this album was ticking along just fine, and then the colossal train wreck of "cop car" derailed the whole thing; the album never recovers
she lost me a long time ago, no matter her talents, when she stopped singing and started "performing", which is somewhere north of whispering and well within the realm of spoken-word or whatever that thing is she is doing now
when they play "hardcore punk" (according to the genres listed with the album), they're at their very best, but then there are the times they default back to "noise pop" and it all falls apart
I don't enjoy the album as a whole, per se, but holy crap is it well-produced and showcases all that Gibbons has to offer
I love this band, and there are some incredible standouts here, but also an unexpected number of misses ("Balu") or oddities ("Where Is It?") ... the best song of the bunch is one that calls back to previous albums, "Embers of Day", which I wish had been completely developed into a full song
its originality is what sets it apart, even if it is stunningly pretentious and self-important ... and reeks of BCNR, which is terribly unfortunate
were it not for the soulful use of horns, which are truly the only thing that saves this derivative crap from its bloated and over-produced self, this would be rated even lower
there are some cringe-worthy lines here, but the style and ethos is as true as ever and the first proper track, "Brooklyn Heights" is off the charts good
ouch ... I went from excitement to disappointed in such a short span of time here ... normally one of the most exciting artists in the world for me, this is a definite miss
this album is such a conundrum ... the misses are glaring and awful but the hits are genuinely outstanding ... wild
wow, this was boring...maybe I need to listen a few more times to understand the hype? Or maybe it's just not for me
if you like listening to music while vacuuming or using heavy machinery, this would be a great album for you
I wish it were otherwise, but though there are sonic moments to get excited about, the lyrics sounds so insipid, something that I never dreamed I would say about this band that I love
'hard times' may be the most achingly sad but beautiful songs I have ever heard, and that's saying something
a tale of two halves, the first outstanding and the second tepid
i am a big fan of FJM and of quirky, unpredictability in music but this just does nothing for me, aside from the last track, which is truly the only standout moment
when close to 2000 people agree that this album is an 83%, I get suspicious ... but hot damn, this lives up to all of that expectation
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