Courtney is absolutely feral in some spots. It's crazy how much she's improved when she was already pretty good when they started.
Are you referring to eternal blue or the fear of fear (technically an EP but basically sort of album length)
Just finished it up, as someone who generally wouldn't say they love their past stuff, it's perfectly fine but nothing that I'd say super excites me, this album is their best material so far in terms of a full package. Glad they seem to be getting better with each release!
I feel like there’s not really a song in their catalogue up to this point that is a must skip for me. Very much feels like a band made for me and my tastes.
Alright I got a couple more uninterrupted listens under my belt. Easily my AOTY so far, though the Anxious album is really the only other new album I've really liked. This clicked with me way better than Eternal Blue. Eternal Blue feels a little thin, or transitional, like, they wanted to do the heavy stuff and they wanted to have the soaring choruses, but maybe didn't know fully how to merge the two for a full album. This feels dense, less overall hook focused, but more varied and well thought out from a pacing standpoint. A really good mix of heavy tracks with more melodic ones and some in between sprinkled in. A Haven With Two Faces feels like the centerpiece here though. That is a monster of a track that throws back to their pre-EB stuff while still retaining their newfound love of atmosphere and impeccable melody.
Oh and one more thing: I think I'm glad Jordan Fish didn't produce this. I think he's good and love his stuff with House of Protection and Poppy, but I was listening to an interview with Courtney where she talked about working with Fish, and how he's very quick to run with a first instinct and doesn't spend too much time cooking on an idea he already likes. I think that works well for some artists, but I feel like this would've turned out way more "Eternal Blue pt. 2" with him at the helm.
First listen reaction: band hasn't missed since like 2020. Incredible run they're on. Still prefer EB of the albums, but I've kinda landed TFOF is their best piece of work.
I’ve tried but never got into their previous material much, so this being my re-introduction to the band - this is fantastic. Really loving the atmosphere and electronic/vocoder elements they’re using. Adds to the ethereal breaks in the heaviness, and I love it
might be too early to rank it amongst their others, but as of this very moment here's how i'd do so: Rotoscope Tsunami Sea Eternal Blue The Fear of Fear Singles Collection S/T but every single release of theirs has been fantastic, so that's not a knock against any of the lower-ranked releases
This is definitely more of a grower than EB was for me. Not sure if it’s because of the proggier/ less straight forward songwriting, but on my fourth listen now and I’ve enjoyed it more with each spin.
On my third listen. Love how dense this is. That sing-to-scream in A Haven With Two Faces. MY GOD. All bow to Courtney.