Listening to Louder Now right now, forgot how good this was. I like the subtle Britpop influence it has.
I find Adam's vocal affects to be sort of Brit-poppy, particularly stuff like "Miami", "Makedamnsure", "Divine Intervention", etc. The bonus track "Sleep" has got that kinda vibe too.
Eddie once said something similar about "A Decade Under the Influence" starting as an attempt to write a song similar to The Smashing Pumpkins "1979". Interesting how the songs evolved from those starting places but you can still sort of hear it in their construction
I know its been talked to death about the lack of Fazzi’s voice on New Again, but goddamn this video just makes another case for how good he was. Just listen to those harmonies.
i saw envy play in like, some loft apartment above a surf shop on long island in like 2010 and fazzi was on the drums and it was awesome lol
That EOTC live album is so goddamn good. Fazzi forever. Edit: Another thing I’d like to add to this is that Fazzi is genuinely the nicest band dude I’ve ever met. Same with Fred.
Without the context of the post above yours I thought this was Japanese post-rock band Envy and honestly, that sounds sick. EOTC ruled too, though.
I relistened to New Again because of this thread and woof... I know there's an impulse to critically re-evaluate "underrated" albums but this thing really ain't great. Adam's all over the place with his vocal delivery and pacing, the guitars squeltch and the main leads follow the vocal melody, the lyrics indulge their worst impulses, the intensity of the performances is all mismatched to the compositions, and the production is clearly by someone who does not understand why people like this band. Such a letdown, especially coming off Louder Now, which is like the pinnacle of third wave emo as radio rock. I'd have kept about 4 songs and rerecorded all of them except "Everything Must Go" (which I'd remaster). Summer, Swing, Carpathia, EMG
Pretty much my exact list of what would make a good EP I don't think the rest is worth trying to save lol
Is it true that the producer kept MF’s vocals off New Again because they thought he sang too well? I remember my first listen, it being so apparent that they no longer were doing the classic TBS dual-vocal thing.
Adam's vocals are painful to listen to on this album, which is why I dislike it so much. It'd be so much better if he wasn't clenching his gahdamn jaw on every single song. I remember the first time I finished listening to it (plus the bonus tracks), I realized that I was clenching my jaw too. This album gave me physical pain lmao. On relistens it's grown on me though.
Yeah I tend to agree on Adam’s vocals. I’m guessing he was trying to find a more comfortable range/style since the WYWTB and Louder Now touring cycles were taxing on his voice but he wasn’t fully comfortable with it yet
Lonely, Lonely rules, always thought it sounded like The Union pt.2 in a good way. A more rock’n’roll take on their upbeat and aggressive tendencies
I don’t know if it was because it was “too well” but it was definitely the producer who pushed Matt’s vocals off and that was obviously a huge mistake.
What a pleasant surprise to see all the New Again love in this thread! Definitely hasn’t been that way in the past lol It’s still in my personal top 3 for this band.
Wasn’t Matt Squire the producer? Guess I can not only be mad at him for some of his input on Underoath’s Erase Me but for New Again as well lol
Adam’s vocals are at their worst on NA and the S/T. I think he was doing a lot of experimenting with his range and style on those to figure out what he was capable of with a changing voice and unfortunately the results are pretty mixed. Couple that with a lack of duel vocals and the results definitely contribute to those two being their weakest.