This one is going to take a while to digest. Glover is all over the place in this album. Chaotic, but some real ear worms that I want to return to listen to again.
Decent album but I'm not hearing much that's evolved from the mid 2000s indie sound.
Just listened to this again today to revisit what might be one of the most WTF albums of all time. Best I can characterize this experience is when you're at the beach and two people roll up on either side and pull out large bluetooth speakers and simultaneously play two distinct music genres all day long. Each one, individually might not be bad, but together they create a holy terror of diffusion that at best is boring, at worst completely maddening. Some artistic visions don't work ... read more
I had this at a 62 at first but moving down to 51. I mean, I give Peter Gabriel all the credit for his impressive career and inspiration for so many of us over the years, but standing on its own, this album really is a mediocre offering and the light/dark production adds a ton of bloat to an already bloated offering.
These guys go hard and I respect the fuck outta that. This album hits the spot for fucking riffy guttural death metal.
From a music/production perspective I would probably give this an 75. The arrangements are pretty safe but each song tends to have some interesting ear-catching moments. Lyrically and vocal/singing though I would probably give this a 20....complete trainwreck. Generic, vapid lyrics, and I just find Reynolds' vocal delivery annoying, especially when he seems to be trying to channel Eminem - very fucking annoying! I did like Gods Don't Pray, if only for the reggae beat and the Mario ... read more
Wow... first listen is π₯ π₯ π₯ Missing Man and Twice are fantastic standout tracks but every song is really, genuinely unique. Only weak song for me was Bad Cameo. Cathartic album, perfect for a long commute in traffic (or just about any stressful event).
90 ---> 75: Unfortunately this hasn't held up for me in repeated listens. Definitely a vibe with this album but it falls flat after a few listens, indicating to me that the collaboration between the two artists was sort of at ... read more
How are people sleeping on this band/album? Fucking awesome sauce.
My first impression - shades of Tool, TesseracT and a bit of Nonpoint in parts, but it's slow and sort of monotonous. The songs are just plain too long. The music isn't proggy enough for four 7 to 10 minute long songs. I was good at 3 minutes, then the songs kept going with no real progression in composition. I liked "The Freeze." It felt like the only song that really had some progressive elements and some emotion. Not a bad album but I doubt I will be coming back to it. ... read more
I'm going to be happy when the mumble quiet vocal indie pop T Swift scene is on the outs. Looks like it might be sooner than not if this type of generic slop passes for an album release.
Kind of a non-starter on the first couple of listens. It's OK but I can't shake the feeling that this wasn't a record with any passion, more like a paint by numbers. Hopefully it will grow on me over time.
I'm still trying to dig into this album. I like the funky songs, All That School for Nothing, Meek AF, It's a Bitch. Having a tough time appreciating the rest. The slower album cuts have a feel of a latter day Pink Floyd mixed with the highly personal lyricism of Roger Waters. I really love the uptempo songs though, definitely going on my end of year playlist.
Bit of a snoozer. Midtempo prog rock. Not my speed, but not hideous by any means.
Loved it at first (89) but it didn't hold up to repeat listens, especially the back half was kind of monotonous to me.
Gorgeous album. Feels contemporary yet taps into some primal sound that gives it such a great edge. Big fan after first listen.
Not a fan of the breathy vocals. Music is good though. I feel like this is an album that will be played in a lobby of a major chain hotel that is trying to be cool and edgy but really is just a chain hotel lobby.
I love this band. Always have, always will. This album sounds like there never was a gigantic two-decade hiatus between albums. Essentially seamless transition from Union to the EP Areyto to this album. If you listened to those albums, you know what you're getting yourself into with this one. I, for one, love this shit...hits better than a monster tall boy.
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Recent Review Comments
On Systematic - Somewhere in Between
"@llamaqwerty feel like it's pretty generic metal. Weak nu metal i guess. I saw these guys open for good bands a bunch back in the day and they never impressed me all that much, so went with the most generic typology i could think of at the time i reviewed it."
On By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost
"@OnsPascal Everyone digests music differently. Like I said, I respect the artistic merit here, just not for me, probably for the exact reason that you provide here. Doesn't mean I shouldn't share my thoughts."
On HomeSession3's review of Soen - Reliance
"@HomeSession3 nice review. Agree on a lot of points, and I like the straightforward alt-metal sound, but found it a bit conservative given their talent. I wish they would lean just a bit more into their prog roots and juice the instrumentals a bit."
On Systematic - Somewhere in Between
"@Kendrickgoatedg they were contemporaries... but yeah, pretty close in sound. I think they were trying to hit a nu metal version of soundgarden. Maybe a bit better musically but a bit generic."
On Hayley Williams - EGO
"@Killuah K Stan"
On DJ-SLIM's review of Norman North - Over the Influence
"LOL I almost added this last Friday but felt the same way."
On Bugeater_'s review of Squid - Cowards
"Agree π―. The Narrator is still stuck in my head, nothing from this album is anywhere near as innovative and has the ear candy that the first album had."
On Orgone - Pleroma
"@Pangota72 π― more people need to appreciate this masterpiece. 6 months in and it only keeps growing on me."
On Ethel Cain - Perverts
"Makes more sense re Dr. Luke. That dude ruins everything."
On Andwella - World's End
"@parannemi Thanks! It's airways fun stumbling on an old hidden gem like this album. I felt like it needed someone to pay homage."
On Alkymist - UnnDerr
"@chemjay300 even their tiny cookies are awesome."
On NTTR's review of VOLA - Friend of a Phantom
"You were spot on with the similar bands! Maybe a little Soen in there as well."
On Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD"
"@Zackhy the last three minutes were awesome! I get that layering sounds too create the end stage of each song is a process and I respect that. I'm sure that my opinion would change drastically after seeing them live."
On 40 Watt Sun - Little Weight
"@Doofy Fair point. I will leave this one in the rotation for a bit to see if it grows on me."
On Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God
"@leoxmi You're right, I should. My favorite Nick Cave song is the Passenger off the Batman Forever soundtrack...I'll check out some of the early/mid-90s albums."
On Orville Peck - Stampede
"@dasturbo totally agree. With the right manager he could end up a legend in alt country. Just needs to steer clear of all the pop country industry nonsense."
On The MarΓas - Submarine
"π€·βοΈ I didn't expect to be a citric but I'm not feeling this one."
On Maggie Lindemann - HEADSPLIT
"Cool. I'm going to have to check out the first two albums. Thanks!"
On DiceBloke's review of (Hed) P.E. - DETOX
"the self-titled album is much better. The lyrics are still a liability but the music has a lot more originality and funk to it. There were some good musicians in the original line-up, but they're all gone by now. It is tough to put the self-titled album in any one genre, but this album is kind of a one-trick pony."
On DiceBloke's review of (Hed) P.E. - DETOX
"Lyrics have been a problem with this band for its whole existence."
On Inherus - Beholden
"I have to be honest with you, XsVrits...I don't know what you're trying to convey with your statement here."
On The Lemon Twigs - Everything Harmony
"Yeah, maybe t's not so much the harmonies as it is the actual lead vocals remind me of a mix of weird Al and Tiny Tim. The harmonies are actually decent, but that only exacerbates the weak lead vocals. Maybe that's my issue with it. I don't know, every time I turn this on to try to analyze it I just get a visceral reaction to something in the vocals."
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