After two days and multiple listens, my early assumption is that this will end up being my favorite 1975 album and maybe even one of my favorite albums ever. And I know some people have qualms with it and that's totally fine - it all comes down to different tastes and honestly, I feel like every fan of The 1975 has a different version of them they prefer the most. And when they don't deliver on the reason that you listen to them, I can see this not being your cup of tea. If you listen to them for their pop tendencies, big catchy choruses and 80's vibes, then yeah, this one's not totally you. And while I like all of those things, I've always wanted more from them - a more subdued version of their sound - more weirdness, more exploration, more experimentation, more rawness - I don't want glossy pop songs, I want glitchiness and chaos - songs that can almost come across as demos because some big producer didn't need to get his hands on them and clean them up. It's literally the exact album I wanted them to make in 2020 - one that's true to themselves, one that's for them and one that showcases their wide range of songwriting. The ONLY complain I still find myself having is the sequencing from "Yeah I Know" to "Roadkill". I think the album starts out perfect - the intro into People is still so dope, the two orchestral interludes separating Frail State of Mind and Birthday Party help set up the cinematic vibe that this album gives off and the way Streaming bleeds into Birthday Party is so good. And having Frail surrounded by shorter interludes really sets that song up on the pedestal it deserves to be on. But after Birthday Party things feel awkward for a few minutes. Yeah I Know is great and starts to build momentum but then when Then Because She Goes starts, it's in, it's out, in just two minutes and then that momentum is killed with the slow pace of Jesus Christ - and I love that song, but it ruins the momentum where songs like Roadkill and M&YTS could have continued it, and then let JC2005GBA have it's time afterward, right before I Think There's Something You Should Know. But honestly, it's only a minor issue for me - it's what makes the album a current 9.5 instead of a 10. Because I love every track within that sequence, just not sure how I feel about the way they are presented. But hey, maybe as I get more used to it, I won't mind it as much. I honestly love every track here. Every one. And while ABI may be more structured and have some better individual tracks, all the extra nonsense trickled into this record to flesh out these 81 minutes is exactly what I think makes an album feel complete to me. And as a whole package, it's so, so special.
The first time i heard Shiny Collarbone, it reminded me of The Blaze, particularly this track. And a little bit of Gold Panda.
Those stems are insane. It's so cool that they did that. Until picking apart The Birthday Party I would've sworn there was a whisper track layered in there based on the way the reverb/delay catches the breaths in his voice, but I guess that's actually actually the distorted vocal track doing that? There's so much to learn from all this.
Just got my shipping notification for my vinyl. Not that is was actually shipped, just that the shipping label was created. It definitely, 100% won't arrive before or on Friday. Depending on how long until it physically ships, I'm guessing it will arrive Wednesday-Friday of next week.
I never expect vinyl to come out on release date anymore. I preordered Halsey’s album that came out in January and it’s still not here lol
Yeah I don't know why I continue to let myself think I'll ever get a preorder early or even on time. I think in the history of my history, I've only ever received a preorder early once, maybe 25% on the day of release, and every other time about a week later (or longer).
I feel pretty comfortable at this point calling this my second favorite album of theirs, below A Brief Inquiry but above the other two. I get the criticisms that've been given here & there, but I just really like this thing. On my current listen, my current weird thought is, "of course a product of the 90s Christian pop album Jesus Freak by dc Talk grew up to love this."
I ADORE yeah I know lol, if it didn’t work as well as it does the first half would be much more of a slog
The disjointed-ness of this is starting to settle for me after a few listens and I’m really enjoying listening through the whole thing. Only major issue I have is with the placement of The End. I don’t hate the song but if they’d worked it into the end of Guys, similar to the violins at the end of I Always Wanna Die, it would make more sense to me. A four minute spoken word intro into a two minute banger before going into an instrumental is pretty rough. People into FSOM has worked for me up until now and I’d have been happy with that. Also wish the vocals in Bagsy weren’t so subdued cause I really like everything else about it. Need some more time with it before I could rank album preferences but this is definitely clicking with me faster than ABIIOR did when it was released.
I’ve had What Should I Say, Too Shy, Tonight, and Nothing Revealed all stick in my head at some point today lol
For some reason this really worked me on my evening run lol Is this going to be my favorite 1975 record in a few days?? ;)
Can’t believe we got both a Charli and 1975 record in the same week. My two favorite artists at the moment
and apparently Carly Rae Jepsen in the next day or two. glad I’m getting so much good music to keep me sane during quarantine