Wow. Voyeurist is epic. Tumultuous landscapes and themes similar to the heaviness of Disambig - Chris really shines here with the work he’s done in these songs and tying them together. I absolutely love Aaron’s singing on this. I think they found a perfect balance between him and Spencer. That bridge in Take a Breath into the breakdown sends chills down my spine. Someone else mentioned this here, but just want to echo how well he’s diversified the drum parts of this album. Nothing feels stale from him at all. Spencer’s range is incredible with the different parts of songs hitting highs, lows, cleans, everything. There’s a sense of urgency here that was missing in Erase Me and it reminds me so much of LITSOS. The overall polished vibe of DTGL comes to play here as well. Beyond that, they’ve definitely leaned into this new flair without relying on older album copypasta. If you took Disambig, LITSOS, and DTGL and mixed them in with this new nugget/flair of new Øath, that’s exactly what I’m feeling from this album. I desperately need an official version of this album before I overplay the live version haha. January can’t come soon enough. Favorites so far: Numb Take a Breath Thorn We’re All Gonna Die Damn Excuses (songs great live) If I get to hear any of those in January, I’d be content.
Reserving too much reaction until I can hear the album recording, but my initial reaction upon first listen is that this is musically one of their best and lyrically one of their worst. But, as others have said, the drumming and the atmosphere and Spencer's vocal range... superb. I'm sure it will change the more time I spend with, as I now absolutely love Erase Me after being initially let down.
I listened to Numb once and I am opting out of everything until release day. I am so satisfied with the live stream. I only got a couple of playthroughs in. I am left with a killer impression of the album, but I haven't played through the releases too much to ruin the official release. UO nails it every time. They crushed with a bad situation having to push the record back.
Man, at first listen Numb seemed like a dud and now it’s the one that is stuck in my head. I love Aaron on this track. His vocal style isn’t old underøath, but it fits
If I remember correctly the band said they felt it was reminiscent of They're Only Chasing Safety due to Aaron taking the lead on the chorus, but for me it's more the short climax in the bridge that calls for that comparison instead. It reminds me of the similar climax at the end of Down, Set, Go and other emo adjacent songs of that era.
Thw part in digital ghost where spencer goes into the long scream & theres a slow zoom out. That was the coolest shit I've seen in a long time lol
based on all the comments the band members have made (I'm mainly referring to the Erase Me doc and the streams they did where they went through all their albums), Voyeurist is the result of compromise...it has plenty of heavy "gnar" moments, while also mixing in, for lack of a better term, "poppier" melodies and structures. Erase Me was also this to some extent but I think they've dramatically improved the balance on this
They've said they did have a chance to experiment more already and also have other indie/pop-sounding projects, so that could have left a new UO album to just be made more heavy with joy, I guess ;d
The Rock Sound volume about their new album just shipped. There's a chance it arrives before the album release date. Excited to wear the t-shirt that comes with it!
All I want for Christmas is a leak of this album (I pre-ordered every vinyl variant including the test press). I'm usually pretty good about only playing singles a couple of times before the actual release but I can't not listen to the released songs. TOO GOOD.
I'm doing fine and still haven't heard Numb, whereas I've only played Cycle once. Too excited now, but I'll wait.
Hard to believe I already have heard one of my favorite albums of 2022 :). Seriously, what a "come back" record.
For a bit after preordering, I was experiencing a little buyer’s remorse for dropping big bucks on the Test Pressing. However, after hearing this live and having heard half the studio produced version by now, I regret nothing.