charlie
Sniffling Indie Kid
Posts: 214
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Post by charlie on Oct 20, 2020 14:24:45 GMT -5
needless to say, I saw that they slapped the SP logo on bandannas and masks and spent more money than I intended to.
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charlie
Sniffling Indie Kid
Posts: 214
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Post by charlie on Oct 20, 2020 16:07:34 GMT -5
I'm starting to realize that this isn't my least-favorite THS album. Not that 'least-favorite' is bad per se, when you're talking about your favorite band. One of them has to be. I've got some great memories tied to the time when the singles had hit waiting for it to leak (it was 2010, those were different times) and after it came out officially. My sister and I both got married that spring. Sweet Part, Barely Breathing, Our Whole Lives, Hurricane J, and Weekenders are all among of my favorites from the catalog. I think my least-favorite is, as of now, Teeth Dreams. BUT TD was the only record I didn't see a show promoting, weird four-piece alt-rock fest notwithstanding.
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john k
Midnight Hauler
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Oct 20, 2020 16:15:58 GMT -5
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Post by john k on Oct 20, 2020 16:15:58 GMT -5
Just pre-ordered the coloured vinyl. Kinda wish I’d got a bundle but how many more THS tees do I need? I say trying to convince myself. Psyched to finally get to hear Going on a Hike. I’ve only heard a poor quality YouTube video of it previously and didn’t see them on the HiW tour. Another regret. I listened to the album again earlier and honestly think it’s the hidden gem in the back catalogue. Whenever we do a ranking on here it always seems to come in higher than I would have thought. I actually saw them a bunch (relatively speaking, and taking into account they've only played in the country I live in twice) of times during this era. One of my best live memories is from End Of The Road in september 2009, in what I think was the last European show with Franz before he left. I remember getting my hands on a bootleg from just a few days earlier right before I left, which included both Our Whole Lives and Separate Vacations, and being able to sing along to them at End Of The Road. They played Goin On A Hike too. As far as festival shows go, it was pretty much perfect. I also saw them in Amsterdam in June 2010, and in London the day after. Even the Dublin show in 2011 felt like a Heaven Is Whenever era show. When they finally played in Oslo in August 2012, if felt like they have moved on, and they even played an early version of The Only Thing. I have a really soft spot for Heaven Is Whenever. It's not flawless, and it's unfair to compare them to the first three records, which all is pretty much perfect to me. But I love that sparkly and bright sound. I wouldn't want them to sound like this for an entire career, and I probably wouldn't have fallen in love with them if this was the first record I heard. But it's a nice addition to the catalogue, something a little bit different. A slightly failed attempt (?) to be more poppy, but still a thrilling mix of bright and shiny pop sound and very guitar-y stuff. Also, Sweet Part Of The City has a vibe few other songs in their catalogue have, and I think I would enjoyed an entire album in that style. A Slight Discomfort is also pretty unique, so bottomless dark, both in theme and sound. It's not the most enjoyable song to listen to, but it has something special. Our Whole Lives is still one of my favourite tracks overall, and I dig the straight-forwardness in Rock Problems. Even Barely Breathing and The Smidge have som amazing parts in it. Probably a contender for the 4th best THS album spot for me, though I think Thrashing might be slightly better. The Dublin show in 2011, they were still touring HIW
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john k
Midnight Hauler
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Oct 20, 2020 16:18:22 GMT -5
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Post by john k on Oct 20, 2020 16:18:22 GMT -5
So now that I’m thinking about it, do we know if this is an older version of Criminal Fingers? Or did they take a recording from these sessions for the 7”? I’m wondering if this is version we haven’t heard or if they’re making the single version more widely available now. According to those in the know it's the 7" version
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Oct 20, 2020 18:26:58 GMT -5
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Post by doctoracula on Oct 20, 2020 18:26:58 GMT -5
So now that I’m thinking about it, do we know if this is an older version of Criminal Fingers? Or did they take a recording from these sessions for the 7”? I’m wondering if this is version we haven’t heard or if they’re making the single version more widely available now. According to those in the know it's the 7" version thanks for the info! It’s a great version. I just got momentarily greedy and hoped for another one
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Post by kayfaberaven on Oct 20, 2020 19:11:58 GMT -5
needless to say, I saw that they slapped the SP logo on bandannas and masks and spent more money than I intended to. I couldn't resist a mask. I'm hoping it will become a relic of a brief, challenging time when masks were something that we needed to wear, and not something that I'll need to renew every year.
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robs
Hoodrat
Posts: 297
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Post by robs on Oct 22, 2020 10:53:53 GMT -5
I'm intrigued as to whether the bandana fits my massive noggin...
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robs
Hoodrat
Posts: 297
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Post by robs on Oct 22, 2020 10:58:22 GMT -5
In many ways this is my favourite album, as it was the first new release since I really heard the band, the first time I saw them live etc. It was released when I was on holiday in Northumberland, I got married in 2010, and was the soundtrack of the year. I still listen to it a lot, Soft in the Center is the only track I sometimes skip. A Slight Discomfort is a masterpiece.
It also inspired my profile picture!!
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Post by muzzleofbees on Oct 25, 2020 0:43:06 GMT -5
I still listen to it a lot, Soft in the Center is the only track I sometimes skip. Yeah, Soft In The Center is skipable. It's one of four-five, maybe six songs on the album that just feels a little too much like Hold Steady trying to write a very Hold Steady-esque song. The Smidge is the same way to me, Rock Problems and We Can Get Together too. And Barely Breathing, to some degree. They just seem a little less sharp, little less inspired, than counterparts on earlier albums. While I reallay liked Rock Problems, and still enjoy it a lot when it's played live, and We Can Get Together is a pleasant and sweet listen, they just lacks a little imagination.
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Oct 25, 2020 3:34:00 GMT -5
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Post by thehudsonsteady on Oct 25, 2020 3:34:00 GMT -5
I agree with those last comments, although it's interesting that in songs like 'separate vacations' and 'sweet part of the city's you can sense them aiming for a different sound, these songs sound spacious in a way that previous stuff didn't. Overall I think the production and the song quality counted against them, it's a case of what could've been.
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Post by muzzleofbees on Oct 25, 2020 4:49:52 GMT -5
I agree with those last comments, although it's interesting that in songs like 'separate vacations' and 'sweet part of the city's you can sense them aiming for a different sound, these songs sound spacious in a way that previous stuff didn't. Overall I think the production and the song quality counted against them, it's a case of what could've been. I agree! There's something not only spacious, but space-like in them. That's part of why I love Sweet Part Of The City so much. It's dusty and americana-like on the surface, but now I hear it mostly as a very warm and hazy song who belongs in the streets. A heroin song set to a heatwave in a big city. And A Slight Discomfort is the flipside, what happens when the sun goes down, the heat is still unbearable, but the effect of the drugs is starting to take its toll too. Separate Vacations fits somewhere in between, same goes for Our Whole Lives and Barely Breathing, I would say. While lots of the songs on the earlier records have a more wintery-y feel to me (I know this is very subjective stuff), almost every song on Heaven Is Whenever feels like a too hot summer. It could be the production, it could be that it came out in late spring, and that I heard it a lot that summer, I don't know. But it's a pretty definitve feeling to me.
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Post by mtruslow on Nov 23, 2020 16:38:34 GMT -5
I'd like to order the vinyl version but I'm not a vinyl guy. There is a download for flac, correct? Thanks, Mark T.
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Post by john60 on Nov 25, 2020 11:14:48 GMT -5
Just got notification that the vinyl shipped today - in UK
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Post by muzzleofbees on Nov 27, 2020 4:18:02 GMT -5
Listening to the download now. Sounding good! A slightly different version of Criminal Fingers, really exciting to hear the brand new tracks.
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charlie
Sniffling Indie Kid
Posts: 214
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Post by charlie on Nov 27, 2020 8:54:43 GMT -5
this version of Criminal Fingers is great. And the raging guitar solo in We Can Get Together changes my whole perspective on the song.
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charlie
Sniffling Indie Kid
Posts: 214
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Post by charlie on Nov 27, 2020 9:10:47 GMT -5
Hurricane J from Avatar sounds like a Police song.
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Post by doctoracula on Nov 27, 2020 9:11:44 GMT -5
I can't tell too many differences in Criminal Fingers... seems like maybe just a slightly different mix? or the remaster brought out things in the 7" version that I just never noticed before.
At Least Not Tonight is brilliant. can't believe they sat on this song for so long. Holy hell.
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charlie
Sniffling Indie Kid
Posts: 214
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Post by charlie on Nov 27, 2020 9:37:41 GMT -5
glad "I'd rather be dead than live in some bubble" was a Craig line from 10 years ago and not 10 days.
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bigontheinside
Midnight Hauler
If you don't know the words, don't sing along
Posts: 1,478
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Post by bigontheinside on Nov 27, 2020 11:49:59 GMT -5
I can't tell too many differences in Criminal Fingers... seems like maybe just a slightly different mix? or the remaster brought out things in the 7" version that I just never noticed before. At Least Not Tonight is brilliant. can't believe they sat on this song for so long. Holy hell. I think most of it is identical apart from slight mix stuff. But the solo is totally different - this is Tad but it's definitely Steve on the 7" version. Sounds like they went back to the studio to put some polish on it later on. The other version is better imo but this is still cool to have! At Least Not Tonight is wild. It's so poppy but at the same time it's got all the elements of great THS song. I think this recording is a bit of a mess, but man, a different version of this could have been the big single from the album. A live favourite too I'd bet. Not too keen on the piano version of Beer on the Bedstand after one listen, but the guitar demo version sounds like a Bruce Springsteen song off Nebraska or something. Obviously THS get compared to Bruce a lot, but I've never heard them do a song like this. Pretty cool.
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Nov 27, 2020 14:09:09 GMT -5
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Post by dannyhatch on Nov 27, 2020 14:09:09 GMT -5
Pretty wonderful release. I’m loving the unreleased tunes and the various different versions. I’ve always had a very soft spot for Heaven is Whenever though I don’t return to it as much as other THS records (not including Teeth Dreams, which I think you could probably classify as the lone disappointment in the catalogue).
The reissue sort of gives me more clarity as to what they were trying to go for at the time - the bonus tracks and variations make it plain that if they wanted to they could have released a more typical crowd pleasing THS album, so I applaud them for their restraint and desire to do something different. That said, I do wish some of these songs had ended up on the record proper but I’m just happy to have them now.
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Post by doctoracula on Nov 27, 2020 17:03:50 GMT -5
"Beer on the Bedstand" is such a cool little homage to "Carmelita." I wondered if it was on purpose but when the "all strung out" lyric hit, I realized it had to be
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Post by doctoracula on Nov 27, 2020 17:04:24 GMT -5
I can't tell too many differences in Criminal Fingers... seems like maybe just a slightly different mix? or the remaster brought out things in the 7" version that I just never noticed before. At Least Not Tonight is brilliant. can't believe they sat on this song for so long. Holy hell. I think most of it is identical apart from slight mix stuff. But the solo is totally different - this is Tad but it's definitely Steve on the 7" version. Sounds like they went back to the studio to put some polish on it later on. The other version is better imo but this is still cool to have! At Least Not Tonight is wild. It's so poppy but at the same time it's got all the elements of great THS song. I think this recording is a bit of a mess, but man, a different version of this could have been the big single from the album. A live favourite too I'd bet. Not too keen on the piano version of Beer on the Bedstand after one listen, but the guitar demo version sounds like a Bruce Springsteen song off Nebraska or something. Obviously THS get compared to Bruce a lot, but I've never heard them do a song like this. Pretty cool. I didn't realize the solo differences. that's good to know!
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cre618
True Scene Leader
Posts: 714
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Post by cre618 on Nov 27, 2020 20:24:12 GMT -5
Man, how does "At Least Not Tonight" make the record? Love this release....can't wait to get my vinyl.
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Post by Rattlesnake Gospel on Nov 28, 2020 11:46:23 GMT -5
I can't tell too many differences in Criminal Fingers... seems like maybe just a slightly different mix? or the remaster brought out things in the 7" version that I just never noticed before. At Least Not Tonight is brilliant. can't believe they sat on this song for so long. Holy hell. This tune is insane. It just shot toward the top of my favorite THS B-sides and rivals much of their proper album catalog. Holy hell indeed.
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Post by thesemiracleswork on Nov 28, 2020 16:43:12 GMT -5
I'd like to order the vinyl version but I'm not a vinyl guy. There is a download for flac, correct? Thanks, Mark T. I would rather a cd version myself. there doesn't appear to be a platform to pay for a download of it yet, from what I can see. It's being streamed on various platforms but I view them as toxic to the music industry and would rather not endorse them in any way. Have always liked Heaven is Whenever, by the by, never got the hate for it. (Except for Hurricane J, which I think is up there with one of their worst songs)
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