Yao is most definitely the most ambitious record but sometimes I just want bops. The other records have bops while Yao is the band pushing themselves a bit more.
Pioneer is still my favorite record from these guys. I personally think it’s their best. You Are Ok comes second for me.
That hidden track on Pioneer. Fuck. I remember the fist time hearing that for the first time. I was on the beach watching the sun come up.
Pioneer is amazing but would've been so much better if they trimmed a few songs. I viewed them as just another pop rock band through their first two albums, but Pioneer floored me the first time I heard it. Identify, Don't Give Up, and the final three songs are all elite tier The Maine.
Identify, My Heroine, Some Days, Misery, and When I'm At Home are my favorite Maine songs of all time. I do agree that Pioneer could have done with a trim but I do love that record so much. The highs on that record are just too good. Forever Halloween - however - was a real mixed bag for me. I was so pumped for it after Pioneer but I felt like it underwhelmed me for the most part. Then like a year later they released the deluxe edition with the bonus songs they originally kept off and I think they made a hardcore mistake since those songs are the best songs off that record. So Criminal, Ugly on the Inside, Bliss, and Ice Cave are top tier Maine jams.
I just consider FH to be the deluxe tracklisting, I'll agree that those songs are great but I love the original tracklisting too! The title track is one of the greatest things they've ever done.
1. Lovely 2. Forever Halloween 3. You Are OK FH is the album for me that made me take a second glance at the band after foolishly writing them off as a band I shouldn’t like. Now having 1 - 3 in a row , going back and listening through their previous albums, I feel ashamed to have ever looked past them. Pioneer definitely shines bright though.
Since we're talking rankings (and I was already thinking about this earlier): 1) LLL 2) American Candy 3) Pioneer 4) You Are OK 5) Forever Halloween 6) Black & White 7) CSWS There's a pretty big gap between LLL-AC and YAO-FH, Pioneer and YAO basically a toss-up. It still amazes me that their last three albums are arguably their best three.
Oh we ranking? Niiiiice Pioneer > You Are Ok > American Candy > Forever Halloween > LLL > Black and White > CSWS
Pioneer is my cutoff, but I can see where you’re coming from. Have you listened to their acoustic EP, Imaginary Numbers? One of my favorite EP’s ever.
LLL You Are Ok Forever Halloween Everything else edit: I actually like all their stuff, but those three are top tier
LLL>AC>YOA>Pioneer>CSWS>B&W>FH I appreciate what they were going for on FH but it’s always just kinda felt like a shirt they were trying on without really committing to the full wardrobe — more transitional than anything. Glad they didn’t complete that transition cause AC set them back on track
Pioneer is like half good. Some Days is a classic. Same with AC. LLL and You Are OK are their only good albums all the way through.
Pioneer is the only reason I can't quite call LLL their best. Definitely partially nostalgia cus that was the album that actually got me into them, but I also think it holds up very well.
I got into them during CSWS and didn't care about them at all again until American Candy. Definitely the clear dividing line in their career.
Some Days has a monster hook, one of their best. Time is great and reminds me a ton of TEN circa-The Mother. The rest of pioneer is either good or okay from my memory but I haven’t given it enough listens to really make a sound judgment on it. I’m honestly super into CSWS lmao, I didn’t like them when it came out at all but now I have a huge soft spot for it. I need to spend more time with B&W—>AC
This really highlights the best of the Pioneer/FH era. One Pack of Smokes is such an epic closer to this set.