I remember “having to like” that album because I was so excited about Shaun and John being back. It’s the one I come back to the least by far. Being from Long Island, it’s wild to think there is still this much discourse about who is and who is not a member of this band in 2025.
I remember feeling the same way as you about this. Looking back, it was such a disappointing release after all the hype. The album feels generic overall, with a noticeable lack of John and Adam’s declining vocals being especially obvious. It was notable that he wasn’t taking care of his voice during the promotional period for Louder Now, but the change over a 10-year span was remarkable.
I've been relistening to LN for the first time in years these past few days and it's rly rly good. But i have to say: i'll let you live is a good song but such a weird choice for closer.
That album is solid but the first Terrible Things album is imo the best thing Fred has done outside of TBS (including Breaking Pangea)
Mackey, Semi-Automatic and You Were Right would’ve made S/T a waayyyyy better album. I revisit the b-sides more than most tracks on the whole album.
I felt the exact same way upon first listen. When they put out Happiness Is… I was like “this is the album that S/T should’ve been!”
There is something about the production and guitar tone that they used for the intro to “Sad Savior” that grinds my gears. The part itself is fine, but it just sounds like shit to me.
I think a lot of that is possibly due to the fact that they did most (all?) of happiness is before signing to hopeless (and hopeless seemed very hands off with them, almost to a fault), so it’s likely that’s more in line with what they wanted to make vs. what the label wanted. I know John and Shaun have since said that a lot of self-titled was at the discretion of Warner, and also considering it was put out about a year after they started talking again (and thus likely written and recorded within just a few months of knowing each other again) it just doesn’t feel like they had enough time to really figure it out.
Man, it really is tough to choose a favorite among the versions of this song. The arrangement and Fazzi's harmonies here are so good. Hope he's doing well these days. I definitely listened the most to the piano one back in the day - the audio quality is just a lot better than the other versions at the time. I'd be interested to hear more about it and why Adam is the only singer there, maybe it was tracked between John's exit and Fred joining?
I’ve been revisiting all the albums recently but haven’t gotten to ST yet so perhaps I’ll listen to that today at my desk. That era between New Again and ST is when I really became a massive TBS fan vs a casual fan so that album releasing was a big deal, and I think I have a greater affinity for it because of that. Faith, Best Places, This Is All Now, You Got Me, and Doesn’t Feel a Thing Like Falling are all great tracks but I don’t revisit many of the other songs that much.
I like El Paso but the drum fill in the beginning always makes me chuckle because the drums sound SO bad
Bend to Break is awesome and has that 2000s pop-punk energy that I like but IMO A Year and Change is better. It has a very appealing maturity to it while staying in Fred's sonic wheelhouse. Songs about unrealized expectations ("Never Wanted" is about his time off from music, when he had to work at a warehouse to support his family after Terrible Things flopped), bittersweet regret ("Right I Left" is about missing so much of his kids' childhood while he was out touring), and his complicated relationship with TBS ("Crooked Mile") and struggling to keep love alive in the face of mutual disappointment ("How Long Should I Wait?"). Honestly a beautiful and deeply honest album, I was sad it didn't get talked about more. I'M NOT FRED
El Paso sounds more like a Nirvana homage to my ears, which foreshadows the grungier direction of some of Happiness Is.
I just remembered about this deep cut I don't think they ever brought it back, even with John and Shaun's return?