I firmly believe if the obvious 2 weak link/radio tracks weren’t there, the album doesn’t leave such a bad taste in people’s mouths. Also I think worth noting that the new song, especially production-wise, reminds me just as much of Loneliness as it does LITSOS and Disambiguation. only knock I have against Damn Excuses is the lyrics were slightly disappointing. Too few and a bit plain for Spencer, as will probably be standard from now on. My first listen without them left a big dumb grin on my face, but when listening with lyrics it helps you break apart the different parts of the song better and I tend to not like super short verses and interludes, wish those were longer.
On My Teeth, Hold Your Breath, and No Frame are top tier UO tracks. The rest will certainly fade away I think.
the first half of this song still sounds like something on Erase Me but when it opens up, then it starts to feel like they are on to some sound I like again. Very cautiously excited for this project now after not getting into most of Erase Me.
I’m not a fan of the way Erase Me was mixed. Guitars are wayyyy too low in the mix. Plus the tones aren’t that great imo. Love the more raw sound of the new track.
I feel like comparing certain UO albums is like comparing apples and oranges, but I don't get all the Erase Me hate. Was it their best effort? Not by a long shot. Was it a decent alternative album that tried a few new things that I think (somewhwat) worked well? Yes. My solution was just cutting it up into an EP: It Has To Start Somewhere, On My Teeth, Bloodlust, ihateit, No Frame, In Motion, I Gave Up, and add Loneliness to the tracklist. I think that both versions of Underoath (lighter alternative and hardcore/metal) can coexist. The themes on Erase Me were very relevant to my personal experience leaving Christianity years ago. Really loving Damn Excuses though, and I hope the new album is reflective of that sound more this time around.
Erase Me would for sure be an awesome EP: 1) Start Somewhere 2) On My Teeth 3) Bloodlust 4) Sink With You 5) Hold Your Breath 6) No Frame 7) In Motion I like Rapture, ihateit, and I Gave Up a lot but that would be a pretty solid and cohesive EP IMO
I want this vibe. and more no frame / paper lung vibe. That is the sweet spot. Please no anthems. Bangers and or experimental.
Agreed, buried in the mix are a bunch of classic Tim riffs, especially on IHTSS, which deserves a much better live reception than it got. You could slide it on any of the previous records and it’d be a set staple. also, unrelated to that comment but if one reads this page and only this page they’d see the album is full of good tracks lol we’ve just found 8 ways to say rapture and wake me don’t belong on the record, +/- another 1-2 tracks.
I don’t mind anthems from this band but Paper Lung is one of my all time favorite UØ tracks so I’m down for more within that vein.
Finally got my LITSOS vinyl this week (*after* the shipping notification, who knew they could figure that out?) and it skips on The Only Survivor. UGH. I waited 8 months and it skips. Disappointing.
Speaking of shipping for those, I contacted them back on April 24th about replacing 2 of the 3 from the box set, and by the 26th, they asked for my shipping address and I haven't heard a word in almost three months. I have to reach back out after we move into our new place to change the address again, and I really just want to do a chargeback on my credit card at this point. This is ridiculous.
i thought erase me was almost entirely bad, but thats just my opinion. i also think disambiguation is their best by a lot and the new track reminds me of like "illuminator" or "vacant mouth," two absolutely incredible tracks so im on board.
i think LITSOS is their best and disambiguation is second it’s wild, most of my IRL friends that consider themselves fans don’t know anything after DTGL and even then don’t really like that one. band might as well not exist before spencer to me