Then the one two punch of In Motion and I Gave Up. Yeah I liked this record. Not as interesting or nuanced as LITSOS. Not as heavy as Disambiguation though I respect what they were trying to do.
The album is good ok until ihateit...then the rest of the album is exactly what I was hoping for from the whole album. Definitely going to keep spinning this to see if the first half clicks
It’s wild to me how polarizing In Motion is. Like, the chorus on that song is the only one on the album that works for me 100% neeeeeed
y’all hyped It Has to Start Somewhere? if this was supposed to be one of the better tracks on the record, this doesn’t bode well.
First reaction thoughts: Came in expecting a different kind of record, something that would shock me. I loved On My Teeth and didn't really like Rapture coming in. While, yes, the songs don't sound like the Underoath we're used to, they also seem to just play on in the background emptily. I can say that there are a good handful of songs I wanted to change midway through, but stuck it out. There are also some really strong moments, but they lie at the tail-end of most songs and occur for a few seconds at most. The dissonance between old-influenced and reborn Underoath here is jarring every time it occurs throughout the album. When the heavy moments come, they don't feel earned, so they fall pretty flat in a couple songs. As for Underoath exploring their softer side, I think there are some worthy experiments. No Frame is pretty incredible, despite only having one arguably heavy moment. I also enjoyed Bloodlust a fair amount. Could it be because these songs are the only ones that play with song structure a little more? I know people were discussing that here and I agree- nearly every song on the album has predictable song structure. There are some moments scattered throughout the record that I could imagine hearing beside an Imagine Dragons song on rock radio. That's not a bad thing- but it's also a genre I'm not interested in. I also don't really think Spencer's voice fits a lot of the songs here. He's not a bad singer by any means, but his voice better suits more-atmospheric music, imo. I caught John Feldmann's influence all over it, especially on the corny-as-hell I Gave Up. Softer songs mean more focus on the lyrics, and god damn there are some clunkers on here. Overall, I don't think I'll be returning to this one much. I'll play it again later today when I'm more caffeinated but I don't think I really love these songs. I'm not too upset about it, though I was excited for this release--it's a sound I can see bringing them more fans, but also losing a lot of the old ones. I don't think they've lost me as a fan though, because I still see potential in their future. This one album just doesn't really do it for me.
Anyone remember Secret & Whisper? The last 30 seconds of No Frame sound just like them and I love it.
i still like on my teeth. really good hook and the way the bass and drums kinda drive together is really cool
Just finished my first full "official" listen and I'm on the fence. What I do know, though, is that Wake Me is one of the worst songs I have voluntarily listened to in a long time.
Also echoing the above statement on Bloodlust being a high point. Sounds like Vheissu-era Thrice to me, but the lyrics on this album as a whole keep me from really loving any of it as of now.
I want to like Sink With You but I absolutely fucking hate the "you can't make it okay" chorus. Sounds like it got dropped in directly from a Korn song.
"when the sun sleeps," with Spencer, 2004. It's astounding how much better of a vocalist Spencer is than Dallas. If They would rerecoed "The Changing or Times," with Spencer I might actually enjoy that album. Dallas' screaming style was so bad
Seeing multiple hate posts on Wake Up while loving Bloodlust is a new take for me, damn Honestly I kind of love how divisive this album is, just as both light and dark are needed we need the love and hatred posts. But I guess that's easier to say as someone on the "record is really good" side