Yeah he's not a huge music fan so I don't think he had a lot to reference it off of hahah but yeah I was a little offended honestly
I mean maybe a mix between the Foo Fighters and a boy band would be good (also maybe not) but that's not what this sounds like haha
I will say, the end to this album doesn't feel particularly important. Like, it finished the first time and I was waiting for the next song. It didn't sound like a finale at all.
I echo the statement on how "End Of Reel" is JEW-tier in terms of closers. It's so impactful. It's one of those closers for me where you don't have to even look at the track list to know it's the last song. You don't have to wait til the end to know it's the closing statement. The music feels like a goodbye or a realization.
Thanks! I think that, for me, I would say that yes, I read it mostly as a breakup. But I also think the story could be about any sort of bond you share with a person that eventually severs. Either way, I think the message of it being important to seek out love and relationships and open yourself to possibly getting hurt is the same, and I love that theme. I agree that we're not going to know exactly what Christian was going for here, but that's part of the beauty of the album I think. This kind of dense, open-to-intepretation style of lyricism isn't necessarily my favorite mode of songwriting. I usually prefer blunter lyrics that are more directly driven by storytelling. But I think there's also a value in having an album that kind be a completely different emotional experience for different people, depending on how they read the lyrics. This band would do a killer cover of "Everlong" though.
Wow I can't put into words how much I enjoyed reading that. Thank you for sharing Craig you are an excellent writer.
That would be sick! On the End of Reel subject, I can see how it might not sound like a closer the first time around, but I think the lyrics are what makes it an amazing closer. I also feel like the burst in the sound "In the light of the day, stabilize and reset..." feels like the ultimate release on the album where the band just lets it all out. It feels like the whole album builds up to that one moment. I always imagine like a burst of sunlight and seeing an image of something that makes my jaw drop, but I don't know what the image is. I guess, in my interpretation, it's whatever I love and seeing it in a beautiful new light.
Sometimes I'll sit back and just listen for the notes, and I get it. They are sharp and flat sometimes but to me it's such an important part of the emotion. All of my favorite records feature more out of tune records.. I mean if they "tuned" his voice. Which I would be surprised if they ever had any type of tuning on it, it would kill the emotion. But it makes it hard for people who listen to music differently love it I guess idk
Craig, I wanted to share your writing with the band via Twitter, but wanted to make sure you were comfortable with that first.
Yeah my one friend that likes my kind of music have talked about how we tend to like off-putting voices. I've never heard someone say that it's those kind of vocals that give to the emotion though, never though of it that way. That's a really cool way to think about it!
If you think of records like tell all your friends, early bright eyes, the rooms too cold by the early November they all are extremely emotional but they also all have out of tune vocals. It adds raw emotion to the music
Thank you for reading! Glad you enjoyed it. This is so odd to me. The first time I listened to INGO, I immediately thought he had a pleasant voice and a great ear for melody. I think his voice is actually what makes the Hotelier a lot more accessible than most other "emo revival" bands, from TWIABP to Modern Baseball. I don't know, I think there is something innately final about that guitar figure that opens the song. On my first listen, I just had the album running in iTunes while I was doing some work, and the second I heard the opening notes to that song, I said "Oh, I guess we're at the closer" already. But yeah, when you listen to the lyrics, it's very obvious that it's the end of something. I really wonder how much autotuning bands like these do on their vocals. I just can't imagine ever going back and editing a vocal for pitch. I know if happens a lot in general, but I just can't even imagine doing it. Like, if I'm going to record a song, it's going to be my natural vocal on there. I'd just feel super weird about messing with that, you know? Of course!
Yo looking through "#thehotelier" on Instagram, looks like people have already got their Goodness Pt1 7". They must've preordered it separate from Goodness.