Definitely commendable that the band is so open and honest about their recording process and history. I view it as highly healthy for both them and the fan base.
It’s funny to see how much of a 180 this is/was vs. the making of Erase Me. Like they mention in the first episode, I thought they basically had mellowed out more and were saying yes to more because it had always been more “my way or the highway” style of making music. It seems like to make the best music for them, they have to really push their ideas/almost be at each other’s throats to get what’s best
I can see why people would look at it like that but I don’t. People change and hindsight is 20/20 right? I’m sure they meant what they said (and like I’ve said a million times - Erase Me was not a complete disaster) but it looks like they’ve grown stronger as a band which led to them making a record with stronger songs.. Too bad the production holds it back because that’s still something I notice every time I listen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ehhh i feel like hindsight is 20/20. they were making an effort to come back strong and put out a unified front, and they probably believed it for the most part.
About the 10th time through this. Been limiting to myself to once a day ish so I don't burn out. -I wish we hadn't gotten Pneumonia as a single so early on, I think it would've made so much more of an impact as a closer that we all hadn't heard yet. Still an absolute banger and up there with their past closers. -Listening to Thorn with lyrics completely pushed that song into top-5 UO songs for me. I can't wait to hear this one live. -I really wish they'd play like 7 songs off this on the upcoming tour but understand that's unrealistic.
I wish UØ would just play the entire record on this tour and then do an encore with a few of their “greatest hits”. I personally don’t need to hear “Reinventing Your Exit” live for the 10th time lol I’m much more interested in hearing the new record live.
Love both those tracks but I don’t see them ever playing anything off the Disambiguation era aside from maybe Paper Lung sadly..
They’ve been done aside from Paper Lung but even that is a rarity. It’s a bummer since Disambiguation is tied with LITSOS for me when it comes to the best UØ record.
They played 5 from Erase Me when I saw them on the No Fix Tour in early 2018 and 6 from Disambiguation when I saw them in 2011 so I don't think 7 from Voyeurist is entirely out of the question
It looks like Illuminator has also gotten some run, but damn that's such a bummer. Glad I saw them on their farewell tour in 2013 when they played In Division, Paper Lung, Illuminator, Driftwood, and Who Will Guard the Guardians. They even played Unsound!
Catch myself catching myself should be a set staple but I’m not sure we’ll ever hear a non-paper lung disambiguation song again, and at this point paper lung almost doesn’t count lol. im halfway through episode 0 and while it’s very interesting to hear em talk about erase me, I wish they’d be a bit more specific. I feel like we’re just getting slammed with vague millennialisms about working together. I liked that record a lot despite the disappointment in what it is not, but it still very much just sounds to me like a heavy band trying to make a more accessible record. It don’t get a hint of strife, phoning in, etc at all. A bit disjointed but not any more than any other transitional record.
Aight finished the episode. Surprised the internet isn’t talking more about Spencer not wanting to scream much. It’s been alluded to in the past but given how rough the recording process was and how much screaming there is, albeit less than the oldies, but like…he’s not not looking forward to screaming on tour right? Is he not looking forward to playing the heavier songs? He still seems bummed and tired lol. There’s a lot of interesting paradoxes here, including where erase me is the “sellout” record but this is the one where Spencer is doing what others want vocally. Wish we got a better look at the songwriting specifically because despite tim being checked out, Aaron being more submissive, etc, we still got a record that seemed incredibly focused on a specific goal which itself wasn’t really discussed at all.
Spencer is a great heavy vocalist. Maybe one of the best. The latest album is playing to the bands strengths.
in fairness it's just Tim's interpretation of what's happening with Spencer. Spee has never outright said he doesn't like screaming anymore or anything like that. seems like there's something else going on with all the tension over who sings what, but I'm not gonna speculate on stuff I don't know. seems like they're all in a pretty good place at the moment, I'm happy about that