Also I don’t know why so many people don’t like FH. It’s a moody album, John was not in the best place when they made that album. I love it for what it is...
Oh yeah, for sure. But I think preferring one over the other is sort of a different ballpark than to say one is great and the other is actually bad lol. LLL may be better but it’s really not like a night and day difference or anything. Opinions, I guess!
He was dabbling to much with drinking/drugs, depression set in, you can really hear it in the tone of the album. I talk with him almost every time they come through NOLA. I’m good buds with Pete, the long time merch guy that use to tour with them.
it's their most passionate and personal album for me. stuff like "Identify" and "Some Days" has John screaming in a way he hasn't done before or since then. then there's "Waiting For My Sun to Shine", where depression has him barely above a whisper. backing vocals feel very heartfelt as well. there's no "Bad Behavior" or "Mars" or "Sad Songs", and though it's not as happy-go-lucky as those, "Thinking of You" feels very out of place because of the overall somber mood. album is basically an hour of being miserable and longing for a person or a moment in time.
Imo Pioneer kinda just felt like the band throwing stuff at a wall to see if any of it stuck, half heartedly committing to multiple corners in the pop/rock genre. It’s kinda like “the most Maine for your buck” in a way cause you get to hear their take on a lot of different influences and there’s essentially something for everybody, but I think they’re at their best when making more cohesive records. Brings out stronger hooks, more interesting song structures, etc.
I definitely think it was cohesive enough. It’s like a classic rock, sometimes almost southern rock record with pop influences. I dunno, I think it’s great and a pivotal point in their career when they experimented a bit, label-less (I think?)
Pivotal for sure! There are a couple of songs I do like on it and I definitely appreciate it for being the first point in their career that they were willing to deviate from the expected trajectory. And yeah they were basically label-less for it, it was released on their own label
I'm fine with it cause the next album will come and i'll love that. And if I ever wanna listen to LLL it'll be there. Fuck it, I'ma listen to LLL right now.
My very first listen to LLL came on an airplane. I downloaded the album to my phone and listened once we were in air and the announcements/etc were over so there were no distractions. Let me tell you. It was an experience.
I decided today that I think The Maine is the best band to come out of neon. Mayday Parade is probably second with All Time Low in third. It's odd because 2008 me would have probably put them in the reverse order.
^^^ i also love the fact that the biggest "scandal" of their career was getting banned from twitter for setting the band's age of 11
The post-Fall Out Boy pop punk/pop rock bands that sprung up like these guys, Mayday, All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Forever The Sickest Kids, We The Kings, etc. Basically any band produced by Matt Squire or Zack Odom/Kenneth Mount from 2007 to 2010. If you were playing pop punk in that time you were most likely either a neon band or easy-core (Four Year Strong/Set Your Goals).