Joining this conversation by posting part of what I said in the news thread: I’m glad they are still at it but they just haven’t captured the magic of those first two albums for me. I know that’s a cliche thing to say and I will always check out whatever they put out, but it’s just not the same. The lyrics don’t help. There used to be a real artistry to the way he wrote, but lines about doing bumps of cocaine and the line in this song, coupled between songs about how much he loves his toddler…I hate to be judgmental but it’s like, at least use some type of metaphor or something. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Maybe it’s just that I can’t relate to it.
Also, you can’t talk about their bridges and not mention I Should Leave Right Now. That might be their best song.
I didn’t like Golden Record as a whole but I think every song they’ve released so far is worse than anything on that record
Would you include Mother Nature in this? Because I’ll be honest, I only listened to that album as many times as I did because I was hoping it would eventually click with me like it seemed to with everyone else around here, and it never really did. I mean, I like it but not nearly as much as the first two albums.
Aj and Matt did write Mother Nature. And it showed that they can still write good songs. His lyrical ability wasn’t up to par with first two but it was still GOOD. even the self titled, while not up to par with LP’s 1&2, was still aj & matt writing the songs.
Look, they shouldn’t bring him back and I am not minimizing anything he did back in the day, but is it possible that Cody brought more to this band than people realized? Lol
Posted this a page back: Lyrically, something like "Way Down" definitely doesn't stand up to, like, "Settle Down." But that album still really worked for me because it felt like they were taking big swings. I never imagined I'd heard a song like "Starting Over" or "Better Light" on a TDS album.
Kind of wish they'd saved the EP songs for this album. Shuffling through a playlist of the EP and the songs I like from this album and it's a better listening experience.
I agree that the EP mixed with some of the songs on this would be a better full album experience, more variety.
Yup. The bridge in A Space to Grow is incredible, just like many. Gave the songs another layer of depth, a nice dynamic shift from the songs structure. This and the intricate drumming are the things I miss the most, nowadays they're kind of like mainstream pop songs.
Here is a good article when they left hopeless that gives insight into how they want to go mainstream and drop the pop punk genre label https://www.google.com/amp/s/303magazine.com/2021/01/dangerous-summer/?amp=1
I've literally had that same thought recently! Maybe his music prowess is pretty solid despite his issues and that's why they put up with him for so long ha. Hard not to wonder.
Valid point, I don't love Mother Nature as much as most but there are some of my favorites on Self-Titled so I definitely agree with that. Still, I think the Tyler, Cody, and Bryan days were something special.