Did you ever think this band would turn into a respectable and accomplished career band back in their haircut/neon days? Never stops blowing my mind.
I did not. Haha. I think their last album is my most played album in a long time. It truly blew me away.
In particular, "Bad Behavior" is one of the best pop-rock/power-pop songs in a whiiiiiiiiile. Tbh, I probably should have guessed a scene band who could write a great Christmas song had some real longevity in their future.
It's so wild to me. No one else from that scene is left standing really except them and All Time Low. And maybe Mayday Parade and We the Kings, but even they aren't seeing this kind of success on their new music. And I don't think any newer pop punk bands are really holding a candle to them either. It's impressive as hell what they've managed to pull off.
I am loving this new direction. They're getting even better. Not used to seeing this so far into a band's career.
Woah, didn't see them going in this direction at all but I'm all for it. I can't wait to see how it fits in context with the rest of the album. It'll also be interesting to see how they decide to handle the strings live. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous too. My favorite of theirs yet.
I think the biggest thing they've done is evolve and improve. I can easily say that LLL is their best record and you can't do that with a lot of bands.
Same! I love every second of LLL and I'd argue it's my favourite release of the last few years. That album to me is a masterpiece. I just find it weird that my love for LLL doesn't reflect the rest of their discog. It's very hit and miss for me after B&W till LLL.
Well yea exactly. It's crazy that a band originally from that scene was able to overcome the nostalgia and convince people to actually get on board with their new music. I mean I could think of plenty of artists who have released better music after their first couple albums but still don't care about it as much as their first couple records.
I often forget how much I like American Candy because of LLL. I revisited recently and was having a blast in the car haha.
I truly don’t like any of their albums except their last two. That’s how much of a surprise it was for me, and it tool me getting into LLL to finally have the previous connect with me (although I still skip “Hair”). I can’t think of any other artist that I’ve had this happen with.
Literally my exact experience. I listened but didn’t connect with AC, but LLL really reframed AC for me. It’s a fun one.
Y'all are really sleeping on Pioneer and Forever Halloween :( Especially Pioneer - the more consistent of the two. Although Forever Halloween has some absolute bangers: Take What You Can Carry, Run, Love & Drugs, and Sad Songs are all particularly great.
I like most of their stuff, but the last two records were in a whole other league. LLL in particular might be my favorite of the last 5 years easily.