alternative.
Beach Front Property is gonna make me cry in the car I think about money all the time and also, you know, systemic income inequality, so I don’t mind that being a recurring theme
I think this record really shows how having to worry constantly about your economic place can permeate through every facet of your life, which is potentially why the songs all have similar threads. Also, I love this record and love this band
It's literally impossible for me to separate out my mental health from my financial problems at times. Right now is a particularly vulnerable time and this album is hitting hard because of it. Personally the similar theme throughout the album is why I like it that much more and can't stop playing these songs since it came out. It sucks that so many are struggling in the same way but it is cathartic for me to sing along to songs/with artists that get it.
It's also a good reminder that you can be in a reasonably successful band and still struggle so much with money
Finally got around to this. Incredible, as expected. The only "criticism" I have is Optimism is jarringly Wonder Years-like.
Dude cheated on his ex. No one is perfect, it's just all I think about when I see them pop up. Probably hits home more for me since it happened to someone I know- but there are far worse people who front bands who have done far worse things. It may just be me being petty, idk.