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Post by mja271 on Apr 18, 2010 19:26:13 GMT -5
gotcha. I just didn't know if there was any word on the other two. Well at the very least we'll get two extra songs which both sound really cool, so that's a plus. I really love their b-sides historically.
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Post by Andy on Apr 18, 2010 19:39:35 GMT -5
Finally "obtained" a copy of this. After one listen, I'm pretty much sold on the fact that this a great album. My only complaint is its only 10 tracks. Yeah, it's a very concise records which is nice, but I'm left wanting more. Then again I felt that Stay Positive was too long.
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Post by st5801 on Apr 18, 2010 19:48:11 GMT -5
gotcha. I just didn't know if there was any word on the other two. Well at the very least we'll get two extra songs which both sound really cool, so that's a plus. I really love their b-sides historically. The fact that they're playing Criminal Finger and Going on a Hike at least gives a decent amount of hope for a release. Craig said: "There’s a fair amount of songs that didn’t make the record, and that’s always a heartbreaking thing, choosing between your favorite children." So hopefully the "fair amount" are actually completed tracks and planned for a release.
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 18, 2010 19:51:52 GMT -5
the last 2 albums had 5 b-sides, and it sounds like this probably will too i'm very excited to hear them hopefully as actual 7" b-sides
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Admin
Midnight Hauler
Posts: 2,434
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Post by Admin on Apr 18, 2010 20:43:13 GMT -5
I love this band. I'm just as excited for this album as I have been any other album. I love Barely Breathing, but I knew that already. I can't wait to listen to Our Whole Lives in my car. The line in The Weekenders "In the end, only the girls know the whole truth" makes me smile every single time. I don't have much critical to say, I'm pretty damn accepting of anything this good. I guess I wish he didn't rhyme "I was way too fried" with the joy-inspiring Jim Carroll reference, but my love for this band has survived a handful of lame lyrics before. I'm listening for the second time right now and I think I'm really going to love The Smidge, too. Like someone said before me, I don't think there's anything here I'm going to feel like skipping. I love this band. I'm glad you are posting again.
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Post by earnestchild on Apr 18, 2010 21:19:34 GMT -5
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Post by mja271 on Apr 18, 2010 21:43:14 GMT -5
I'm enjoying this wayyyy more now that I've popped on some headphones and am giving it my full attention. Great album.
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mcstevepants
Hoodrat
Shaky but still tryin' to shake it.
Posts: 400
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Post by mcstevepants on Apr 18, 2010 21:54:00 GMT -5
I love the sound of the crickets chirping at the very end of the album. Reminds me of a quiet summer night. (turn your volume up as the piano fades out)
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gunner
Cityscape Skin
Posts: 12
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Post by gunner on Apr 18, 2010 22:18:20 GMT -5
Very good review, agree with most of it. Actually I agree with everything except maybe that I like The Smidge and Rock Problems more than you.
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Post by cubbies4e on Apr 18, 2010 22:20:25 GMT -5
I'm in the middle of "Hurricane J" and so far, I'm LOVING the album. I was a little worried, but wow, was I wrong. I thought they made a mainstream album, instead its just their most mature sounding. Really gorgeous sounding record.
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Post by spanishjohnny on Apr 18, 2010 22:32:12 GMT -5
Woah. So far this album is really hitting me right. It's definitely one to listen to as a whole.
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Post by cubbies4e on Apr 18, 2010 22:44:26 GMT -5
I love that with Hold Steady records, after the high of hearing the album for the first couple of times, the album gets even better once you start to concentrate on Craig's lyrics.
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JonnyJay
True Scene Leader
It's official: US #180, raging at a show near you.
Posts: 809
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Post by JonnyJay on Apr 18, 2010 22:44:39 GMT -5
In a nutshell: I like most of the songs, but I'm really not crazy about the production values. It sounds so soft.
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Post by shakerheights on Apr 18, 2010 22:56:44 GMT -5
Gulp.
Looks like I'm going to have to be "the bad guy." (Remember, these are my first impressions of the album after one full listen, so I reserve the right to love the album a couple weeks from now, which I unfortunately don't think will happen.) Maybe it's because I only got into the band with SP in '08 and a lot of people here have been rocking out with THS since the early days and that's what makes it easier for me to criticize the album, I don't know.
One of the reasons I was so instantly attracted to THS and have become so obsessed with the band is their unbelievable sense of storytelling and themes. Unfortunately, none of the songs on this album really have great stories to tell, outside of maybe The Weekenders which is one of the contenders for best song on the album (along with A Slight Discomfort and maybe Barely Breathing). I was trying to listen for a theme as well (granted I don't have the lyric booklet), and the only unifier between these tracks I could think of was that they would each be one of the two or three worst songs on any of the three first Hold Steady albums. Sorry.
It just 'sounds' weird. Craig's vocals, the lack of massive/immediate guitar solos/riffs, the excessive production, the odd background vocals they seem to thrust in everywhere, it all just doesn't sound like THS. And I say that in a bad way, as being 'different' could also be good.
The thing I'm most disappointed about, and something I'm surprised isn't getting more attention is the butchering of the 'could-have-been-magnificent' track 'We Can Get Together.' I almost cried (and they weren't tears of joy) when I realized with about 45 seconds left that the solo wasn't coming and instead we had to endure those cheesy background vocals until close (I was going to say 'tolerate' but 'endure' is really a better word there). Even the beginning just sounds too 'soft rock' and there's some weird vocal effect echoing on Craig's vocals which I don't think contribute anything to the song. Then at about :48, some random wails come in that again don't give anything extra to the song.
And the lyrics. Meh. A friend and I were talking about Craig's lyrics and we both concluded by pointing to a couple lines from Stuck Between Stations and saying "that's why he's in the top 1% of the top 1% of the top 1% of song writers alive." I think I might have to scale that back after a couple of the lines on this album. "Ring, ring, ring on the telephone" (Our Whole Lives), the waitress line from Hurricane J, the chorus of Soft in the Center (oh, what could have been, what an amazing first 50 seconds!)... these all from the same man who wrote Separation Sunday. Very few stand out lines as well, but to give those credit- 'New York' line in A Slight Discomfort, the train wreck line in The Weekenders, the 'Heaven is Whenever' line in We Can Get Together. I mean, "They didn't name her for a saint / They named her for a storm" is a top 5 line on the album and there are some SONGS on AKM and SS with 5 better lines on them.
Sorry for the long rant, and thanks for reading. I need to blow off some steam because I'm pretty disappointed right now, I guess I've been building this up a lot, and coupled with the Record Store Day unanimous hype made me pretty sad I don't really like this album.
First impression rating: -Overall rating: 5/10 (5th out of 5 THS records) -Highlights: A Slight Discomfort, The Weekenders -Lowlights- Lyrics, overproduction, lack of stand-out songs, etc
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Post by cubbies4e on Apr 18, 2010 22:58:23 GMT -5
9/10 for me Which would put it on par with AKM and BAGIA. While i'd give SP a 8/10. Separation Sunday of course is a perfect 10.
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Post by spanishjohnny on Apr 18, 2010 23:01:13 GMT -5
I was really digging this after the first 3 tracks but then it started going downhill. I think I may have to go back to it. I think the quality of the stream might be ruining it some as well.
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 18, 2010 23:19:43 GMT -5
some of you have really weird ideas as to what "overproduced" is the new against me! single sounds overproduced to me this record sounds like a band that took full advantage of the studio and made a great sounding album
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Post by davebudbainbo on Apr 18, 2010 23:26:11 GMT -5
I think the deletion of the solo in this version of "We Can Get Together" makes sense. It might have been seen as a bit too reminiscent of "Lord, I'm Discouraged" - it might have made a gorgeous song seem formulaic. Nice move -- besides, we'll probably still get the solo live, right? And on another live album. And maybe on an alternate take on that rarities/B-sides album we're all hoping for, right?
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Post by st5801 on Apr 18, 2010 23:35:49 GMT -5
I hated Separation Sunday the first time I heard it.
I think its funny that people are criticizing lyrics like "a pretty good waitress". Craig's lyrics have always been slightly odd and slightly cheesy. That's been part of the appeal since Lifter Puller.
This album is good. Its different, and by default some people are going to dislike it. We're already seeing the reactions of "What!? The first song is slow! How could they!". This is the next logical step for them in my opinion, but you can't please everyone.
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Post by ontheradio on Apr 18, 2010 23:37:28 GMT -5
Okay! so. i love it. i loved it when i previewed it on itunes. i loved the new songs we've been hearing live since last summer. i love it as a whole. Perhaps I am unbiased. Regardless:
Is it produced? Of course. Maybe we have to wrap our heads around the fact that THS is a (pretty fucking legitimate) rock act. They may still be on Vagrant and everything, but Vagrant is a big label with a lot of money. A lot of money that has been able to do things like afford THS the touring opportunities we all love. etc.
I don't think it's overproduced, though. I don't think it is any less "rock and roll". But what does that means these days anyway? From some opinions here it means huge guitar riffs, and i disagree but that's another post in itself.
Stylistically, yes, it's a slight shift. But I think it's a good one. How many bar band albums can a band put out without being told they're repetitive? Separation Sunday is brilliant, but wouldn't so many of us be upset if Separation Sunday II was released? Shouldn't we be glad that THS is exploring new directions in music, even if they don't line up with our already established taste and decisions as to what THS is, genre wise?
Lyrics wise, this album is LOADS better than SP. Not to compare apples to oranges, but honestly, I rarely listen to SP these days. And I wasn't too taken with it when it came out.
Bottom line, people are going to have different opinions on this album. It may even be a make or break for some people. But whatever! I honestly love it. I love that sometimes it sounds like it could have been released twenty years ago. I love that I can tell the band is maturing. I love that Craig sounds genuine when he sings. I love the band's emotion onstage this tour.
There's more to life than parties and booze, isn't there?
Slight Discomfort fucking takes my breath away with every listen. I love it. It is seriously in my top ten THS songs. Even Hurricane J is growing on me!
Also-in response to those people grasping for themes on the album-I think the difficulty of nailing one down is part of the awesomeness of it all. That being said, there are countless references to THS AND LP songs!
It's a great record and a solid effort. It's so much better than Stay Positive, really, it is. Not that it makes a difference but it is. So much more mature, so much musical talent and RANGE showed on the record. And I think that's what's making people uncomfortable, the range of it. I think people are scared that they won't know the words immediately for bouncy show singalongs. But haven't we known all along that THS were more than bar song singalong writers?
I haven't yet seen the s word uttered (sell out) and I hope I don't. This record is the opposite.
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 18, 2010 23:39:17 GMT -5
do people seriously still call bands sellouts in 2010?
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Post by ontheradio on Apr 18, 2010 23:41:21 GMT -5
do people seriously still call bands sellouts in 2010? i know. i know. and yes, they do. I'm pretty sure Wilco got it on their last album and Modest Mouse has been getting it for their last like, 4. It makes no sense, I know.
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 18, 2010 23:44:18 GMT -5
man, that's weird
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Post by ontheradio on Apr 19, 2010 0:12:10 GMT -5
"He said the kids that he knows from the 'net said the sound kinda sucked."
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Post by blackbeard on Apr 19, 2010 0:12:54 GMT -5
do people seriously still call bands sellouts in 2010? Modest Mouse has been getting it for their last like, 4. You're a bit confused, on this. People started calling Modest Mouse sellouts after their songs started showing up in minivan commercials. People started calling them shit about 4 or so albums back. Different terms.
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